7 Reasons Nick Cannon Will Be 2010’s Diddy

Call him corny, but 2010 belongs to Mr. Mariah Carey. Check out what’s on Nick Cannon’s plate for the upcoming year and why, when it comes to being a mogul, he may be giving Diddy a run for his money.

“I don’t want to be the next Will Smith or the next Denzel Washington,” the 29-year-old told The Hollywood Reporter. “I want to be the first Nick Cannon, the first person to do something. Hopefully, I will still do movies, but I want to be able to be my own man, run my own company.”

1. He and Atlantic Records are looking to launch a multi-platform franchise in the resurrection of “Josie and the Pussycats,” an all-girl singing trio based on the Archie Comics characters. Cannon hopes a global search for the three girls will yield a reality competition series and evolve into a scripted comedy-drama, both of which will air on Nickelodeon’s 24-hour channel TeenNick where he serves as chairman, the youngest in TV history.

2. Cannon’s recently launched production company NCredible Entertainment is also venturing into publishing to produce a multimedia book series to coincide with the upcoming premiere of the Cannon-written and -directed February 2010 Nickelodeon movie “The School Gyrls.” Cannon penned the first book and plans to be involved in the writing of the six original novels under the pact.

3. At MTV, where Cannon produced the sketch-comedy show “Wild ‘N Out,” he is behind “Nick Cannon Presents Hatin’ on ‘09,” a comedic year-in-review special that will air on New Year’s Day. Cannon taped an appearance as President Obama, with rapper-actor 50 Cent also set to do a segment.

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4. Also at MTV, NCredible did a reality docudrama pilot “Son of a Gun: A True Bronx Tale,” about young rapper Corey Gunz, and is proceeding with filming additional episodes of the show about Gunz, one of the first artists on Cannon’s music label.

5. At Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, NCredible is working on a puppet show set in the real world. It is about members of a hip-hop group who live together and are on the verge of making it big. It’s being described as a hip-hop version of HBO’s “Entourage.”

6. Cannon is making his foray into radio with a daily morning drive show on CBS Radio’s WXRK-FM New York (92.3 “Now”). He debuts on the top-40 station January 19. The is expected to broadcast through a variety of mobile devices including the iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry and Zune.  “I always wanted to do radio,” said Cannon, who has frequently filled in for radio hosts Ryan Seacrest and Steve Harvey.

7. Cannon is also keeping his summer job and will return as host of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” next year.

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