Joy 101: Taylor Dayne

"Once he saw me, he was like, "she's my next Madonna." He just was such a champion for you and also your biggest critic... And he taught me what a hit song is." -Taylor Dayne on Clive Davis Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is Presented by CVS. Shop your local CVS, right around the corner. Experience the full conversation on the "Joy 101 podcast with Hoda Kotb" wherever you listen to podcasts. For more information, please visit us at www.joy101.com/podcast https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.joy101.com%2Fpodcast&data=05%7C02%7CBrianBurton%40iheartmedia.com%7C8d3daec89d3747c2e6f408df1b42f3e6%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C639259646519123456%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=9b8eSO7Sg4KlVmxC1%2FhO9jIgmBmPtEZeTVbkxcdOdVw%3D&reserved=0 See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:10Hoda Kotb?

  Okay, guys, I am very excited about the person who will be my special guest today on the Joy 101 podcast. Okay, first of all, I love music. So when I have a musician on, I am stoked. I have on this podcast Taylor Dane. Taylor Dane from Tell It To My Heart, Taylor Dane, Taylor Dane, who had nearly 20 top 10 hits over her career. Taylor Dane, who was synonymous with the 80s and right now at age 64, is still doing something brand new. And the thing I love about Taylor Dane is, number one, she went through tough stuff,

• 0:54Hoda Kotb?

  and I mean really tough stuff. She had an extremely difficult childhood. She went through medical issues as a child and as an adult. And she is so somehow light and airy. She writes songs that have the word love in them. Tell It To My Heart, or the word heart. Every beat of my heart, prove your love, I'll always love you, can't get enough of your love. And yet, Taylor Dane has never been married. She became a mom by choice. She has a rich, interesting, exciting life, and she is in a brand new chapter, and she is off and sprinting. Okay, she's a perfect reminder that no matter what your age, don't

• 1:38Hoda Kotb?

  let it define you. You'll have your own runway. So I hope you enjoy this conversation with pop star Taylor Dane.

• 1:46Speaker 01

  This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.

• 1:51Hoda Kotb?

  Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is presented by CVS. I've realized that joy doesn't always come from those big moments. Sometimes you find it on the most ordinary day. I'll pop into a CVS for toothpaste or paper towels, and it never seems to be just a quick errand. Maybe I'll grab a delicious Well Market Trail Mix or wander over to the Joy Word Collection. That's part of the fun. So the next time you're checking something off your to do list, stop by your local CVS pharmacy. You might go in for one thing and leave with a little more joy. Visit your local CVS pharmacy, sponsored by CVS. Every purchase is a financial decision. So it's worth asking, what am I getting

• 2:32Hoda Kotb?

  out of this? If you're using the Chase Freedom Flex Card, you can maximize your cash back on things you need. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. Sign up for the Chase Freedom Flex Card. Learn more at chase.com/getflex. This is a paid collaboration with Chase Freedom Flex. Cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank, N A Member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. Offer subject to change. Terms apply.

• 2:58Speaker 02

  Your team is on a deadline, but moving all your enterprise data will take time your business simply doesn't have. IBM technology lets AI work with your data where it already lives. With an open hybrid cloud approach designed to build on your existing investments. It's another way IBM helps you put your data to work. Let's create smarter business. IBM. Visit ibm.com to learn more.

• 3:25Speaker 03

  I'm Melissa Jelton, host of the What Happened To Her podcast. We're kicking off the season with the Sandra Birchmore story, a case the police wrote off as a suicide in a snowstorm. Her family never bought it, and the man they suspected wore a badge.

• 3:42Speaker 04

  You never know who that devil is because he's wearing a disguise. Sometimes it's a police uniform.

• 3:48Speaker 03

  And you can get access to all episodes 100% ad free with an iHeart True Crime Plus subscription exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Available only to iHeart True Crime Plus subscribers. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts, search for iHeart True Crime Plus, and subscribe today.

• 4:06Speaker 01

  What happens when romance gets a little monstrous? On Radio 831, a romance podcast, join us, St. Johnna Basker and Tyler McCall, as we host our own monster romance extravaganza. We're joined by the Villain Edit author, Rosie Dayne, and sentient object romance expert, Gracie Delgado, to explore what these unexpected love stories can reveal about desire, fantasy, and what we actually want. Listen to Radio 831, a romance podcast, on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 4:36Speaker 05

  Michael Lewis here to tell you about my new book, Blockers, which gives you an inside look at the Trump administration and the public servants who stood in its way. These were people who were securing our most sensitive data, keeping the public safe from all sorts of threats, and engaged in life-saving scientific research, until they were told they no longer belonged. And the question to me is, if they can't survive in our government, then what does it say about us? Get Blockers now, only at blockers.fm.

• 5:07Speaker 06

  This is your girl, TS Madison, coming to you loud, live, and always and forever in color from the Outlaws Podcast. National Coming Out Day is in October, and we've got stories from all your favorite LGBTQ celebrities to celebrate. Check out our episode with comedy legend Wayne Brady. My daughter was actually the one, she said, Dad, you may be pansexual. The iconic Billy Porter. And Terrell Grace and I talk about family and show the family posts coming out. I don't like statements like that. That's Dad, or that's Grandma. No, no, no, no, no. It should never come at the cost and expense of your own sanity and your own mental health. Download the free iHeart Radio app, search Outlaws with TS Madison, and listen now.

• 5:48Hoda Kotb?

  So first of all, I've been looking forward to this conversation with you. I've admired you, admire you, and I love this season that you're in. Because you've had so many crazy chapters. And every time, I think, well, that was great. Anyway, you're like, and I got another one, because you've got Vegas coming up. But when you think about the timing of your life, was this, are you a planner? Did you say, hey, I want my career or my life to kind of go in a rhythm like this?

• 6:17Speaker 03

  I was the manifestation girl, meaning I wrote things down. And I was a young girl when I first was introduced to like Og Mandino, you know, when, you know, Louise Hay. So I was a real, like, you know, positive affirmation writer, and put a couple of things in my wallet kind of thing, and was like, yeah, I'm going to be famous by this age. I want to just certain, I want to, I want to be maybe, now we know the language is so like, but these were things I did a long time ago. So am I a planner? Did I have a vision? Yeah, I did. I really did have a vision. Did I think any of this was possible? No.

• 6:54Hoda Kotb?

  Wow. When I looked back at your childhood, and I just listened to your TED Talk, which I'm going to encourage people who are watching this or listening to this now.

• 7:04Speaker 03

  That was an interesting.

• 7:05Hoda Kotb?

  It was a beautiful summation of an incredible part of your life. But I did not know about your upbringing. I was unaware of what you had to endure as a little girl, and the scaries of being a little girl in your house.

• 7:21Speaker 03

  In my home, and the surgeries, and my father, and God rest his soul, he just passed this year. So so much has come so cyclical around. But yes, that book was a testament and kind of, I was told by the ghostwriter I was working with, you know, before the book even came out, you need to do a TED Talk, hon, because this is going to take two years to write this book. And this is your 30 year anniversary of Tell It To My Heart. So hence, we did the TED Talk. And it was more of a spoken word, beautiful. You saw that I really told the story.

• 7:49Hoda Kotb?

  I loved every syllable, note, everything that you did. But will you take me back? Because I'm, you know, I'm thinking about my little girls, and they're, mine are seven and nine right now. But I was, when you, when I was listening to you, I thought about what it must have felt like as a little girl to be in a house where you describe your dad as a rageaholic, and what it was like to live within that. I know he passed recently. But what was it, put yourself back in that little girl's shoes. What was life like for you?

