Return to Transcripts main page
Piers Morgan Live
Cain Accuser Stands By Story; Jury Deliberates in Conrad Murray Trial; Interview with Brad Paisley; Interview With Susan Boyle
Aired November 04, 2011 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PIERS MORGAN, HOST: Tonight, Herman Cain's accuser stands by her story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOEL BENNETT, ATTORNEY FOR HERMAN CAIN ACCUSER: She made a complaint in good faith about a series of inappropriate behaviors and unwanted advances from the CEO. My client stands by the complaint she made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: Also, the fate of Michael Jackson's doctor hangs in the balance. The jury has been out for a day, but still no verdict. What's going on behind closed doors?
Also tonight, two surprising musical success stories. Country's entertainer of the year Brad Paisley. What drives him --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: How important is the award process to you?
BRAD PAISLEY, MUSICIAN: That's all I do this for.
MORGAN: I would love it if it was your honest answer.
PAISLEY: I know. Wouldn't that be something?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: And her last record sold more than Lady Gaga and Beyonce. The incomparable Susan Boyle performing on our stage.
This is PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT.
(MUSIC)
MORGAN: Good evening.
A Herman Cain accuser stands by her story today. Listen to this statement from her attorney earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BENNETT: She made a complaint in good faith about a series of inappropriate behaviors and unwanted advances from the CEO. Those complaints were resolved in an agreement with her acceptance of a monetary settlement. She and her husband see no value in revisiting this matter now, nor in discussing the matter any further publicly or privately. In fact, it would be extremely painful to do so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: As for Herman Cain -- well, he is doing better than ever in the polls and is raising more money than ever. And today, he sounded more confident than ever.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Before I get started, I want to know whose teleprompters are these? Because I don't need them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: So how is the Cain campaign doing? Managing this crisis?
Joining me now is Michael Sitrick of the crisis management firm Sitrick & Company; Gloria Borger, CNN's chief legal analyst.
Gloria, a bizarre day in many ways. We finally get to hear from one of the accusers by an attorney. But Herman Cain seems completely oblivious and powers on.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, since we didn't really hear specifically from the woman herself, we are -- she remains anonymous to the public and she didn't get more specific about the charges other than saying there were serious -- a series of inappropriate behaviors, it seems to me that Herman Cain can go on because it doesn't require a response from him today.
And so, he's going to power on. He still remains at the top of the polls and people in Iowa, which is the first caucus state, really don't seem to care too much about these charges.
Now, if someone were to get specific and on the record and that could still occur, then I believe it would be a whole different story.
MORGAN: I mean, the most significant thing I heard today was Herman Cain has now raised I think $1.6 million --
BORGER: Yes.
MORGAN: -- since Sunday when the scandal erupted. And that is nearly as much as he raised the entire previous quarter. That is what talks in Washington, isn't it?
BORGER: Yes. It is. And it's been important to his campaign. And what he's done was, you know, at first he attacked the so-called leaker, accusing the Rick Perry campaign of leaking the story. That didn't work.
What he's done now is he is attacking the media. And in Republican primaries, that works pretty well for you. And I think he's hit on something and I think from the Republicans that I talked with, I spoke with a conservative woman today who said, look, this is rallying people around Herman Cain because he can't respond to charges that are anonymous and if he says there was no basis, we have no way of knowing anything else.
So, it's helped him.
MORGAN: Michael Sitrick, it seems like the more things Herman Cain hits on, the better he does.
MICHAEL SITRICK, CHAIRMAN & CEO, SITRICK & CO.: Well, that's right, at least at this point. You know, the question is, when is this going to come out? Is this going to come out? Is this going to come out?
At some point somebody is going to leak this. I would leak it. If I were advising Cain, I would say, we should leak this. We can give it to a reporter who we can then frame it properly around and get the story out.
MORGAN: That's the argument, isn't it, that Herman Cain is probably sitting there going, well, this has been running now all week. There are apparently three women involved and they've all made accusations in the past. But to date, nobody has come out publicly, identified themselves and said, this is what he did to me.
Until they do, I don't think this goes anywhere, does it?
SITRICK: Well, that's right. It doesn't. The key issue is, will they identify themselves? How will it come out?
Look, sexual harassment can range from making inappropriate comments to engaging in inappropriate acts. And it depends what the settlement says and what the sexual harassment allegation was I think.
MORGAN: Gloria, let me bring you -- go ahead.
BORGER: No, I was going to say the National Restaurant Association did its own internal investigation. It did not tell us today what it decided. We do know there was a settlement but that could just be go away money, right? So, we don't really know.
Herman Cain is on the record saying that the result of that investigation was that they found there was no basis for the sexual harassment claims. If somebody were to come out and tell a story and we -- or we would know the result of the internal investigation of the restaurant association, then I think it becomes a real problem.
But now --
MORGAN: From a political point of view, who is winning here? I mean, how does Mitt Romney figure in all this? He's kept very, very quiet. Is this all good for him or is all the attention being lavish on Herman Cain good for Cain?
