captions paid for by nbc-universal television hey, everybody! hello, hello! it's thirst day thursday, may 10th. we're falling all over ourselves here at today because we've got a whole lot going on today. and even yesterday we're still not over. >> we're not over yesterday. it was the highlights of the last couple of months. rita wilson came to sing for us and that's all well and good because we think she's great. what's even more exciting is we

got to see becka. or we got to sing backup. she sang that song "come see about me," it is a very famous song off of her debut album "am/fm." take a look. ♪ keep on crying, baby, for you ♪ ♪ come on, hurry, come on, boys, see about me ♪ >> you got in character there. >> i had not been at the rehearsal because i was over doing who knew. i'm making it up as i went along but those are sometimes the best thing. you got to let life happen, hoda. every song, by the way, is a song you know and you want to sing it out loud. >> we didn't get a chance to talk. she's got sheryl crow on that, faith hill singing with her, vince gill, she's got all these terrific people singing with her and it was a joy to have her and we'd like to have her back any time. hope that cd does really well for her.

it takes a lot of courage to step out of your comfort zone for what people know that you do well and do something that you just love to do and you don't really care what anybody thinks about it. here's the truth -- she's a really good singer. >> she says this was the one project that she was the most nervous about of all the things she's done and it's such a natural thing for her. >> she doesn't give a rope what anybody thinks. she's having the time of her life. you go, girl. it is a good day for britney spears. she signed a deal with the "x factor." >> nice fat deal. >> $15 million, we hear, to be a judge. is that unbelievable? >> where do you go to get a job like that? >> $15 million? >> yes. i'm going to do a sex tape, doggone it. i am. seems to me that all great things happen to people who take off their clothes, don't wear underwear, do it all in one week, plus have an affair with somebody. i'm guaranteed to be hot as a pistol.

>> l.a. reed's going to be joining us a little bit later. >> i like little britney. i hope she does really well. i think people have been pulling for her for a long time. i remember meeting her for the first time, she was about 15 years old, she and her mom. i was regis down in disney world. her little nails were bitten down to a quick. she was -- looked like a 15-year-old teenager. but you could tell that she had something special and something magical about her and she's been through hell and i think she's doing great. >> she's been sort of out of the spotlight for a little bit and we haven't seen her out at clubs or doing whatever -- >> she's got two beautiful little boys. and i like her fiance, jason, too. nice, nice young man. here's some information. don't know if you agree with this. i don't. >> i do. >> women's sexual appetite they say peaks -- if you want to know the date and time -- 11:00 p.m. on saturday. >> i haven't seen 11:00 p.m. on a saturday since i was 11. and if that's when i peaked, it's a very sad life. >> first of all, a, who's up at

11:00? that's a good question. >> i guess women having sex. >> no, they're not. this is not true. >> i'll tell you one thing. i love that they call it an appetite for sex. first of all, hodie don't like it after a big meal. >> who does? i want to know one woman after they have a big meal out with their husband -- >> you've had beans and burritos and cheese enchiladas -- >> anyway -- >> and a few margaritas, is it the last thing in the world you're interested in? >> last. i like it in the morning. that's it. that's it. >> hoda, you're working out at 5:00 in the morning. how early are we talking about? >> on the weekends in the morning. >> now we know what hoda's doing at 5:00 in the morning on saturday and sunday. okay. the reason they say that we wait until saturday at 11:00 is because we don't have any free time and schedules are hectic and all that sort of stuff. >> but just put yourself there for just a moment in your own mind and think about the rules of mexicana thing.

i just love that. i wish i could do it. we have a producer who gets upset when i do -- my producer hates when i do that. so prince charles is not known as -- >> he's kind of a straight-laced kind of guy. >> he decided to go a little crazy a little while ago. >> not compared to harry. >> he was on tour at the bbc and decided to try his hand at the weather forecast. >> here they are. >> it's an unsettled picture as we head towards the end of the week. this afternoon, it will be cold, wet and windy across most of scotland. we're under the influence of low pressure and this weather front pushing northwards is bringing cloud and outbreaks of rain. the rain of course will be heaviest over the borders -- >> well, there you go. what you think? >> you know what? doesn't it humanize him?