• 8:20Speaker 03

  You know, I'm a New York girl, I'm a scrapper. I'm born in the city, raised in the Bronx, and then Long Island. My, I grew up in apartments. So your best friend by default was your next door neighbors. There was a pack of kids, whether they were boys, girls, like, there was always a pack of kids. And you were either hanging out or you weren't. I wasn't the loner, but I also was alone in my own household. I was the only girl. I had two brothers, and they kind of had each other to beat on, pummel on, take their aggression on. My father was, my parents are raised in a Jewish household with Holocaust surviving children. Like, that is just the way it was, you know? My

• 9:04Speaker 03

  dad died this year of 94 years old. My mom's somewhere uptown with my brother, going to some show tonight at 91 years old. So I really was brought up, these parents were trying, my parents were trying to overcome so much pain and sorrow from their own lives. And, you know, raising us out in Long Island, as they did ultimately, it taught me a lot about a loneliness that I had inside me. But I found music at a very tender, young age that really was the save, it saved my life. Because music and the voices became so identifiable to me. And what was waifing from every window, think about apartments

• 9:47Speaker 03

  when we were growing up. There was only two radio stations, maybe WABC or something. And every teenager, even if I'm five years old, I was listening to what the 13 year was listening to. I was listening to what the 17 was listening to. We were at a community pool. And everybody had their transistor radios. And it was rock and roll. It was Karen Carpenter. It was Bill Withers, Lean On Me, you know, it was, Just Call Me Angel In The Morning, or the, or, you know, the Bee Gees. Or it was incredible, the late 60s, early 70s, like that. And it took me away from what I had to go home to every day, which was my father screaming, ranting, and raving, and my mom being, playing the victim. And there was this whole dynamic that went on. And I just lost myself. Very early age,

• 10:32Speaker 03

  I said, I'm going to become famous. I'm going to do whatever it takes, because that looks like a better lifestyle to me. I'd sit on this little wall, manifesting, out there on Grand Avenue. And I was like, okay, with my guinea pig.

• 10:45Hoda Kotb?

  You had a guinea pig.

• 10:47Speaker 03

  Just one. I started going into the dump in the garbage and they go, Leslie Wonderman, Leslie Wonderman, cut in this house, get in this house, get in this townhouse. I mean, it was apartment buildings.

• 10:56Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 10:57Speaker 03

  Because I was always trying to get one of the wild kittens that lived in the garbage. There were wild cats everywhere and I'd always try to bring home some sort of animal. I needed a companion.

• 11:06Hoda Kotb?

  So you you're seeking a companion. You felt lonely at home, but you had music.

• 11:10Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 11:11Hoda Kotb?

  Who was the very first?

• 11:12Speaker 03

  Well said.

• 11:12Hoda Kotb?

  Who was the very first person who said to you, you're talented, you're different, you're better than the other kids who were singing?

• 11:22Speaker 03

  I think I I did. There was a little voice inside of me. I always knew that. But I heard music in my own household. My parents were avid theater goers. I'll give them that. They were New York, New York, you know, the Papp Theater, La Mama. They were really off off Broadway. I was like, dude, I don't even know what Broadway looks like. I'm off off off like Lavinia Williams. Like, I mean, but I saw some of the most incredible stuff because my parents were so open to that. So that led me to being in a household where music was waving through the home.

• 11:53Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 11:55Speaker 03

  So when you when you asked your question, I just kind of felt like, okay, why did I pick music? Why did I decide that that was the place? Because my voice was heard in a different way. So instead of arguments and where the fight was going in the room, I sang a song or I listened to the jingles that were playing. I listened to the commercials that were playing and I kind of said like, drink Coca-Cola. And then they were like, who sang that? Like, there was something nice, something pleasant that became from something that wasn't so pleasant, screaming and yelling that wasn't so pleasant or fighting and hitting and throwing. And I think my the first, I know my parents might have seen it, but it was I was in nursery school when I sang a little something. And, you know, you always had the kids sit around the piano.

• 12:40Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 12:40Speaker 03

  With the teacher. That was called, you know, sing along time.

• 12:44Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 12:45Speaker 03

  And it was it was four. I was four and five years old.

• 12:48Hoda Kotb?

  So.

• 12:48Speaker 03

  Singing along. And you're not allowed to be in the chorus until you're in third grade. So that makes you eight or nine.

• 12:53Hoda Kotb?

  Yep.

• 12:54Speaker 03

  And they put me in the choir.

• 12:57Hoda Kotb?

  When you were like a little.

• 12:58Speaker 03

  Little Leslie Wonderman. They go, you have a little voice. Like, we're gonna come in. Do you mind? We want you to sing I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. And I was just like, little shy, little, barely you can see that in me now. But if you see those pictures in that book.

• 13:11Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 13:12Speaker 03

  Where I'm just wearing my little blue jumper and my little, my little blue eye. I'm just like, okay, I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus. That was my first solo.

• 13:21Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 13:21Speaker 03

  I was four years, four and a half years old.

• 13:23Hoda Kotb?

  People are probably listening going, she keeps saying Leslie Wonderman. She keeps saying Leslie Wonderman.

• 13:27Speaker 03

  Leslie Joy Wonderman.

• 13:29Hoda Kotb?

  That was the name you were given at birth?

• 13:31Speaker 03

  My birth name, yes.

• 13:32Hoda Kotb?

  And everybody now throughout the world knows you as Taylor Day.

• 13:35Speaker 03

  Taylor Day.

• 13:36Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 13:36Speaker 03

  And that's been for 38 years.

• 13:38Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 13:38Speaker 03

  But that was, that was really, that teacher, those teachers were so inspirational to me and they actually gave me a safe place to be. And that's where it was, in schools, in the music programs. That's why I'm such an advocate for music. I mean, in schools as part of our curriculum, you know?

• 13:55Hoda Kotb?

  It's one thing to love music and to be very talented. And I bet you there are lots of talented people singing in apartment buildings, little kids singing, but they never, for whatever reason, step out and make it.

• 14:07Speaker 03

  Of course not. I mean.

• 14:08Hoda Kotb?

  But what happened? What was the thing with you? Like, was there kind of a moment that you can define?

• 14:13Speaker 03

  No, there was never any other.

• 14:15Hoda Kotb?

  Nothing.

• 14:16Speaker 03

  Plan. If you read my high school yearbook, it said, what will you be doing in the year 2000? That was the big thing in the 80s. And I said, I'll be singing. Now, I didn't think I'd be, I'll be a huge pop star.

• 14:28Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 14:28Speaker 03

  You remember Madonna, when Madonna said, I am going to take over the world, worldwide. You know, now if I thought like Michael Jackson and had all those, all those years that I was, you know, it's an outlier position.

• 14:40Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 14:40Speaker 03

  I put myself in a real, the 10,000 hours were there. I did it in between a Brooklyn, a Russian nightclub.

• 14:47Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 14:47Speaker 03

  Would be working three nights a week, 17 hours sometimes on that stage.

• 14:51Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 14:51Speaker 03

  To recording and nobody discovered me. It was just a lot of hard labor and a lot of clubs. And I did every club in this city, Right Track Inn to CBGB's, Bitter End, Bottom Line.

• 15:03Hoda Kotb?

  Did them all.

• 15:04Speaker 03

  I did them all, Limelight, like every one of them. Danceateria, Cat Club.

• 15:08Hoda Kotb?

  And were you writing as you were, you were doing the whole thing?

• 15:11Speaker 03

  I did two bands before I was Leslie Wonderman. Before, when I was Leslie Wonderman, I was in two other bands. And we were doing this at 15 years old, my love. It was legal to be in clubs at 18. Do you not remember that?

• 15:22Hoda Kotb?

  I do. But were your parents cool with that?

• 15:24Speaker 03

  They, what did they know? I'm a Gen X. And what did they know? We were just out and about, sneaking in. What is illegal, you know? My license said 18.

• 15:34Hoda Kotb?

  Who knows?

• 15:34Speaker 03

  They believed it. I wore a little hair and makeup.

• 15:36Hoda Kotb?

  So.

• 15:37Speaker 03

  We were in the club. That's where music, live music was essential.

• 15:40Hoda Kotb?

  And that just.

• 15:40Speaker 03

  We didn't have cell phones. We weren't sharing music like we do now.

• 15:43Hoda Kotb?

  Right.

• 15:43Speaker 03

  You needed to see it live.

• 15:46Hoda Kotb?

