Nick Cannon to front Lip Sync Battle spin-off series

Rapper, actor and TV personality Nick Cannon is giving children the chance to shine in a new kids' version of hit music show Lip Sync Battle.

The former America's Got Talent host will present Lip Sync Battle Shorties on Nickelodeon and youngsters will compete on the program by putting the best miming performances to their favorite songs.

The 10-episode spin-off series will premiere early next year (18), but fans will get a taste of what's to come with holiday specials scheduled to air this autumn and winter (17).

"I'm excited to host the first season of Lip Sync Battle Shorties," shares Nick. "It's always a pleasure to work with my family at Nickelodeon. It's going to be a lot of fun watching the kids lip-sync their favorite songs and perform like their favorite artists."

Nick will be joined on the show by teenage social media star JoJo Siwa.

Cannon has a long working history with Nickelodeon, and has served as the chairman of the network's TeenNick channel and as the development and creative consultant of the network since 2009.

Lip Sync Battle is based on an idea by actors Stephen Merchant and John Krasinski, and began as a recurring competition segment on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, on which celebrities would face off in performances of their top tunes.

It was developed into a full show for cable network Spike in 2015, with LL Cool J serving as host and model Chrissy Teigen recruited as a color commentator. It was recently renewed for a fourth season, which will debut at the start of 2018.