it makes you like him so much. >> yes. oh, my gosh. that was great. >> this is the time of the week i look forward to and she despises. this is a great song. it's for the "ihoda" play list. is by a woman named rita ora. this song is called "how we do." "how we do." >> how we do what? >> you'll understand. ♪ >> here it comes. >> it better. ♪

>> that's just how we do. that's just how we do. that's just how you do. and you know what? i found somebody that shares exactly your -- >> i know who it is. >> who is it? have you seen it? >> the person who shares my musical taste is cassidy gifford. >> not really. >> yes, she does! >> no. she was very sweet to you. >> christine says yes. >> she says, mom, she's got the musical taste of a 17-year-old girl. cassidy is going to be 19 in august. >> whatever. i'm just saying we share similar -- >> in other words, she moved way beyond you a long time ago. but there is somebody that loves what you do, hoda, and here she is. 3-year-old grace. how cute is she? doing just what you do, hoda.

yeah! >> is she just back from the dentist? see? >> i love that kid! >> that should let you know a little something. you didn't know you were going to do that, that was a little surprise for you. i'm okay. >> is it okay to boast about past affairs? kathie lee says -- having kind things to say about lovers is always -- >> past lovers. >> if you have nothing good to say, don't say anything. >> or sit by me and tell me all the garbage. you said yes, of course. boasting is okay. belittling is not. >> just say nice things. it is time for to reveal our "mom of the year" contest. we teamed up with salary.com to have a contest to find the mom of the year. all the travel and accommodations and the money is

provided by salary.com. we are going to meet the finalists. first up -- jennifer winn from oklahoma. she was nominated but her husband who's been -- he says she's been an incredible military wife, has supported him through the injury, surgeries and layoff while caring for their two sons. number two, dee dee wheaton from houston, texas. she starts her day at 4:30 a.m. caring for her two children and two dogs before heading to work as a school administrator. and number three is laura bocook from los altos, california. laura's son quinn heard about the contest and said they should give this thing a try. hi, everybody. where is the salary.com -- >> i think she's right there. >> i'm blocking you. >> how could you miss her? >> i'm so sorry. how are you? >> i'm pregnant. >> well, i can see that. how much money we giving away? >> we are giving away $112,962.

>> wow. how did you come to that amount? >> well, every year we run this survey. over 8,000 moms helped us report how many hours they spend doing their motherly duties. we crunch all that data together with all of the salary.com data we have and, poof, we have a really good estimate of what moms make if they were paid an annual paycheck. >> the way we have this worked out is each of you has an envelope in your hand. one of you is the winner an the other of you are -- >> have a very nice gift. >> so on three open. ready? one, two, three -- open. i'm so excited. the mom of the year is -- come on down. >> there she is! congratulations. >> congratulations to all of you. >> wow. thank you so much. >> here's $112,000. >> why am i doing all the work?

>> tell us -- what do you think about what happened? >> this was such a surprise. i didn't even know that he'd entered me until friday when we got the call. >> she didn't even know she was entered. >> i know, your husband entered you. he's a mess. and your son. >> see, real men do cry. >> he said you shouldn't be wife and mother of a year -- it should be of a lifetime. >> thank you so very much. >> congrats to everybody. thanks, everybody. happy mother's day to everybody! >> i'm so happy. up next -- we're going to catch up with actor matthew bodine. and two ambush plaza makeovers. we'll be right back. that was exciting. we have product x and we have product y. we are going to start with product x. the only thing i'll let you know is that it is an, affordable product. oh, i like that.

let's move on to product y, which is a far more expensive product. whoaaa. i don't care for that at all. yuck. you picked x and it was geico car insurance and y was the competitor. is that something you would pay for year after year? i, i like soda a lot but for a change of pace... ♪ an energizing fruit or relaxing mint flavor.