  I think we spend so much of our lives waiting for the big moments, the birthdays, the vacations, the milestones. But the truth is, some of the happiest moments show up on the most ordinary days. So like this, I'll stop into a CVS because I need one thing. Somehow, the best part of the trip is never the thing I came for. So maybe I'll grab a delicious well-marketed snack, or maybe I'll wander over to the Joyward Collection. It's really full of fun, cool seasonal decor, thoughtful little gifts, and those little discoveries that make you so glad you stopped in. I have to tell you, if you're an Extra Care member, you're gonna save on things you're already buying. And those extra bucks

• 16:28Hoda Kotb?

  really do add up. Just watching that total go down at the checkout never, ever gets old. I know life's busy. We're all juggling a lot. And that's why I think those little unexpected moments of joy matter so much. So the next time you're running errands, stop by your local CVS pharmacy. You may go in for something you need, but don't be surprised if you leave with something that simply makes your day a little brighter. Visit your local CVS pharmacy, sponsored by CVS. Halloween has a funny way of making you buy things you'd never normally buy. A 10-foot skeleton? Sure. A full-size fog machine? Why not? Three bags of candy that somehow

• 17:09Hoda Kotb?

  become six bags of candy? It happens. Which brings me to the Chase Freedom Flex Card, the savvy decision that will earn you more cash back on the everyday purchases, plus the extraordinary Halloween tricks and treats. With Freedom Flex, you earn even more treats on your Halloween and everyday needs. You get 5% cash back on popular rotating quarterly categories, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. That's no tricks, all treats. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. So sign up for the Chase Freedom Flex Card. Learn more at chase.com/getflex. This is a paid collaboration with Chase Freedom Flex. Cards issued by

• 17:54Hoda Kotb?

  JP Morgan Chase Bank, N A member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. Offer subject to change. Terms apply.

• 18:01Speaker 04

  Hello, hello. I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of Smart Talks with IBM. I spoke with IBM's Ana Paula Aces about what digital sovereignty actually means in the age of AI. AI now moves from somebody operating a system to the technology actually making decisions. So you have to have a much better visibility of what AI is touching, data it is accessing, and where. Hear the full conversation wherever you get your podcasts.

• 18:32Speaker 03

  I'm Melissa Jelton, and in my new podcast, What Happened to Her, I'm bringing you new stories and conversations every week. Stories about women whose deaths were too quickly ruled a suicide. She was starting to get worried and get scared for her safety. Stories of survival. The only difference between me and her, frankly, was a little bit of luck because by all rights, I should be dead. Cases that everyone else called closed.

• 19:02Speaker 01

  They can't convict her, right? Like, she has so much evidence.

• 19:06Speaker 03

  These stories all start in the same place, with a woman failed by a system that didn't believe her, that didn't protect her, that didn't see her. No child should ever experience that. And we were babies.

• 19:18Speaker 01

  She did all of these brave things and came out and spoke about it and he got a year.

• 19:24Speaker 04

  You never know who that devil is because he's wearing a disguise. Sometimes it's a police uniform.

• 19:30Speaker 03

  Listen to What Happened to Her on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Lisa, we should tell them about our new show. Oh, my God, Lexi, we have a new podcast. It's called Don't Lie to Me. I'm Lexi Iwanu. We're two best friends, 22 years apart, but so close at heart. And I'm Lisa DiGiulio, the old one, which means we have wildly different references, occasionally different opinions. And at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all. I'm not gonna get anywhere fighting. That is wild. I learned that about you today.

• 20:06Speaker 03

  Now in my 30s, being the founder of new shoes, good taste is my business. And I've always got something to say. If men were just honest about this, there would be so much more peace in the world. We're gonna talk about dating, relationships, beauty, getting older. And a little wiser. We're best friends, but we don't always agree. Because you told us how accommodating you are. Obviously, I would do what I think I could do to to fight the fight, but there's only so much fight I can fight. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Liar. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I don't really care.

• 20:47Speaker 06

  I'm Hamza. And I'm Martin. And we're the hosts of Out of Character. It's a podcast. I know, there's a lot of them going around, but why should you listen to ours? Well, we're only the best podcast in the entire world. And we talk about pretty much everything under the sun. For example, music we're listening to, underground music, trending music, drama in music worlds. Yes. Sometimes we even talk about just everyday mundane situations in our lives, like the cool Uber driver we just had. Or the food we just ate. That was surprising. Delicious. Or we'll talk about the Met Gala and the looks that they wore. Are they awesome? Are they trendy? Come find out. Because our opinion matters and so does yours. And this is a place where all of our minds can come together and connect. So what are you waiting for?

• 21:32Speaker 06

  Come connect with us. Listen out of character from Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network. On the iHeart Radio app, Apple Pods, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 21:40Hoda Kotb?

  Before we get back to today's conversation, I wanted to talk about something I've been thinking about a lot lately. So we spend so much time waiting for the big joyful moments. You know, the vacations, the celebrations, the milestones. But honestly, some of the moments that stick with me the most are the small, unexpected ones that happen during an otherwise ordinary day. That's something our friends at CVS have been celebrating lately. The idea that joy can show up in everyday places and everyday routines if we're paying attention to it. So I thought it might be fun to spend a few minutes talking about some of those little moments that can completely change the course of your day. You guys know I love meditation.

• 22:21Hoda Kotb?

  I end nearly every episode of Joy 101 with one because I think there's something super powerful about taking just a minute to step away from the swirl of everyday life and focus on your breathing and just be where you are. And that tiny little pause can actually make room for joy. I think sometimes we expect joy to announce itself. We wait for, you know, the weekend, the vacation, the big event. But so much of joy is tucked into the middle of a regular day. And if you're moving too fast, you might miss it. It can be the first sip of coffee in the morning, a song that you love coming on in the car, your kid saying something that make you laugh when you're trying to get everybody

• 23:03Hoda Kotb?

  out the door, maybe a text from a friend you haven't heard from in a while, even just taking a walk outside and listening to your favorite podcast. Well, none of these things are huge, but they can shift something in you. And that's one of the things I've been trying to practice in my own life. Not just waiting for joy to happen, but actually noticing when it does. Because the more I pay attention to those little moments, the more of them I seem to find. Meditation, of course, is part of that for me. It forces me to stop for a minute and actually notice how I'm feeling instead of just racing off to whatever's next. And sometimes that's all you need, a minute to stop, breathe, reset, and notice something good that was already there.

• 23:47Hoda Kotb?

  I know it sounds so simple, but that little moment really can change the course of your day. And that's what I hope we're doing together at the end of every episode of Joy 101. Just taking that little pause together, breathing, and making some room for joy. This conversation is a great reminder that joy doesn't always come from the big moment. Sometimes it comes from the small discoveries we make throughout our day. Whether you're picking up an everyday essential, browsing seasonal favorites, or discovering something from CVS brands like Joy Word. CVS can be a place where those little moments of joy show up when you least expect them. And if you're an Extra Care member, be sure to use your card for instant savings and to earn extra bucks rewards on future visits.

• 24:32Hoda Kotb?

  Sponsored by CVS. So here's a little challenge. Over the next week, pay attention to one small thing that brings you joy. It might be something unexpected, but those are often the moments that matter the most. And thanks again to our friends at CVS for supporting today's conversation.

• 24:51Hoda Kotb?

  And when did you feel yourself like you had arrived? If that's the right word.

• 24:57Speaker 03

  I thought I did with two other, with these two bands that I was, you know, they were original music, but I really didn't arrive. It wasn't until, and I quit the Russian club at one point because I had a 12 inch out and I thought it was doing really well. And that was when people started calling it freestyle. It was usually hip hop at the time because it was a 132 beats per minute. You know, that and I'm hanging out in Paradise Garage and going there from the Russian club at five in the morning, six in the morning. I am watching the clubs and the DJs and that music develop. And my brothers are DJing in Planet, in Danceateria and then also in, in, in a place called Private Eyes. So that's when I said, you know what? I don't want to be in a band anymore. I want to be a solo artist. And this wonderful station came out.

• 25:42Speaker 03

  It was K T U.

• 25:45Hoda Kotb?

  Mm hmm. Go girl.

• 25:47Speaker 03

  And it was dance and the most popular song. So it gave the DJs, everybody that was in the clubs would kind of dominate and say, why isn't radio playing this song? They did the crossover. Why isn't radio playing this song? So I said, that's a way to do it. You know what? If nobody's going to discover me through a, you know, every, I did enough. I did a number of, of sound, of, you know, where you go in for the record companies and you do your, you know, they come to a club and check you out. That's what the A and R men were doing.

