Past Shorty guest, Tracy Morgan. Mr. Blue/WENN.com

A day after news of women walking out of Tracy Morgan’s comedy set in the land down under hit the U.S., Billboard just made a very interesting announcement. Tracy Morgan will be hosting the 2013 Billboard Music Awards.

According to Billboard, Tracy is just one highlight — if you’re not put off by his racy routine — of the show:

As host of the awards, Morgan joins a lineup of performers that includes Justin Bieber, Miguel, Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars. The show will also include a highly anticipated performance by Prince, who is receiving the Billboard Icon Award at the telecast, produced by Don Mischer and sponsored by Chevrolet and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Tracy appears to be pretty excited about the opportunity as well, telling Billboard:

“I’m honored to be a part of one of music’s biggest nights,” Morgan said. “When you look at the artists who have come up through Billboard over the years, it’s incredible. And how can you say no when Prince is going to be there!”

Great question. Voting is now open on Billboard’s website for the Milestone award which gives fans the chance to vote for their favorite artist online and enter a contest to win an opportunity to present the award live at this year’s event alongside Cee Lo Green. Justin Bieber, Miguel, Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars are all up for the award, along with The Band Perry and Pitbull. If you’re interested in voting for your favorite artist you can do so at Billboard.com/milestone and hold out to see who gets the coveted honor when the show airs Sunday, May 19, on ABC.

How do you think Tracy will do as a host?

You may have caught Rickey Smiley’s latest entertainment venture, The Rickey Smiley Show, on TVOne, or heard about Terrence J leaving his mainstay, BET’s 106 & Park to pursue other hosting and acting gigs. These celebrities are now coming from behind the mic of their hosting jobs and onto the big screen of television and movies.

Before they were known for the Fast & Furious movie franchise, their upcoming fashion or make-up line or their OWN television network, these 15 celebrities paved their way to stardom as television and radio hosts.

Rickey Smiley

As the star of his own syndicated morning radio show, The Rickey Smiley Morning Show, Rickey Smiley has more to smile about. He is now coming from behind the mic and onto the television screen with the premiere of his TVOne sitcom, The Rickey Smiley Show.

During her show today, Wendy Williams tearfully expressed her love for Whitney Houston and how painful her death over the weekend has been. Williams stated that after finding out, she shut down: turned off the TV, didn’t watch the Grammys, didn’t answer phone calls and tried to separate herself from all the coverage. For those who tuned into The Wendy Williams Show early on, you probably know that she was a huge Whitney fan and wanted her to appear on the show many times. But she pointed out that even though she knew Whitney would never show up, it was her own way of sending the troubled singer some love. That’s why her death has been so hard–and also why she doesn’t plan on talking about it again on the show.

In addition to expressing her love for Whitney as a fan and a fellow Jersey girl, Williams also opened up about the fact that they both have more than that in common. Wendy said she also struggled with drugs in the past and broke down while revealing the details: “It’s been almost 15 years since I last smoked from a crack pipe. It’s been almost 15 years since I waited on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx for my drugs. I’m not proud of the girl that I was, but without being that girl I wouldn’t be the woman I am today.”

That’s true folks! You can’t go back and change the mistakes you may have made in the past, but you can definitely use them to grow as a person and to help others do the same. While I have had my issues with her show from time to time, Williams’ admission is very commendable in the wake of Houston’s death, and I’m sure it will help others in their struggles. Check out what else Williams had to say about Whitney below and the hopes she had for the singer that were never fulfilled.

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If you don’t typically watch the Grammys, you definitely have a reason to now. Mr. Ladies Love Cool James, LL Cool J, will be hosting this year’s ceremony—making him the first official host of the show in seven years.

The two-time Grammy Award winning rapper says he’s thrilled to be part of Music’s Biggest Night.

“I will always have fond memories of my first Grammys Awards and to now be hosting the Grammy show, in the company of so many other incredible artists, is a dream come true.”

The 54th Grammy Award show will air Feb. 12 on CBS at 8p with performances by Nicki Minaj, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, and more. Adele currently leads the competition with six Grammy award nominations, including album of the year, record of the year, and song of the year.

If you don’t care about all that though, at least tune in to see LL lick his lips. Will you watch this year’s Grammys?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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