In March of 2017, it was revealed that Tyra Banks would be making a big move in her career — and this time it had nothing to do with modeling! That said, many fans are curious about why Tyra is hosting AGT nowadays, especially since the show returns with Season 13 tonight at 8 p.m. EST on NBC!

The mom-of-one first made her debut on the show last May, so tonight marks the start of her second season with the reality competition. Shortly before the premiere of Season 12 this time last year, one of the show’s judges Simon Cowell spoke out to Entertainment Tonight about Tyra’s decision to join the series.

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“We started with no host. Then one of us got a phone call saying Tyra Banks was interested. So I told her, ‘Come over to the house tomorrow,'” he recalled. “She turns out, ripped jeans, not really any makeup, sat down and within five minutes, we literally all said, ‘We would love you to join the show.'” Simon added, “It was that quick.”

The 44-year-old model took on the exciting gig shortly after Nick Cannon’s abrupt exit from the show after he claimed NBC threatened to terminate his contract after he made racially-insensitive jokes during his Showtime special, Nick Cannon: Stand Up, Don’t Shoot.

“I find myself in a dark place having to make a decision that I wish I didn’t have to, but as a man, an artist and a voice for my community, I will not be silenced, controlled, or treated like a piece of property,” Mariah Carey’s ex-husband wrote on Facebook at the time. “Not to get too detailed but this isn’t the first time executives have attempted to ‘put me in my place’ for so-called unruly actions. I will not stand for it. My moral principles will easily walk away from the millions of dollars they hang over my head.”

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When Tyra first joined America’s Got Talent last spring, she couldn’t contain her joy for the new opportunity since she didn’t have much going on before then following her exit from American’s Next Top Model and The Tyra Banks Show. “I am so excited to be standing next to this sexy man,” she said of her co-star Simon last year. We’ve loved watching Tyra on the show thus far — and we can’t wait to see her on the stage this season!