it's like your modern day ninacy moe moan, aretha franklin. almost like a female superhero.t is beyond the form. and then you have prize, right? so the thing about thatze to hi >> no, no, no. i'm serious. there's always the narrative. >> i heard it for a while, but you know, i've even cracked jokes on it too, you've seen it. but i think that at the same time, pride brings a certain ear into the studio, when it's in the context of the fugees. try this, let's go left here, let's go -- you know, it's the synergy of the three that made that happen. >> got you. >> when we were in there, there was no trust. lauren has to basically put her trust in me, you know what i mean? if i'm like, seeing us like that or let's go like this, you know what i mean? out of the three fugees the pulse of this time in this generation, they am have to say okay, you know what? we really gotta just listen to what clef is saying and mix it with what we're saying. >> lauren didn't trust you creati creatively? >> no. andty didn't trust them creatively at all. because i'm not a -- when it comes to the music

well, we apparently don't have to shed any tears for aretha franklin. the queen of soul says she is getting better. aretha tells "jet" magazine that the surgery has been resolved. she still won't say what was wrong. reports are that it was pancreatic cancer. >>> straight ahead, your weather. and in sports, don't look now but it could be the most amazing basketball shot of the year. [ bells jingling ] [ snorting ] [ gasps ] ♪ [ female announcer ] too many holiday treats? [ snorting ] ♪ take the special k challenge, with so many ways to lose up to six pounds in two weeks. what will you gain when you lose? get started at specialk.com. hi, may i help you? yes, i hear progressive has lots of discounts on car insurance. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount! isn't getting discounts great? yes! there's no discount for agreeing with me. yeah, i got carried away. happens to me all the time. helping you save money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. >>>

of the charts and playing the fillmore auditorium, but not ray charles, except in tandem with aretha franklin one time. and i thought the man deserved more. he was one of the foundations of american music as we know it and love it. and so i just raised my hand and said, "ray charles is in town, let's do him." >> hinojosa: and was their immediate reaction kind of like, "hmm, ray charles..." >> "oh, tell us the story. what's going on with him?" rolling stone was always quite open-minded, and back then, it was not so much worrying about a person's popularity the way so many magazines are today. and so if you made your case, then you were sent out and got the story. >> hinojosa: oh, so it wasn't about a popular rock star. that wasn't... >> no. this was a man of history and a man of pride and a man of... who deserved a lot more than he was getting at that time, and he knew it, too. i mean, he was... >> hinojosa: and in that interview, he actually revealed to you-- he talked about the fact that he was addicted to heroin. >> correct. >> hinojosa: he talked about the fact that he felt that he wasn't

many of the names we recognize, diana ross, aretha franklin, the jackson five, the jackson family as a whole, all of them were children who were born in the north to parents who had migrated from the south and therefore created the opportunity for a whole new art form and a company which has become almost a sound check if the 20th century motown. jazz as we know it is almost unfathomable i did have been had there not been the great migration. miles davis was the child of parents who had come from arkansas, migrated to illinois and that is where he was raised and became exposed to the music, the metabolism of the north and began practicing becoming a musician. the erroneous monk, his parents migrated from north carolina to new york when he was 5-years-old and he got opportunities he wouldn't have gotten in tobacco country of north carolina. and john coltrane left north carolina as well when he was 17, went to philadelphia where he got his first alto sax. what would have happened if he had never gotten his alto sax and philadelphia? hard to imagine. and the three of them often got toge

so many of the names that we recognize -- diana ross, aretha franklin, the jackson five, the jackson family as a whole -- all of them were children who were porn in the north to parents -- born in the north to parents who had migrated from the south and, therefore, created the opportunity for a whole new art form and company which has become almost the soundtrack of the 20th century, motown. jazz as we know it, it's almost unfathomable what might have happened had there not been the great migration. miles davis was the child of parents who had come from arkansas, migrated toalton, illinois, and that's where he was raised and game exposed to the music, the metabolism of the north and began practicing and becoming a musician. thelonious monk, his parents my dated from north carolina to new york when he was 5 years old, and he got opportunities he old not have gotten in the tobacco country of north carolina. and john coltrane left north carolina as well when he was 17, went to philadelphia where he got his first alto sax. what would have happened if he had never gotten an alto sax in ph

and i look at all the people that i want my career to be kind of like, you know, the aretha franklinsbt, it's a marathon. so people there are able to stay in the game 26.2 miles are the people that last. >> was your success a surprise to you after the show? what were your expectations versus what came? >> you know, when i auditioned for the show, my only expectation was to get an opportunity to sing for somebody so they could hear me and possibly give me a record deal. so when i talk to people, everything that has happened to me after is really the overflow, and just extra. like me being able to sit here and talk to you guys is nothing that i would have expected to be doing eight years after i was on the show. all of this stuff for me, i'm about to record my fifth album. wow. >> are you still friends with anybody on the show? >> i'm friends with just about everything that was on my season. clay and i actually did a tour together this summer. so we're still keeping it together. >> you can credit amy, because she voted for you a lot. >> i was on maternity leave, i didn't have much else

aretha franklin. >> she doesn't have cancer. she said i don't have cancer. new york times" doing an he had to her for yal saying we have to pray for her. she said she had something and it was treated. >> why not be forthcoming about what it is if there is speculation? >> don't question aretha, kathie lee. >> okay. >> don't question. >> she wants halle berry to play her in the movie. i get it. >> i want halle berry to play me. >> she said no, she wants halle berry to play older aretha in the film. aretha as she is now. >> i just don't see the casting in that. >> again, don't question aretha. >> she's the queen of soul. >> let's move on to the red carpet. >> she's going to be fine. she's terrific. >> there was lots of baby bumps we saw. >> there was at the golden globes, but the big news is that nicole kidman and keith urban announced she had a kid via surrogate born december 28th. the baby's name is faith. she was at the golden globes the other night. i can assume they flue to l.a. for 12 hours and flue right back or less. they're the biological parents, keit