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his wife had his housekeeper. >> i hate it when that happens. his actions don't sit well with his housekeeper's daughter played by up and coming actress sierra. take a look. >> i got suspended, brad. how do you feel about that? >> i think that's terrible. >> i think it's weird that you're a boy gynecologist. >> you can think that. >> how's the wife? >> how's your father? >> oh! you are trouble. matthew's such a nice guy in real life. you must love to get a script like this where you get to be the jerk. >> i imagined when i got to this stage in my life i'd be playing henry fonda and james stewart and gary cooper kind of roles. there's something about being a man of this age and this time where that's all that's really offered up. >> that's all you get offered? >> these horrible men who cheat on their wives and abuse people.

>> i hate to think that's what most of them do. >> that's the kind of movies they make today. >> the woman who you are cheating with is ava mendez. what was it like working with her? >> yeah. what did your wife think about that? >> my wife went on location with me. >> smart woman. >> that says it all. she came to play. sierra, this was her first feature film. >> she's terrific. >> when i sat down to do that scene, that was our first scene together. she -- >> nailed it. >> i said, okay, this girl came to play. >> such intelligence behind those little eyes of hers. >> she's got a bright future ahead of her. >> poor ava, she doesn't at all. >> tell us about -- i know you have a lot of stuff that's going on but we were just talking about your marriage. you've been married for more than 20 years? >> more than 30 years. three decades i was going to say. 32 years. >> what's the secret to keeping that going? >> i have no idea. i'm afraid sometimes to look too closely because it works.

you don't want to look into something too closely that works. i think it is being honest with one another. and i think it is luck. sometimes people grow together and sometimes people grow apart. so i don't stand in judgment of anybody. it's hard. life is hard. >> life is hard even when you have all kind -- i look at what this does for a family like we just had on. just because someone has wealth or they're in movies or stuff doesn't mean you don't go through stuff at home. nobody's immune. but i gather you are great friends, i would -- >> we went through a difficult time because our children are grown. my daughter's 21, my son's 26. and we kind of both of us went through a mid life crisis of being empty nesters. but the one thing that we had that we could hole on to because that foundation. that was the rock that we could cling to in the storm was our relationship. the personal problems that we were going through with my career or her not having the

children to take care of, the one thing that we had that we could hold on to was that 30 years of spending time and growing and being witnesses to each other's lives. >> she's puerto rican. right? >> she is. >> i understand she had a funny -- you had a funny reaction from her when you said you were going to be working with ava who's cuban. >> all those people from the caribbean, dominicans, cubans, puerto ricans, they have their own kind of problems that they face. >> but this made you a big deal in your household. were you hot stuff, right? >> all the latin men in my life, they -- when i told them i was going to be playing opposite ava mendez, all their jaws dropped and they like, oh, my god -- >> and you get paid for that. >> yes. >> we wish you great luck with this movie. >> it's really fun. three weeks of making out with ava mendez. >> poor baby. >> you have a very understanding wife. >> great to see you. >> speak of her, tomorrow she's going to be with us. the movie opens tomorrow in select theaters.

up next -- record mogul l.a. reid and his wife erica are with us, right after this. ♪ [ female announcer ] when you give your kids frosted strawberry pop-tarts baked with real fruit, they'll rise and you'll shine. pop-tarts, made for fun.