• 26:17Hoda Kotb?

  That's what it was.

• 26:18Speaker 03

  That's all it was.

• 26:18Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 26:19Speaker 03

  In the eighties like that, that's what you did. But I mean, nobody was ever like, let's sign Taylor Dane. It was always the band or this. And so it was through a 12 inch that I got discovered and that was produced by myself and my partner, Rick Wake, and that was Tell It To My Heart.

• 26:32Hoda Kotb?

  Tell it to my heart.

• 26:34Speaker 03

  The beginning.

• 26:34Hoda Kotb?

  Oh my God.

• 26:35Speaker 03

  1987. I know I was in Betsy Johnson's getting clothes on St. Marks and Eighth Street. That's where I was.

• 26:43Hoda Kotb?

  This is such, by the way, for every hard worker out there that thinks

• 26:46Speaker 03

  Did you see that video? That's all leather and vinyl, baby. I was like, out there. That's was the groove.

• 26:52Hoda Kotb?

  Tell me about the name change part of this program.

• 26:55Speaker 03

  Well, that was, you mean from Taylor Dane? That happened in a recording studio. Billy Joel's sax player was Richie Kanata. And one of his partners bought a studio on Glen Cove and it was fantastic. Dee Snider was already famous by then. He was a 10 years older than I, a senior, and my producer was, I'm telling you, we were 21 years old. And he liked my British producing partner, which was Rick Wake. And Rick's like, Dee Snider said, we can come and use the studio up there. I'm like, how much, Rick? How much? How much is a 12 inch? So during that time, a lot of influence was coming in from Trent. Like I said to you, we started listening to K T U. We knew we could crossover with a radio hit if we had to crossover. It was top 40 enough, top 20 enough, if the song was really good.

• 27:39Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 27:39Speaker 03

  So I got, I'm driving along the West Side Highway one very early morning after a night after Russian nightclubs. Think about that, where they're like Lucia Devai and where I can actually afford to pay Rick to live, who's living in a basement somewhere and we're doing emerging records. One was with Alicia, All Night Passion. And then it was with me. But we were learning all the techniques from a lot of guys that were coming in from Trent and some of the biggest singers in the world, Billy T Scott, that Mariah ended up having and writing, doing all these records. And that's how I developed my sound. I'm telling you, it was a 10,000 hour development. And Rick and I then, Rick said, this is a song I saw a kid while I was driving on the West Side Highway that I went to high school with. So he, I was like, Anthony, he goes, what are you doing? I go, I need that song.

• 28:20Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 28:20Speaker 03

  He goes, well, I'm happy to be working at Warner Travel Publishing now. I'm going to get you a cassette. And he did with like eight songs on it. My partner, Rick, said, I like that song. And it was Tell It To My Heart. And I said, how much do we need? What do we got to do? He goes, we need to talk to your father because I mean, I was making money, a hundred dollars tips.

• 28:37Hoda Kotb?

  Oh God, not enough. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 28:39Speaker 03

  But now $5,000. And that's what we did. And then my father signed, he made us sign a little contract too.

• 28:46Hoda Kotb?

  Did he?

• 28:46Speaker 03

  $6,000. I'm like, yeah. But I said to him, you know what? We'll have this, we'll get this played.

• 28:51Hoda Kotb?

  In no time.

• 28:51Speaker 03

  This is our crossover record. We think, we believe in it enough.

• 28:54Hoda Kotb?

  Did you have to convince him or was he good for it?

• 28:57Speaker 03

  I remember sitting at the, at his dining room table and with Rick and us signing off on it. And I still have the letter. It's quite incredible.

• 29:05Hoda Kotb?

  So you take the five grand and what about the name? Tell me about the name part.

• 29:09Speaker 03

  In the studio, Richie Kanata. So he's having a baby. Billy Joel's off tour. Richie Kanata is having a baby. He gives, Rick and I are doing, did the record there. He's giving me his baby book for baby names. Rick and I get a, I drink the real stuff. Rick's having like some probably apple, you know, aperitif. And I'm like, Rick, pick, Rick, Dee said something in the studio like, you need a cool name like Joey or Tommy. Like you're really like, you're that kind of girl. I think it could be hip.

• 29:38Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 29:38Speaker 03

  And, and the guitar player says, well, you need a name like, like my girlfriend, I sneak out on her, her name is Taylor, because I tell her I'm going to hang out with Tommy. So we all went, when he said

• 29:49Hoda Kotb?

  Taylor.

• 29:50Speaker 03

  We were like, that's a cool name.

• 29:51Hoda Kotb?

  That's good. Yeah.

• 29:52Speaker 03

  And then the baby book Kanata, Richie Kanata hands me the baby book and it goes, go to the bar and come back with a last name. And it was Dane. Rick just goes, Taylor Dane.

• 30:00Hoda Kotb?

  Taylor Dane and Dunn.

• 30:02Speaker 03

  D A N E. Not Y. There was no Y until the record company says, there's a porn star out there. Taylor Jane. And there was only, and how did we know that? Because it was only Penthouse and my brother told me. Because we lived in a house together. And I said, throw a Y in there. There's prints in the 12 inches. There was no photo of me on it.

• 30:21Hoda Kotb?

  Stop.

• 30:21Speaker 03

  It was just my name.

• 30:22Hoda Kotb?

  Just your name, okay.

• 30:23Speaker 03

  Clive didn't know what he had by then. It was just the beginning.

• 30:26Hoda Kotb?

  Wait, you were with Clive Davis then? Oh, my gosh.

• 30:29Speaker 03

  Well, they signed a 12 inch. 12 inch, 12 inch. Yeah. Single, single option album. That's what I got in 1987.

• 30:35Hoda Kotb?

  Tell me about Clive Davis and that situation.

• 30:37Speaker 03

  Oh, what a year.

• 30:38Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 30:38Speaker 03

  The passing of him, my father, same age, same thing. What a father figure to me.

• 30:45Speaker 03

  The good, the bad, and the ugly of that, you know, such a... Once, once he saw me and realized, and just was like, she's my next Madonna. She's the next... He just was such a trumpeter, tier, and a champion for you. And also your biggest critic, you know? Like, he really wanted the best. And he knew what a song is. He taught me what a hit song is.

• 31:10Hoda Kotb?

  My gosh.

• 31:11Speaker 03

  And that is the difference. Because I can sing the telephone book.

• 31:14Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 31:15Speaker 03

  And what's the difference between singing a telephone book, a lullaby, but a hit song?

• 31:19Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 31:20Speaker 03

  Is the difference between that and everything. And now we've developed that with producers and writers. But, I mean, I really work with some of the greatest writers and producers in the world.

• 31:28Hoda Kotb?

  So, so Clive, signing, having that moment...

• 31:31Speaker 03

  I had no idea. They released it in Europe first, Tell It To My Heart. We're just like, Tell It To My Heart. If you could find that 12 inch, that's worth some money.

• 31:38Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 31:39Speaker 03

  Swear to God. And then it started blowing up. Lund, you know, London, Sweden, Italy, Germany, huge, huge, huge, huge. And they're like, oh, my God, we only signed her for a single, single option album.

• 31:50Hoda Kotb?

  So then what happened?

• 31:51Speaker 03

  We had no album to sell. 12 inches, 12 inches. Next thing you know, like, make a video. It wasn't even the...

• 31:56Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 31:57Speaker 03

  And my hair was like, I was totally new, new wave, punky schmunky, like, you saw that.

• 32:02Hoda Kotb?

  Yes.

• 32:03Speaker 03

  Main.

• 32:03Hoda Kotb?

  I know, I saw that.

• 32:04Speaker 03

  That's not like Clive came in and interjected on that. That was me totally working, doing my street look. That first Tell It To My Heart video, those were guys I got from the club.

• 32:11Hoda Kotb?

  This is so, I love how everything worked.

• 32:14Speaker 03

  That was voguing. That's what we were doing.

• 32:16Hoda Kotb?

  That's what you were doing.

• 32:17Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 32:17Hoda Kotb?

  And then, so, so when you signed with Clive, did, what happened?

• 32:21Speaker 03

  Well, Arista Records, that's what I signed with.

