Nick Cannon talks School Gyrls and Mariah

Although he has well over a dozen film credits to his name, Nick Cannon has been behind-the-scenes for years, writing episodes of “All That” at only 17 and producing his own “The Nick Cannon Show” for Nickelodeon and later “Wild ‘N Out” for MTV. He’s also Chairman of Teen Nick and he gave himself the duty of writing and directing his first music-filled feature for the network, “School Gyrls,” a high-school set comedy featuring a girl group he has signed to his own NCredible Entertainment label.

“I had been a part of a bunch of different talent searches for young people in the past and I’d seen thousands of really talented kids,” Cannon said. “So I was like ‘Maybe if I grabbed three of those girls that I had auditioned for other projects and put them together and create this group, it could be something really special. We haven’t seen something like that in the music industry in a while.”

The result is School Gyrls, a pop/dance trio made up of 15-year old Mandy Rain, 15-year-old Jacquelyn Rae Pyles aka Jacque Nimble, and 16-year-old Monica Parales aka Mo Money. “These three uber-talented young ladies sing, dance, rap, act, just do it all,” Cannon said.

“Every time we would record a song, I would keep coming up with a video concept or something funny that the girls could do,” he continued. “So then I was like I’m just going to start putting these ideas together and I started formulating a script. By the time the album was finished, I had a script for a movie and every song on the album kind-of has a music video to go with it within the movie.”

“This isn’t ‘High School Musical!’” says one character in “School Gyrls,” which includes guest appearances by music stars like Justin Bieber, Angie Stone, Pete Wentz, and Kristinia DeBarge. But Cannon says the smash Disney hit and even Fox’s “Glee” were inspiration, along with Josie and the Pussycats. He even teamed up with Archie Comics for a School Gyrls comic book series and a junior novelization is coinciding with the film’s release. The group’s debut album and a tour are expected in the Spring. Their first single, “Something Like a Party,” was just released to iTunes and AmazonMP3. “Young people and people in general really want good music and fun entertainment,” he says.

Heading behind the camera lens to provide that entertainment is Cannon. “School Gyrls” marks his directorial debut, which he says is something that comes natural to him. “When I have a vision, it’s just easier for me to execute it myself,” Cannon says. “I’ve been behind-the-scenes for a long time, I just happen to know how to get it done and how to get it done effectively.”

He also directed his wife Mariah Carey’s latest videos for “Angels Cry” with Ne-Yo and “Up Out My Face” with Nicki Minaj, a clip which has already garnered nearly 1.5 million views in less than two weeks. The video has been called one of Mariah’s best clips in years. “It was just one of those things where I just went to her and was like, ‘Look. Let’s just go have fun. You just have to show your personality and show them how much fun you are,’” Cannon said. “She came up with the Target concept and I was like, ‘That’s dope. Let’s run with that.’ She’s literally just having a great time and you get to see her being funny and being silly.”

Cannon even makes a cameo towards the end of the video for a “Drumline”-inspired reprise. His 2002 hit movie will also premiere on Nickelodeon during a “Night of Nick Cannon,” airing with the premiere of “School Gyrls” on Feb. 21st at 7pm ET/PT.

Along with his newfound directorial talents, working with the seven acts currently signed to his entertainment company, and duties as Mr. Mariah Carey, Cannon is also hosting his own hit morning show, “Rollin’ with Nick Cannon,” on New York’s 92.3 and returning to his hosting gig on “America’s Got Talent” in the summer. At this point, Nick Cannon is making Ryan Seacrest look lazy. “That was my goal!” he says, laughing.