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music mogul l.a. reid and their wife's son was laying sick on the bathroom floor six years ago, they felt helpless. >> it took several doctor visits to discover he suffered from multiple allergies and asthma. >> the experience inspired erica to write a book called "the thriving child -- parenting successfulfully through allergies, asthma and other again challenges." you are looking at that -- so proud of you for it. >> i am. >> it wasn't something you set out to do, obviously. >> not at all. i had no idea. no one could have ever told mimi out of all people would have ever written a book. i'm a mom. i take it serious. it's what i feel that i've been here do and i found passion

through it and i wanted to share nothing more, nothing less, our experience and let other families know that they can benefit. >> you had some scary experiences. your son was on the ground and doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. and suddenly -- then we found out later -- what was the problem? >> well, we went from pneumonia could constantly being told he had upper respiratory infections. he was constantly on what they tell you that you don't want to be on -- antibiotics. he came down with had horrible bacterial experience. it was horrific and so that just made me go into drive and as a parent you'll do whatever you have to do for your children. you don't think about left, right -- you just go for it. and that's what i did. it put me on this journey. i had no idea, it was totally unexpected. >> i love the picture. >> thank you. >> so much unknown food allergies. we really suggest if you're struggling with that you get

this book. tell us -- are there five things you should make sure you're ready. >> with food allergies? absolutely. never leave home without your epi pen. i don't care if you're going around the block. you may say i'm hungry. you don't know when you're going to react and so you need your benadryl, epipen, if you wear a medical bracelet, take it with you. >> there's a little bit from the celeb in your book, like layla allah, j. lo, then you give five tykeaways. so it's not a book that you're just reading your journey, but you give people things that they can take back. >> thank you. >> the biggest take-away is they should have the book. take away the book. >> we have to talk to you. we did say at the top of our show, britney spears was official according to what some stuff we had read. >> i've heard the rumor. i think it would be amazing. i can't confirm nor deny but i think it would be amazing. >> you should have been a lawyer. >> look at you.

>> what would doug morris have done without you if you'd gone into law? >> exactly. >> we love you, doug. >> we love you, doug. >> it is a shout out to doug. >> your book, by the way, who do you hope grabs this book in the stores? >> parents. anyone who is raising any type of child. you have a child at home, this book is truly honestly for you. you are pregnant, you're expecting, you just delivered, toddlers at home, tweens, as long as you have a child at home it is never too late to make any change. >> because this could happen at any time. a child could be eating something for a long time then all of a sudden they have a completely different reaction to it. >> the book is not only about asthma and allergies. the book touches on if you're traveling. there's an expert that treeks about traveling. we talk about what seat to purchase if you're traveling with your children. it is a lot of information. >> i can say that this journey has been the proudest moment of my life. just watching her go through this and pull it all together.

and sneak off in the middle of the night and write, write, write, write. >> how long have you all been married? >> we've been married for 11 years, 12 years. >> it will be 12. >> happy mother's day. >> thank you so much. we'll be back with our makeovers.

we're back on this thirst day thursday. it's time for today's plaza ambush makeovers. every thursday we pluck two lucky ladies from our crowd to surprise them with a brand-new look. >> since it's mother's day weekend, we picked two moms. with us "today" stylist and contributor to the stars louis licari la-la-la-la-la. and "today" and "us weekly" contributor and author, jill martin. the rain stopped finally. >> sort of. it was still drizzling. we made it quick, let me tell you. we found two great girls. >> you found moms, right? >> two moms. absolutely.

>> i love it. a high schoolteacher, alana fernandez, she's 44 years old from hawaii. high school culinary and hospitality teach person currently home schooling her two daughters. her husband is at home while the three girls travel around the country. wow. let's take a listen to her story. >> a family road trip around the united states. how unbelievable. happy mother's day. why does mom deserve it? >> she's taking me on this like amazing trip around the whole united states and i've seen so much. >> and what do you hope she looks like? you were telling me a little bit. >> i hope she gets straight hair. >> what do you think? why do you want this for mom? >> because she's just a good mom and she doesn't cook often but she cooks good. >> are you ready to go? >> i'm ready. >> how cute. >> say your names. [ inaudible ] all right. here's a look at alana before.