• 32:23Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 32:24Speaker 03

  You know? The single took off in Europe. I was gone. And within a year, not even a year, within six months, it was a number one single throughout all of Europe. It wasn't even released in America yet. And I was opening up for Michael Jackson on the Bad tour with, by the end of the year in 88.

• 32:40Hoda Kotb?

  That's amazing.

• 32:41Speaker 03

  And I was winning the Barrelien Award for Female Artist of the Year in Germany, where Tina Turner took it home the year before. And singing with, you know, everything that went from there. I went from a club to stadiums.

• 32:54Hoda Kotb?

  What did that feel like for you?

• 32:56Speaker 03

  Terrifying.

• 32:57Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 32:57Speaker 03

  What did it feel like? Nobody ever asked those questions. Nobody cared.

• 33:01Hoda Kotb?

  Right, just get up there and do it.

• 33:03Speaker 03

  Get...

• 33:03Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 33:04Speaker 03

  This wasn't, there was no emotional or mental anything.

• 33:07Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 33:07Speaker 03

  And quite frankly, that's, the whole point of it is that, what does one go through? This overnight stardom? What does it feel like to be torn in thousand directions? We couldn't do Zoom calls. We couldn't sit down with podcasts. Everything was in person.

• 33:19Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 33:20Speaker 03

  So I was in three cities, some, three European cities sometimes a day.

• 33:24Hoda Kotb?

  So it was exhausting.

• 33:26Speaker 03

  I'd do a television show in Italy.

• 33:27Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 33:27Speaker 03

  I'd start in Italy and maybe land in Brussels by, and then be doing TV in Brussels the next... Everything was some, some studio in the middle of, you know, Nowhereville. I mean, where I was standing there with Robert Plant one day, or Billy Ocean, or you name it, Sinead O'Connor. These were all the artists breaking, you know, having singles out. Robert Plant, I was like...

• 33:49Speaker 03

  And there's a photo of him, you know, and I together. And I was like, will you come with me to, back to the UK tonight on the flight, please? And he goes, I don't do award shows, darling. Stay here with me. I got a flight.

• 33:59Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, my God.

• 34:00Speaker 03

  You have no idea, this is a teenage dream. But I couldn't. I was up for an award.

• 34:06Hoda Kotb?

  But this is so crazy when you think about all this grinding throughout your life that you loved, and all of a sudden, the rocket ship takes off.

• 34:14Speaker 03

  It's a launch. And we've seen it. Look at Chaparral. Now, this is, the launch is real.

• 34:19Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 34:19Speaker 03

  It's real. And then the demand is like insane. And then how do you temper that back? How do you come in and do a second record? Which I did, which was With Every Beat Of My Heart, you know? Um, Love Will Lead You Back, you know?

• 34:30Hoda Kotb?

  Yes.

• 34:31Speaker 03

  That was the whole thing. When Clive was really, really, it was like, this next record needs to be, and, and it was.

• 34:36Hoda Kotb?

  And it was. What did your parents think of your crazy overnight success?

• 34:42Speaker 03

  Well, it was an interesting dynamic.

• 34:44Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 34:44Speaker 03

  My father was no longer, not, not no longer, but he was always my father. He's the love of my life. I have to say that.

• 34:53Speaker 03

  He was no longer in a position to, to dominate me. I also made the choice to really extrapolate myself from my family, to really take on my own fears, which were, I had crippling agoraphobia as a child. As a young teenager, bulimic, agoraphobic.

• 35:15Speaker 03

  I'll talk to anybody that has anxiety issues and teach you and tell you that I did a lot of work through behavior modification. And this was not, unknown territory, panic attacks back in those days.

• 35:25Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 35:25Speaker 03

  And I pummeled through it. I pummeled through it because the freedom for me was success marked, being able to tour and be by myself and be able to fly on any plane I needed to, then get to any country by myself. And now, and not now, but by 25, I was traveling the world. But I had to go through crippling panic attacks.

• 35:46Hoda Kotb?

  Wow, and again...

• 35:47Speaker 03

  That's what my childhood put on me. A weight, a weight that I carried so much, and a fear, you know? A lot of fear.

• 35:54Hoda Kotb?

  I was just surprised of one thing you just said. You said, my father was the love of my life.

• 35:59Speaker 03

  Oh, my God. Because he still believed in me. He told me. Listen, I was the one child that he came to and asked for forgiveness every night, or it was every night, whether the rage went on my mother a lot, God bless her, and my brother. He came into my... I still had that, I'm not saying it was orthodox. I'm not saying it was right, it's politically correct. But he asked me, he always said, you're my child, my... And I also was hospitalized at such a young age. My father was the only one that drove in my household.

• 36:32Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 36:32Speaker 03

  He came to the hospital every day. Because that pain and that fear and that anxiety has to go somewhere. And I held all my father's pain, his anguish of what he probably didn't have as a child.

• 36:43Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 36:44Speaker 03

  Imagine, losing his whole, he was raised by...

• 36:48Hoda Kotb?

  Right.

• 36:48Speaker 03

  I'm telling you, they were gone.

• 36:50Hoda Kotb?

  They were gone. What did you lose the day your dad passed?

• 36:54Speaker 03

  I walked my dad. I spent the last two and a half months with him and my mother. And I wanted my dad to have the dignity and grace of passing the way he wanted to pass, and that was at home. And he just said, made a decision, do not resuscitate. And his decision was, do not, I'm gonna be in this bed, and to keep him as comfortable as possible. And there were times that it was so difficult for my mother and I to like, because she was just like, trying to be busy and busyness. And I said, nope. I said, lady, you need to leave the room. This is my love of my life. He might be your husband, but this is the love of my life. This is my father, and he's gonna go this way.

• 37:37Speaker 03

  How he needs, and I'm gonna have 24 hour care in there. And it was just my job, my duty, as this man's daughter, who believed in me, who asked forgiveness every night.

• 37:49Speaker 03

  And I connected with him, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I would be that child in court that would still say, that's my hero.

• 37:55Hoda Kotb?

  How did you learn to love?

• 37:57Speaker 03

  Well, I've never been married. How have I learned to love?

• 38:01Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 38:02Speaker 03

  With pain, sorrow. But I saw my parents connect in a way that it never questioned my father's love for my mother, ever.

• 38:11Hoda Kotb?

  Really?

• 38:12Speaker 03

  It was never about not loving. It was about loving so much, but missing the pieces of communication skills, of being parented themselves. They lost their parents. That's what survivors do. They leave their country. My mother was Polish. Her mother fled at 15, had her... My father's parents fled Austria. Their first family died in influenza. And then he had, my father was such a late age. He had no, his siblings were like 15 years old, he had nobody.

• 38:43Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 38:44Speaker 03

  They raised themselves. And so them having a family and trying to raise us, I've had... I had a lot of sympathy for them.

• 38:51Hoda Kotb?

  Well, when I think about, first of all.

• 38:53Speaker 03

  Compassion, I guess.

• 38:55Hoda Kotb?

  All the titles to your songs are love. Tell it to my heart, every beat of my heart, prove your love, I'll always love you. Everything's love, love, love, love, love. But.

• 39:03Speaker 03

  I don't, that's, it's so accidental, but at the end of the day, it's a reminder, it's all fingers point to me. And my heart was so closed off and has always been so closed off and so fearful, right? Watched my father, everything was a landmine. And my father's, the way I grew up, it was highly triggered. I was highly, you know, it was a hostile environment. Just if it was a war zone, consider it that. When you grow up with a rage, anybody that's in an alcohol, a rage, whatever it is, it was a war zone. And yet, I navigated it safely. My brothers had their own, you know, same environment, different outcomes.

• 39:43Hoda Kotb?

  Different outcomes.

• 39:43Speaker 03

  Always.

• 39:44Hoda Kotb?

  Why did you decide to have children? Why did you want to be a mother?

• 39:50Speaker 03

  It was the oddest thing. There is the biology involved. There's the clock. Something started happening to me. Because if you ask me this in my twenties, no way. And I never even put marriage. I had no dream of it. It was not in my, I was like rock and roll.