BORGER: Yes. Well, look. I think it's sort of a side show. I think it's good for Mitt Romney. I think it's been good in a way for Rick Perry. I think it's been really good for Newt Gingrich. And I think that they can sort of sit back and allow this to play out without criticizing Herman Cain. You can join in and criticize the media if you want.
And so, I think it works for Romney. I do.
MORGAN: Michael Sitrick, I mean, could you imagine despite all this someone like Herman Cain winning now the Republican nomination and potentially becoming president?
SITRICK: You know, if there is one thing that I've learned that you can do is you can never predict for sure. Bill Clinton had very serious accusations and allegations against him. Not only did he win the presidency but probably will go down as one of the most popular presidents in our country's history.
So there are a lot of factors here that have to be weighed and the real question is, what, how is the American public going to react to his policies, to his vision, to his charisma? And he does have charisma.
MORGAN: Would you advise, if you were advising Herman Cain, to change his style, because it's definitely not the normal political style, it's not really presidential. It's very much Herman Cain, the people's politician. Would you say to him you got to get serious now or continue to ride the storm the way that he's doing?
SITRICK: I think one of the things that may be appealing is his style, is the fact that he is the nonpolitician politician. So, I would say don't change yourself. Don't change your style. I would go on with the style that he has now.
MORGAN: Michael Sitrick, Gloria Borger, thank you both very much.
SITRICK: Thank you.
BORGER: Sure.
MORGAN: Our other big story tonight is the Conrad Murray trial, 23 days of testimony and 49 witnesses. The fate of Michael Jackson's doctor lies in the hands of the jury.
Murray is accused of giving Jackson an overdose of the surgical anesthetic Propofol, and could face four years behind bars if he's convicted. The jury today were out for the whole day but haven't come up with a verdict yet.
Red Rowlands is at the courthouse and joins me now.
Ted, no verdict. What does that tell you? We've had a full day of deliberations. So, clearly, the jury are still thinking about this. Why?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, seven and a half hours of work today, Piers. What we do know is it wasn't a situation where they went back, took a vote, and were all in agreement.
Now, is there major discourse here? Who knows? If they are going to come to an agreement, of course, there is a good chance or a significant chance there would be a hung jury. Likely what they're doing is taking their time. This is a jury we've been watching over the last six weeks and they've taken notes and they seem like a very serious bunch. It's not surprising that they would be diligent in their deliberations.
MORGAN: Ted, stand by for a moment. I'm going to bring in somebody who is an absolute jury expert, Jo-Ellan Dimitrius.
Jo-Ellan, I've just read these amazing statistics on your career. A thousand trials you've consulted on. You've picked over 600 juries.
So, I need to ask you the salient questions about this jury, because they are the people now deciding the fate of effectively who killed Michael Jackson. So, one of the most serious celebrity court cases we've ever seen. Six of these jurors say they are Caucasian, five Hispanic, one African-American. The youngest is 32. The oldest is 57.
How much of that kind of detail to you is in favor perhaps to Conrad Murray or against him?
JO-ELLAN DIMITRIUS, TRIAL CONSULTANT: Well, I think it's more a focus for me on how many of those jurors have actually been jurors before. We know that four of them have been jurors. One Hispanic male has actually been a foreperson in a civil jury.
What we know happened this afternoon where they asked for highlighters and I believe copies of the jury instructions to me indicates it's a very thoughtful group, that they are going through the jury instructions very carefully and talking about any components that they may be in disagreement about.
And clearly, I think they are in some disagreement at this point.
MORGAN: Two interesting points about the jury collectively. Many of them apparently mentioned that they have addiction problems in their own families. And many also mentioned that they have children themselves. Clearly, Michael Jackson with his death left three children without a father. You would imagine the jurors with families perhaps may think against Conrad Murray because of that fact.
But on the addiction level, they may have an understanding of how difficult and demanding people with addictions can be when it comes to their own drugs. What do you make of both of those statistics?
And I think with regard to the addiction component I think it is a very important factor because what we know is that the prosecution and the defense each had their own Propofol expert. And what often happens is that testimony cancels each other out and what the jurors rely on is their own personal experience. So, their personal experience with the addiction may be guiding them a little bit more at this point than possibly the experts, if there is some issue about it.
The parental issue is certainly something that I think the prosecutor came back to very well in his rebuttal basically talking about the fact that Michael Jackson was a father. He wasn't just a celebrity. He was a father trying to appeal to that component of the jurors as well.
MORGAN: Ted Rowlands, when does the jury pick up again -- I'm assuming Monday morning? If they do come back Monday morning, the longer this goes on are you thinking it's better news for Conrad Murray? Because there was a sense it was almost inevitable he'd be convicted.
I would think that the longer this goes on, the more you're thinking there is real doubt there.
ROWLANDS: Yes. Absolutely, and maybe a disagreement within the 12. Somebody holding on to one side or another, or maybe a significant split between the two sides. The longer this goes on, clearly, it is good for Conrad Murray.
MORGAN: And so, if we were predicting a time that might come back, are we looking at Monday now, Ted, do you think?