let's see the new you. >> oh, wow! >> wow! all right, girls. are you ready to see your mom? take off your blindfolds? >> oh, my god! >> you look so good! >> mom, you ready to see yourself? look right here. >> you look awesome. >> oh, my god. >> you look fantastic. >> spin right around and look at camera 12, please. >> louis, tell us about her hair. >> can you imagine number one having a mom that would take you out of school and drive you across country? >> that's like the perfect mom. >> that's a santa claus every day. we wanted to give her a haircut that was a little glamorous because she's spending her semester in a van. i brightened her hair to give her the hawaiian sun that she's missing right now. >> tell us what you think. >> you look so amazing. >> oh, they're crying. >> you're beautiful.

>> oh. you want to come give her a hug? jill, tell us about that dress. >> how do you dress for a van? she's like i hate my jacket, i hate what i'm wearing. nydj, not your daughter's jeans, and a great trench because she doesn't know where she'll be next. >> a big round of applause! happy mother's day. you guys walk right over that way. >> our second lady is cathy, 54 from indiana. she's a receptionist at an orthodontist office. her beauty routine is little to no makeup and little to no time spent on her hair. she's a proud new grandma but doesn't want to look like one. let's listen to her story. >> another amazing day to celebrate mother's day. we already got you your gift for her. why does she deserve this? >> she always puts everyone else before her. she has never done anything special for herself. this is great gift. >> you're already crying. you obviously think she deserves it. >> oh, yes, definitely.

she's a very emotional person. but this is fantastic. this was on her bucket list to come to new york city and see the "today" show so this is a dream come true. >> are you ready to be pampered for three hours? >> yes. yes. >> we just don't have enough kleenex today. she's here with her husband rick and daughter heather. let's take one last look at cathy before we got our hands on her. now let's bring her out. >> wow, oh, my goodness. >> right there. look right here. all right! richard, rick and heather, take your blindfolds off. >> i think that's a good response. >> you want to see? >> how do you girls do this.

>> spin right around here. >> check yourself out. >> love that hair. >> drag yourself away. >> tell us about the hair, louis. >> kathy, number one, one of the sweetest souls i've ever met. she just never even thought of doing anything to herself. so i wanted to her give simple routine that would give her a little bit of glamour. i lightened, brightened her hair. >> now louis is crying. >> this big tip here to give yourself a little lift is eyelashes. they gave her an instant facelift. >> and the outfit? >> we had so much fun picking something out of her comfort zone for mother's day. this is from london times. you looked fabulous walking in. we practiced a little bit. it takes a little time. >> rick and heather, what do you think? >> gorgeous. >> i think she looks fantastic. i like the haircut. >> love it!

let's bring alana out here. >> happy mother's day to absolutely everybody. if you know somebody that wants a total head to toe redo, come on down to our plaza bright and early on a thursday morning. coming up next, everyone has a story and the next one will inspire you all for mother's day right after this. [ train whistle blows ] [ ball hitting paddle ] ♪ riding to work, with my best friend pete ♪ ♪ pete, pete, pete ♪ riding to work with my best friend pete ♪ ♪ riding to work with me [ orbit trumpet ] don't let food hang around. clean it up with orbit! ahh. [ orbit glint ] ow...ow...ow. fabulous! for a good clean feeling after any meal. ♪ eat, drink, chew orbit! for a good clean feeling after any meal. (sfx: car garage sounds) today my journey brings me to charlotte, north carolina, where i spent the day with geico driver casey mears. i told him the secret to saving money on car insurance. he told me the secret to his car setup. first he adjusts...

first he adjusts... (sfx:engine revving drowns out gecko's dialogue) then he... then he... (sfx:loud drilling noise continues to drown out gecko's dialogue) ...and a quarter cup of then he... neapple juice. or was that the secret to his barbecue sauce? hey, "secret" sauce. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. the health of our cells plays a key role throughout our entire lives. ♪ one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin, designed for many of men's health concerns as we age. ♪ it has more of seven antioxidants to support cell health. that's one a day men's 50+ healthy advantage.