• 40:05Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 40:05Speaker 03

  If anything, I only related to guys. I had two brothers. I always loved being in the bands. I loved having my band finally, it was all guys. I had one winger, her name was Diane Jones. I said, I'm going to be famous and I'm taking you with me. She was a black, beautiful goddess, my Diane Jones, Mrs. Jones. And I said, I'm going to be famous. She worked next to me in the Russian club. Well, she taught me every move I made there. And I said, and I'm taking you with me. She traveled the world with me. Oh, Diane knows she's all in that book.

• 40:34Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, wow.

• 40:34Speaker 03

  And she's, she's, she was my sister. But I mean, that's the kind of thing you build your family around you.

• 40:41Hoda Kotb?

  Right.

• 40:42Speaker 03

  And that's what I did. So the men in my life ended up becoming the brothers that I surrounded myself with, my teammates, my bandmates, my this. Not being married and courageously going in to have children because I wanted to get married. I guess at one point there was a couple of people that I really would have gotten married to.

• 40:59Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 40:59Speaker 03

  And I really, but that was later in my thirties. And you know, unfortunately for women, and I didn't think I could carry. I've had a lot, had surgery done as a young child.

• 41:08Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 41:09Speaker 03

  Pain is, you know, this was my Achilles heel, my bladder, my kidneys. But the idea during some ridiculous doctor session, I went in for some Lipo thing a hundred years ago, maybe 26 years ago. And I'm looking on the ceiling and there's all these photos of children in the doctor's office before I go under the anesthetics. And I go, I want a baby. And I just had broken up with the last supermodel I was with or whatever. Now I'm living in LA. And the wife goes, so have one. I wake up and I go, what does that mean? Have one. Have one. Hire a surrogate. She was from Trinidad.

• 41:46Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 41:47Speaker 03

  Hire a surrogate. Rent a womb, child, rent a womb. And I said, what does that even mean?

• 41:52Hoda Kotb?

  What does that mean?

• 41:53Speaker 03

  Who do you want for fertility, IVF? There was nothing. It's 26 years ago. Well, and of course me.

• 41:59Hoda Kotb?

  Because of all of that, you were like, okay.

• 42:01Speaker 03

  I said, I need to find out what you're telling me. Because now I am so curious. Because my desire to have a child became so.

• 42:09Hoda Kotb?

  How did you?

• 42:09Speaker 03

  Because is this all there is? Is this all there is? Your selfish needs, your selfish, is it selfish to love yourself? Of course not, of course not. But I was in that moment. I was 35, I was 36 and I started saying, okay, there's more to life than just being Taylor Dane and running. There is.

• 42:25Hoda Kotb?

  I think we spend so much of our lives waiting for the big moments. The birthdays, the vacations, the milestones. But the truth is, some of the happiest moments show up on the most ordinary days. So like this, I'll stop into a CVS because I need one thing. Somehow the best part of the trip is never the thing I came for. So maybe I'll grab a delicious well-marked snack or maybe I'll wander over to the Joyward Collection. It's really full of fun, cool, seasonal decor, thoughtful little gifts, and those little discoveries that make you so glad you stopped in. I have to tell you, if you're an Extra Care member, you're going to save on things you're already buying. And those extra bucks really do add up.

• 43:09Hoda Kotb?

  Just watching that total go down at the checkout never, ever gets old. I know life's busy. We're all juggling a lot. And that's why I think those little unexpected moments of joy matter so much. So the next time you're running errands, stop by your local CVS pharmacy. You may go in for something you need, but don't be surprised if you leave with something that simply makes your day a little brighter. Visit your local CVS pharmacy, sponsored by CVS. Halloween has a funny way of making you buy things you'd never normally buy. A 10-foot skeleton? Sure. A full-size fog machine? Why not? Three bags of candy that somehow become six bags of candy? It happens. Which brings me to the Chase Freedom Flex Card.

• 43:54Hoda Kotb?

  The savvy decision that will earn you more cash back on the everyday purchases, plus the extraordinary Halloween tricks and treats. With Freedom Flex, you earn even more treats on your Halloween and everyday needs. You get 5% cash back on popular rotating quarterly categories, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. That's no tricks, all treats. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. So sign up for the Chase Freedom Flex Card. Learn more at chase.com/getflex. This is a paid collaboration with Chase Freedom Flex. Cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank, N A member FDIC. Subject to credit approval.

• 44:39Hoda Kotb?

  Offer subject to change. Terms apply.

• 44:43Speaker 02

  Running a business means keeping pace with the latest tech. You put a lot into building your enterprise software stack and scrapping it to integrate AI is out of the question. That's why IBM technology works with all the apps, data, and models you need. It's another way IBM helps you build on the technology you rely on. Let's create smarter business. IBM. Visit ibm.com to learn more.

• 45:11Speaker 03

  I'm Melissa Jelton and in my new podcast, What Happened to Her? I'm bringing you new stories and conversations every week. Stories about women whose deaths were too quickly ruled a suicide.

• 45:23Speaker 01

  She was starting to get worried and get scared for her safety.

• 45:30Speaker 03

  Stories of survival. The only difference between me and her, frankly, was a little bit of luck. Because by all rights, I should be dead. Cases that everyone else called closed.

• 45:41Speaker 01

  They can't convict her, right? Like she has so much evidence.

• 45:45Speaker 03

  These stories all start in the same place. With a woman failed by a system that didn't believe her, that didn't protect her, that didn't see her. No child should ever experience that.

• 45:56Speaker 01

  And we were babies. She did all of these brave things and came out and spoke about it and he got a year.

• 46:03Speaker 04

  You never know who that devil is because he's wearing a disguise. Sometimes it's a police uniform.

• 46:09Speaker 03

  Listen to What Happened to Her on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Hamza. And I'm Martin. And we're the hosts of Out of Character. It's a podcast. I know, there's a lot of them going around, but why should you listen to ours? Well, we're only the best podcast in the entire world. And we talk about pretty much everything under the sun. For example, music we're listening to, underground music, trending music, drama in music worlds. Yes, sometimes we even talk about just everyday mundane situations in our lives, like the cool Uber driver we just had. Or the food we just ate that was surprisingly delicious. Or we'll talk about the Met Gala and the looks that they wore. Are they awesome? Are they trendy? Come find out.

• 46:53Speaker 03

  Because our opinion matters and so does yours. And this is a place where all of our minds can come together and connect. So what are you waiting for? Come connect with us. Listen to Out of Character from Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network. On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Pods, or wherever you get your podcasts. Lisa, we should tell them about our new show. Oh my God, Lexi, we have a new podcast. It's called Don't Lie to Me. I'm Lexi Iwanu. We're two best friends, 22 years apart, but so close at heart. And I'm Lisa DiGiulio, the old. One, which means we have wildly different references, occasionally different opinions. And at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all. I'm not gonna get anywhere fighting. That is wild. I learned that about you today.

• 47:37Speaker 03

  Now, in my 30s, being the founder of New Shoes, good taste is my business and I've always got something to say. If men were just honest about this, there would be so much more peace in the world. We're gonna talk about dating, relationships, beauty, getting older. And a little wiser. We're best friends, but we don't always agree. Because you told us how accommodating you are. Obviously, I would do what I think I could do to to fight the fight, but there's only so much fight I can fight. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Liar. Listen on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I don't really care.

• 48:18Hoda Kotb?

  So you you did get a surrogate and you had twins. Well, it was only legal in California. Oh, really? Honey, this is 26 years ago. I was on a waiting list for one year, two years. It wasn't this fashionable thing where like, Yeah. and it was only legal in California and Delaware. Wow. A matter of fact, I went and did Aida and was starring in Broadway while my surrogate was just was was was was Right. breathing and birthing, you know, and and really gestating my children. Wow. First of all, I didn't eat. I went for one. At those times, they put four embryos in. Yeah. Like, I went for one child. And you got two. Two. What was that? What was that like? Because you have this crazy life and suddenly, right in the middle, you get these two babies.

• 49:04Hoda Kotb?

  It wasn't. I was on Broadway. Oh. And Wow. they told me, the surrogate is now pregnant. We timed Ivy. I fly back on dark days. I was starring in Aida. I'd fly back on dark days. And they told me, you know, Marie's pregnant now. She's holding up and, you know, multiple births. So, oh, she's eight weeks. It looks like two boys, two boys, two boys. This went on for six months. Yeah. I was on Broadway. I was I was. It was a Disney production and I had a nine-month contract. 9/11. My closing date was two days before. I was Heather Hedley, myself, Sherri Renee Scott. I am just telling you that 9/11 happened on a Tuesday morning.

