Kevin McHale, who plays wheelchair-bound Artie on “Glee,” has a new project in the works. On Sunday, July 22 he’ll be co-hosting the Teen Choice Awards (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., Fox) with old friend Demi Lovato. “[The show] is always fun and super crazy, and I can’t wait,” McHale told journalists during a conference call. “It’s kind of nerve wracking. Because it’s live, you have to watch what you say and keep it together. Hopefully, I won’t act like a fangirl in front of people I like.”
McHale, who notes that he’s been pals with Lovato for years, plans to multitask while he’s working. Not only will he be bringing his nieces and nephew to the show (“They were [hitting me up] for tickets before I knew I was hosting it, so I told them they can all go”), he’s also hoping to do some recruiting. When asked if he planned to ask Lovato to do a guest spot on “Glee,” he answered, “I will definitely ask her to do that. Granted, I don’t have that power, but if she’s on board?… I would love for her to come on. We haven’t met any of my family yet, so she could be my sister, right?”
The former boy band star, who notes that he’s “all for being made fun of” on the awards show and calls himself “extremely self-deprecating,” may be selling himself short when it comes to his ability to make things happen on “Glee.” He notes that he’s been able to convince the powers that be to grant his wishes, including a performance of “Scream” with Harry Shum Jr. (Mike Chang). “I think now I’ve used up my allowance. Last year I got every song I asked for, so I’m going to keep my mouth shut for a while.”
But if he’s interested in convincing stars to do guest shots, he’ll have a pretty good list of people to pull from at the awards show, including Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Miley Cyrus, Cat Deeley, Zooey Deschanel, Ellen DeGeneres, Jason Derulo, Zac Efron, Selena Gomez, Lucy Hale, Josh Hutcherson, Victoria Justice, Laura and Vanessa Marano, Bridgit Mendler, Lea Michele, Shay Mitchell, Tyler Posey, Gordon Ramsay, Dax Shepard, Sophia Grace and Rosie, Jordin Sparks and Taylor Swift.