snoed it is time to meet our newest "everyone has a story" contest winner. her name is jane faucet from seattle, washington. >> before we meet june and her mom let's listen to the letter denise sent to us about her mom's incredible strength despite suffering from type 1 diabetes. >> my warrior mom has tricked death at least four times in the past two years. her name is jane. she is so strong, having faced the effects of type 1 diabetes for 40 years now. i'm the oldest of three children

and her whole life has been raising us, suffering a divorce and restarting her life with as little as $17. getting through college, and finding time to enhance her artistic talents as painter, sculptor and writer. through all this, she insists on being as independent as possible. i admire her so much. imagine being a young mom and needing to take insulin all the time. she lives with a pump to manage her insulin dosages. takes over 20 pills a day. and goes to dialysis twice per week. and yet she pushes on. i'm a stage 3c ovarian cancer survivor but i'm in a recurrence. in october of 2009, my mom let me move in with her so that i could go through chemo after my surgery. i had to abandon most of my possessions, i lost my job, and my mom took care of me. and during that time it was very stressful and i fear that my

ordeal had aggravated her health problems. it was so hard for me to move out but i had to. my mom wanted for me to get stronger. she sacrificed so much for me and my brother and my sister. she grew up poor on a small farm in colby, kansas. her mother was very ill and my mother became very responsible as a young girl and she did not get to have fun as a child. my mom has a strong work ethic and her strength is what saved me. >> jane and her daughter denise are both with us. wow. what an emotional story. talk about a roller coaster ride, huh? >> yes, it has been. >> and a real inspiration, too. given all of the medical problems that you've been through, you still -- just watching this piece, too, you seem to stay so strong through everything. >> yes. i do. >> where do you get that? where does that come from? >> that comes i think from my

father. he was like that. >> but you even had a heart attack this past february. >> yes. february. >> you don't look like a woman who's had a heart attack past february. >> well, thank you. >> that's a compliment. >> and somehow it ended up being something that really helped. why was that? >> i don't know. my kidney disease settled down and they think it might be because the blood flow from the heart to the kidney improved so i'm off dialysis for a little while. >> what a nice break. >> yes. >> what is -- if you can in a couple of minutes, the thing you admire the most about your mom. i'm sure you only had a few words in the letter you could say. but if you could take one word and describe your mom, what would it be? >> oh, just incredibly independent and tenacious. just so determined to just fight. >> and how are you feeling now? you doing okay now? >> i'm back on my chemo but i'm doing wonderful and just going

to keep progressing. >> when you were sick and you called your mom and you ended up moving in with her, that was a life saver, wasn't it for you? >> oh, it was. she's an angel to me. >> i don't know about that. >> she always used to tell me i don't know what i'm doing for you and all that. while i was there, i'm like you're here. every single day. >> you said there were times you wanted to give up. >> oh, yeah, there have been. yeah. but somehow it just doesn't last. yeah. >> you get tired, that's normal. but you can't stay there. >> no. >> especially when you have children that you love that need you. >> yeah, that's right. >> it's a really beautiful story. we wanted to -- if we could honor every single deserving mom in this country, we would. but we picked you. lucky you. when we come back -- >> from broadway's "wicked," she is going to perform a song

written just for jane. good morning. here is a look at your forecast as we get this friday going with a few showers over new england. also watching out for some showers and thunderstorms in the upper midwest, all the way back into the front range of colorado. texas, i know we need the rain, but watch out, there could be some severe weather. we saw some of that on thursday. and also flooding. even though we have a drought situation, talking three, four, even five inches of rain. temperatures held down as a result of the cloud cover and rain. 75 for your high in dallas. warming up to 80 in atlanta. 86 in orlando. and new york city, looking at a high of 69 degrees. here's a look at our forecast as we get into the weekend. still some showers and storms mainly in eastern texas, little rock, as well as new orleans and scooting in towards birmingham, alabama. otherwise, your saturday plans in atlanta should be okay. showers holding off until the afternoon. and what a nice way to get your