• 49:46Hoda Kotb?

  I get a call from the. No, no calls went through. Yeah. Are you sitting down? She says. I go, you're one of the first calls I have gotten through. I live on 15th and 5th. Yeah. Wow. And she goes, they're wrong. There's not two boys. There's a girl, a boy and a girl.

• 50:05Hoda Kotb?

  I just lived, you know, I was watching the world change before my eyes and I just said, is that not a miracle? If that doesn't show me a miracle, because I always had chose chosen a girl's name. I always believed, how could I have two boys? Yeah. So Levi is my son. Astaria is my daughter. But how odd is this? So I gave Levi all four names. I'm six. I go, you're six months pregnant. I go, I'm not losing Levi Lotus Jeremiah Augustus. That was Levi and Jeremiah. Those are my sons. So he has all four. He has all four names. So how did you know how to mother?

• 50:38Hoda Kotb?

  Mothering to me has always been a communal thing. Okay. My family then started generating around this big household, managing my lifestyle. My girlfriends came in and one was already a bank manager. I go, you can manage my lifestyle at home. I go, this is three acres and Tony does the yard. And now I'm getting a horse, Lisa. She's like, what? I'm like, Galata. If you can manage bank money, you can manage Taylor Dane. Then they opened up an entire VP department, VIPs for, you know, for the banking at Chase, Chase Division or City National. I'm like, of course, because we don't know what we're doing. So anyway, yeah. So you raised up your kids as a group, which is beautiful. With my group of friends. And I did it also in Los Angeles, but a lot of us were leaving New York at the time and also music was leaving New York and having to heading to LA. Yeah.

• 51:21Hoda Kotb?

  So I moved to LA to do work with Roseanne and John Goodman. Oh, my gosh. TV and television. Yes, I started doing a little bit more TV and television work. And so I just went there for a six-month stint, rented my apartment out and I had a house in Long Island. I always did down by the water. And when I got to LA, Yeah. I kind of was like, the relationship kind of went north or south real quick. And then I was like, what am I rushing? Like, the weather was fabulous. Where am I going? Where am I going back to New? Rushing back. I my apartment was rented out to Deborah Messing. Oh, my gosh. This is, you can't even still. You can't make it up. You cannot make it up. And I'm like, this is right when Will and Grace starts taking off. And I'm like, stay. She's like, I need it longer. I go, stay.

• 52:06Hoda Kotb?

  I'm gonna stay out here longer. This is what a life, man. All of these chapters and your kids are in their 20s now, right? Now they are. And how? All that, you know, raising and doing. I did it in LA. Yeah. How are they, by the way, now? They're 24. Yeah. And they are, you know, their own beings. My my daughter, I moved up to Santa Barbara. My daughter followed me. I'm very grateful. Oh, I love that. Because she's a smart girl. She, of course, she is. I don't know if he'll ever follow me. He needs to get smarter, but he should. But, um, yeah, they're wonderful. They're amazing people. I think listening, I mean, first of all, there are so many beautiful, wonderful turns that your life's taken. And I love the Vegas turn. What is going on right now? My 30, 30, what what's going on right now is I have more to tell. Yeah.

• 52:50Hoda Kotb?

  This is our next chapter. I opened a restaurant with my best girlfriend. It's about fun, happiness, and aligning with the people that brings you joy. Talk, talk to me. I could see us spending seven hours together over a little lemonade cocktail at Sailors with a Y, S A Y L O R. We're in Greenport and everybody keeps going, you own that restaurant? I go, I am one of the owners of that restaurant. It's doing fabulous. Mediterranean. Where do you go in the summers? Do you take a trip to Europe? Uh, sometimes. Yeah, when you can. Yeah. But now you got the seven. But you did this to yourself. Yeah. You did this to yourself. You're right. You can bring them to Europe, though. But my point is, we wanted that feeling close enough. Yes. In the Hamptons, but it's on the North Fork now, the Soul. So, okay, so. Soul Fork. So you've got, you you decide, in this chapter, you got a restaurant.

• 53:33Hoda Kotb?

  This chapter is now restaurant branding, renew. And then it was like residency. Why am I not doing? Yeah, what happened there? Tell me about that. I met a producer in Vegas and he was telling me, what do you think about Harris showroom? And I said, what do I think? I think that room is an iconic showroom. Donny Osmond is in this room. And he goes, it's just the right amount of seats for you. I love what it can do. He goes, we're gonna set up a res. We're gonna put something together there. And now, from manifesting to to decision-making, to putting my creative team, the best of the best, Mikey Minden, Kevin Teasley, my management people and Pompey management, Harris like, and here we go. Boom. November, December. I love it. The holidays, but really the in-between fat and fun time. I love it.

• 54:18Hoda Kotb?

  Vegas is my, it's it's the epicenter of the world now where people come. It's really, you have to think about it that way. It's not just Broadway anymore. It is like, you go to Vegas, you go to your shows, you go see, everything is the entertainment there. The entertainment is incredible there. Your vibe is so crazy. You have the craziest vibe. You have the best vibe because whenever. That's why you want to come to my restaurant. I will touch your table. I will send you drinks. And my point is, this is the energy that I I love to capture and bring to everybody. That's what my music has given me. And I understand that it's infectious and it's beautiful. And that's my job. Well, you know, this podcast is called Joy 101 because I think it's like people find it in different places. Someone could have your identical life, quite frankly. Sure.

• 55:02Hoda Kotb?

  And they could identify with their childhood and that could have dominated the whole story. And it could dominate the whole story. It could. But when you walked in the door here, it was like a breath of fresh air walked in. Like, I literally, when you walked in, I was like, oh, my God. I don't know what is happening, but energy leads the room. You walk in and the lights go on. So whatever it is that you have, I work on it. But you can. We work on it. How do you work on it? It's morning. Give it to me. Simple practices. Give me. I don't leave that bed without doing the prayer, the work, gratitude, something. Usually, I will listen to a I will listen to a little something from Joe Dispenza. Yeah.

• 55:45Hoda Kotb?

  I will listen to another, another really defining my goal of the day. So you define a goal, yeah? Yeah, I mean, there's, there's multiple meditations. I really try to, while they're doing my hair and makeup, I am toned into the creation of the day and the certain meditations that I listen to. And I really do it. I really do the work. And then what I put in, I'm sorry, ladies, if you're not on HRT. Yeah, yeah. I've got an estradiol patch here. I got one here. I did my testosterone here. I want to have this. I want to be able to hit that stage. And I want to still feel good. Yeah. And what about exercise? Where does that fit in your day?

• 56:23Hoda Kotb?

  Exercise, um, there's so many things that you can do now. And really, guys, don't waste it all on this cardio nonsense. I love stretch. Yeah. The Pilates. There are some really amazing Chinese techniques that you can do that really can strengthen your body and real, real dynamic work. Using your body weight, right? Hundred percent. Okay, and what's your? A lot of that, a lot of stretching, a lot of work like that and a lot of body, you know, like restraining and a lot of band work and. And what's your before bed routine? I mean, I love my yoga. I love my yoga and breathing. Breathing is a big quality of it. But I've also learned, like, again, I'll do my tapping, like, again, back to the anxiety and the things. I do certain things that are kind of quiet and things I know. Yeah.

• 57:05Hoda Kotb?

