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TV ONE weatherman Tamati Coffey - Source: ONE News -
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New Zealand's Got Talent host Tamati Coffey says that he has already received a very positive response to the new show, ahead of its first screening this Sunday night.
The audition process for TV ONE's New Zealand's Got Talent (NZGT) has been underway for several months, with a diverse range of amateur singers, dancers, magicians, comedians and other performers of all ages competing for a top prize of $100,000.
Coffey told onenews.co.nz that his role as host so far has been to provide a comforting voice for many of the nervous contestants.
"When they come up to the side of the stage, I'm there for them, I'm on their side, and can help quell any nerves before they go on stage," he said.
Coffey says that he has not been nervous about the show screening, "as the word I've been getting on the street is that people are really looking forward to it".
As for the show's talent, Coffey says that the standout acts have all featured an aspect of originality.
"I think the best acts have been the ones where they showed us something new. The traditional stuff is nice, but it's the stuff that makes you sit up and take notice, the stuff that is a little bit different, which you haven't seen before, where they've put a bit of a spin on it which stands out."
Yet, Coffey said that pushing the boundaries does not always work.
"The strangest act I have seen so far was a contestant eating a burger, while standing upside down.
"It was just a bit weird. That act really didn't pan out," he said.
As for his own talent, Coffey said that the main ability he has discovered about himself through the process is his new-found capacity to stand for long periods of time.
"I'm really good at standing for 14 hours...in NZGT you've got the camera watching you all of the time, meaning it's hard to take breaks... so that's been the real challenge for me."
Coffey also said that he has also had to be ultra-organised when juggling hosting NZGT with his role as weather presenter on TV ONE's Breakfast.
"My bosses at Breakfast have been really good. They've given me random days off to work on NZGT. But if I haven't been reading the weather in the morning, I've generally been with NZGT, filming auditions," he said.
The popular weatherman also said that he has not compared his presenting style with either America's Got Talent's Nick Cannon or Australia's Got Talent's Grant Denyer, but was interested to discover that he shares some mutual interests with Denyer.
In particular, Denyer and Coffey both work as morning television weather presenters, and have each won a series of the popular Dancing with the Stars show.
However, Coffey says that when he went over to Australia to watch their version of the talent show being filmed, he thought their contestants "were okay, but we're going to be a lot better."
New Zealand's Got Talent starts this Sunday at 7.30pm on TV ONE and Coffey will be celebrating the broadcast of the first episode by having a screening party at his house.
The performances on NZGT will be judged by Rachel Hunter, Ali Campbell and Jason Kerrison.
Click here to read more about New Zealand's Got Talent.