weekend started in new york city and philadelphia, temperatures in the mid 70s. 69 in minneapolis and 77 degrees in dallas as the sun comes back out. sunday, going to have to shield mom from the rain across the ohio valley, mississippi valley, as well. 72 in atlanta with the clouds and showers around. also tracking showers and storms in miami. the west coast looks nice and dry from seattle towards san diego. great day for taking mom out. monday, looks like soggy conditions in the northeast. plan for a little extra time in that commute in new york. 69 nor a high in washington, d.c. wet in the southeast and even tuesday, this system is slow to move out. so much of the east coast still being impacted by at least a chance for showers and thunderstorms. for more on your forecast, "wake up with al" on the weather channel. ♪

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baked with real fruit, they'll rise and you'll shine. pop-tarts, made for fun.

we're back with "everyone has a story" honoring jane who is here with her daughter denise. >> here's the song david friedman and i wrote just for you, here to sing it is shandra lee schwartz. the song is called "strong like you." ♪ ♪ let's just say right from the start that fairy tales don't come true ♪ ♪ they take a lot of work and i know this mom because of you ♪ ♪ life hasn't been easy you had to grow up fast ♪

♪ there was never enough and whatever you had didn't last ♪ ♪ your father was a hero your mother she was too ♪ ♪ you learned from them and taught me well to be strong like you ♪ ♪ you taught me how to work hard you taught me to be tough ♪ ♪ you taught me to believe that whatever i had would be enough ♪ ♪ my father didn't help you but still you made it through ♪ ♪ i never have met anyone strong like you ♪ ♪ your strength has saved me your love has held me tight ♪

♪ your wisdom has instilled me a sense of wrong and right ♪ ♪ your strength has shown me that i can be strong too ♪ ♪ you taught me by example by doing what you had to do ♪ ♪ so now as we move forward we'll face whatever comes ♪ ♪ knowing one thing for sure on god's table there are no crumbs ♪ ♪ and you will be my hero no matter what i do ♪ ♪ for giving me the gift of being strong like you ♪ ♪ thank you thank you for everything you do ♪ ♪ and some day possibly my child

will thank me when i teach her to be what you taught me to be ♪ strong like you >> beautiful, chandra. and we'll be right back with a surprise. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

we're back with "everyone has a story" honoring a very, very special woman. >> chandra lee schwartz, just beautifully sang "strong like you." home run. you can see her in "wicked" just tearing it to pieces on broadway. for jane faucet, also with us our composer david friedman and davy wild. who's better than you on keyboards? nobody! okay. >> what did you think of the song? >> oh! it had a lot of feeling to it. it was so appropriate. because i was thinking about my father. >> isn't that funny? i think everyone can think of someone, yeah. >> i thought it was just absolutely beautiful and it spoke to everything that i was feeling and i just want to thank you all for doing it. thank you for writing it. >> too bad chandra has no talent at all. she doesn't have beauty, talent or anything else. >> it was a home run.

>> that was great. now it is time for our favorite part. we get to present you with a surprise. jane and denise, we knew you wanted to do something special so island country inn on "bainbridge" island, washington state, donated a weekend get-away for two so you guys can go have a nice relaxing weekend. close, you don't have to fly. >> just a nice little ferry ride. >> we also know that -- who likes to paint? that's what i thought. we have a whole basket full of supplies so you can start painting again. >> $250 gift card for anything you need to start painting again because you've got a gift you've got to keep using it. >> oh, that's wonderful! >> and happy mother's day. we want to wish everybody a happy mother's day this sunday. we have a big show tomorrow. ava mendez. >> star-studded. and your mom sammy is going to be with us. you don't want to miss this mother's day challenge. have an awesome thirst day thursday, everybody. see you tomorrow for try day, friday.