  I do my Ayurvedic breathing. I do certain breathing techniques that I can, tapping when I need to really. The tapping piece of it is really good. You just tap right on the side of your hand. That's right. Over and over. And what does that do? And you top your head. Here? Yeah. You're here? Yeah. Yeah. You're here? Yeah, here, here. I think a lot of it is called grounding. Grounding. I think it's grounding you. When you feel out of control and you, you know, the ones, the those of us that grew up in a very chaotic household, want to take. Control over their life. So they do it with food sometimes, and it becomes an anorexic situation or a bulimic. Anything you can find, you know, or you don't have a relate, you get, you don't get married because you're trying to control the narrative too

• 57:49Hoda Kotb?

  much. And you're too, you know, you're too scared. Yeah. So

• 57:54Hoda Kotb?

  what does this do? It's, it's another reinforcement. It's another tool, my love. The, the box, it's a toolbox of things that I've learned and it never is ending. And last, what do you do before it lights out? What's your last thing before you close your I do put on another meditation. Yeah. But right now I'm watching Michelle Pfeiffer just tell me her story in Madison, the Madison. And I'm loving it. And I'm loving it because, once again, chapter three to four, what are we doing? Okay. You get to define it. And lastly, we call this podcast story 101. And I always ask my guests at the end, what is bringing you joy these days? I've chosen a lifestyle up in Santa Barbara. I, I made the decision, my kids, you know,

• 58:36Hoda Kotb?

  are on their own now. Um, this brings me joy. Yeah. Talking to somebody like you. Yeah. You know why? Because we're going to tell all of you together that there's so much life force within us and so much good. And you can share that with so many people. And there are methods and there are definitely tools and there is, there's a script. And you must start very simply with your story in the morning. It starts with you. And then you get to share it with Hoda, everyone else that you can. And that's what my job is. And that's why I can't wait to be in Vegas, to share it with the rest of the world again. A new story, a new chapter, a new challenge for me. And that's what I like to do. Take these challenges on. One a year at least, right? One a year. Girl. Go do your marathon. One a year, something.

• 59:20Hoda Kotb?

  All right. One a year. I'm gonna, I want to come see you in Vegas. Get, get uncomfortable. One time, you know? Yeah. Perfect. Perfect. Thank you so much, Taylor. Love you. Thank you. Thank you.

• 59:31Hoda Kotb?

  All right. What a great conversation with Taylor Dane. If you want tickets for her Vegas residency, it's easy. Go to taylordane.com to get tickets. That's T A Y L O R D A Y N E as she told us, dot com. Okay. So if you'll remember during our conversation, Taylor was talking about tapping. She said tapping helped lower her anxiety. Tapping helped her feel calmer inside. She said it kind of grounded her. Well, guess what? I have a perfect Joy 101 practice I want you to try, and it is tapping. So you're going to understand exactly what Taylor was talking about. Try it yourself and see if you get the same after effects

• 1:00:14Hoda Kotb?

  that Taylor did. Kelsey Patel, who's one of our top practitioners, is going to show you how it's done step by step. So enjoy this short tapping exercise.

• 1:00:24Speaker 01

  Hi, I'm Kelsey for Joy 101. And this is a short emotional release. We're going to use a technique called tapping. So I'd like you to take your dominant hand for me. That's my right hand. And it might look different on the screen, but take your dominant hand and take all four fingers of your dominant hand and begin to tap on the outside of your opposite palm. And as we do this, we're going to repeat some sentences and phrases together. We're going to tap on a few different parts of the body. And this is to help you create a movement and a release between the mind and the body. And you can close your eyes, take a deep breath in, open the mouth and a deep breath out. Ah, one more time.

• 1:01:09Speaker 01

  And when you're ready, begin to repeat after me. Even though I feel all of these emotions, I deeply and profoundly trust I am safe to release them. Even though I feel all of these emotions, I deeply and profoundly trust it is safe for me to release them. Even though I feel all of these emotions, and it makes me uncomfortable, I deeply and profoundly accept it is safe for me to release them. Take your pointer and middle finger of your dominant hand, begin to tap right between the eyebrows. It is safe for me to release these emotions. Go to the side of the temple on your dominant side. It is safe for me

• 1:01:54Speaker 01

  to release these emotions. Underneath the eye, it is safe for me to release these emotions. Underneath the nose, it is safe for me to release these emotions. On the chin, it is safe for me to release these emotions. Make a gentle fist and tap right between the collar bones. It is safe for me to release these emotions. You might want to stay here for a couple more rounds. And just feel that releasing through the heart and the chest is safe for me to release these emotions. If emotions come up, just let them through. It could be a sound or a sigh. It could be some tears. Just let it through. It is safe for me to release these emotions. Lifting your opposite arm up, tap right at the rib

• 1:02:37Speaker 01

  cage. It is safe for me to release these emotions. Right at the top of the head, it is safe for me to release these emotions. And back to the palm, side of the hand. It is safe now for me to release these emotions. I am safe to release these emotions. I am safe. I am safe. Gently release your hands or place it on your heart and your belly. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Ah.

• 1:03:09Speaker 01

  Notice how you feel. Notice if anything has moved, even if 1% has released, or perhaps a lot more. Just thanking yourself for showing up and being willing to move through a practice. Thank you for being here today.

• 1:03:27Hoda Kotb?

  Okay. So I'd like to say Taylor Dane is right. Tapping does work. So you can do that practice on your own time. And you can get those exact, the feeling of being grounded, just like Taylor spoke about. I hope you enjoyed listening to Joy 101, the podcast, and we'll see you again soon.

• 1:03:53Hoda Kotb?

  I've realized that joy doesn't always come from those big moments. Sometimes you find it on the most ordinary day. I'll pop into a CVS for toothpaste or paper towels, and it never seems to be just a quick errand. Maybe I'll grab a delicious Well Market Trail Mix or wander over to the Joy Word Collection. That's part of the fun. So the next time you're checking something off your to do list, stop by your local CVS pharmacy. You might go in for one thing and leave with a little more joy. Visit your local CVS pharmacy, sponsored by CVS.

• 1:04:24Speaker 03

  I'm Melissa Jelton, host of the What Happened to Her podcast. We're kicking off the season with the Sandra Birchmore story, a case the police wrote off as a suicide in a snowstorm. Her family never bought it, and the man they suspected wore a badge.

• 1:04:39Speaker 04

  You never know who that devil is because he's wearing a disguise. Sometimes it's a police uniform.

• 1:04:44Speaker 03

  And you can get access to all episodes 100% ad free with an iHeart True Crime Plus subscription exclusively on Apple Podcasts, available only to iHeart True Crime Plus subscribers. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts, search for iHeart True Crime Plus and subscribe today.

• 1:05:02Speaker 01

  What happens when romance gets a little monstrous? On Radio 831, a romance podcast, join us, Sanjana Baskar and Tyler McCall, as we host our own monster romance extravaganza. We're joined by the villain edit author, Rosie Dannon, and sentient object romance expert, Gracie Delgado, to explore what these unexpected love stories can reveal about desire, fantasy, and what we actually want. Listen to Radio 831, a romance podcast, on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 1:05:33Speaker 05

  Michael Lewis here to tell you about my new book, Blockers, which gives you an inside look at the Trump administration and the public servants who stood in its way. These were people who were securing our most sensitive data, keeping the public safe from all sorts of threats, and engaged in life-saving scientific research, until they were told they no longer belonged. And the question to me is, if they can't survive in our government, then what does it say about us? Get Blockers now only at blockers.fm.

• 1:06:06Speaker 06

  This is your girl, TS Madison, coming to you loud, live, and always and forever in color from the Outlaws Podcast. National Coming Out Day is in October, and we've got stories from all your favorite LGBTQ celebrities to celebrate. Check out our episode with comedy legend, Wayne Brady. My daughter was actually the one, she said, Dad, you may be pansexual. The iconic Billy Porter. And Terrell Grace and I talk about family and children's family posts coming out. I don't like statements like that. That's Dad, or that's Grandma. No, no, no, no, no. It should never come at the cost and expense of your own sanity and your own mental health. Download the free iHeart Radio app, search Outlaws with TS Madison, and listen now.

• 1:06:45Hoda Kotb?

  Every case has a story. Every victim has a voice. But will it be heard? I'm Nancy Grace. On Crime Stories, we go beyond headlines to examine evidence, challenge the story we're fed, and pursue justice for victims and their families. Please join us at Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you find your podcasts. Hope you join us. I'll see you there, friend.

• 1:07:17Hoda Kotb?

  Hey, everybody. It's me, W. Kamal Bell. This season on my podcast, Who's With Me, I speak with Bruce Lee's daughter, Brandon Lee's sister, and my friend, Shannon Lee. Back to your initial point of stewarding my father's legacy and giving my energy

• 1:07:32Speaker 01

  to that. You're lending your life to stewarding somebody else's life. Listen to Who's With Me with W. Kamal Bell on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.