ROWLANDS: Well, it really does depend on one of two things. Are they just doing due diligence? Do they all agree? Are they moving forward? If that is the case, then yes. I think Monday would be a target.
If there is disagreement within the jury, then all bets are off. They could stretch it out and it could eventually hang. But it will take longer if somebody doesn't agree with the majority.
MORGAN: Well, certainly, one thing is for sure -- the tension will be mounting with every hour this jury doesn't come back. Ted Rowlands, thank you very much. Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, thank you very much.
DIMITRIUS: Thank you.
MORGAN: And we'll wait and see come Monday.
When we come back the country superstar who went from 13-year-old guitar player to entertainer of the year, Brad Paisley.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MORGAN: Brad Paisley is at the top of the country music world, the reigning entertainer of the year -- up for the same award this year's Country Music Awards, along with top male vocalist and album of the years, and hosting the show with Carrie Underwood, performing since he was 13 from the Grand Ole Opry to the White House, with a ton of hits. Now, a new book "Diary of a Player," about his coming of age as a musician and as a man.
Brad Paisley joins me now.
A player.
PAISLEY: Yes.
MORGAN: You don't just mean with a guitar, do you, Brad?
PAISLEY: I mostly mean with the guitar unfortunately. I'd love to qualify for the other, but I sort of took up the guitar in spite of my bad luck in the other area.
MORGAN: You know -- I mean, I think, you know, a player to me, you know, is not massively I would say different to your current reputation out there. You're like one of the top dogs in the business.
PAISLEY: Oh, thanks.
MORGAN: And, you know, you're young. You're hungry. You're successful. You are a bit of a player, aren't you?
PAISLEY: I guess so. I mean, if you sort of mean relevant.
MORGAN: Well, a player means someone who is just good at playing his own business, his own game.
PAISLEY: It is a game. You do se it as a bit of a game as an artist. It's a little bit like what can I do that's going to be interesting to these fans? How do I come up with another song or another music video or what will get their attention again? Because that's the struggle I think after 10 years.
MORGAN: Do you still enjoy it, or does it become this dusty treadmill?
PAISLEY: I love it. That's really what the book is about, is about the fact that I was given this gift by my grandfather who said you're going to get through life with this guitar.
MORGAN: This was Christmas Day. You were 8 years old.
PAISLEY: Eight years old, right.
MORGAN: And your grandfather gives you this guitar. And I like you, you end the book by saying, "I am the realization of my grandfather's dream. I am a player."
PAISLEY: Right.
MORGAN: So, when he gave you that guitar, do you think he had this wild, crazy notion that one day his grandson Brad was going to be performing to millions of people? PAISLEY: I think he mostly just thought that I would love it like he did. And he loved it. I mean, that's what he looked forward to every day was sitting in his chair like Archie Bunker, you know, in the favorite old chair, and playing songs. And that, to me, is -- has been the greatest thing about it. In spite of it, getting me everything I have in this life as far as being, learning to play the guitar.
It is really the source of sort of strength and confidence and it's -- it consoles you, you know, and it's sort of a battle ax.
MORGAN: You tour the world and you sell records around the world. What do you make of what's going on with America right now, financially, sort of a battle for its soul for whatever the new American Dream is?
PAISLEY: Right.
MORGAN: What do you think of it?
PAISLEY: I think that the key is that people still -- they still look to us. You know, we haven't lost that. They still in the rest of the world they may feel like, we -- there is a great line in a Charlie Daniels song, this lady might have stumbled but she ain't ever fell.
We're stumbling but I don't -- I'm sort of a hopeful optimistic guy that thinks that we are still the people that set a lot of trends and they look to both America and Britain for musical trends and for fashion and, you know, you've got Paris -- but the world has gotten smaller.
And as long as we're influential, that's really the thing, I think, that will keep us afloat.
MORGAN: You tweeted recently, "I'm dreading the inevitable next year, nothing but politics on television. Seems so early."
PAISLEY: It's a good thing I'm on your show now, because you wouldn't have me this time next year.
MORGAN: No, of course not, unless you're running for office.
PAISLEY: I know, exactly. I'm not. I --
(CROSSTALK)
MORGAN: Well, why do you dread that? I mean, isn't this a very important time for America, isn't it vital now that the right person wins the next election?
PAISLEY: Well, yes, I think because -- although, I believe that there are more than -- there's more than one way to skin a cat.
I mean, I don't necessarily think that any political party has it figured out. I think there's probably ways to reduce government. There's probably ways to lower taxes to where -- there's ways to increase taxes. There's areas where that has to happen, to just draw these lines and say I'm this or I'm that, that's where we're getting into trouble, you know?
MORGAN: I want to play you the clip of what you said about President Obama, which is quite interesting, when he became president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAISLEY: Very few things have moved me like the way that I was moved on November 4th. I was in Times Square, the second best place to be, I think, besides Grant Park. It was unbelievable to see, from my vantage point as I stood there, and watched the world turn on a dime in the way that it seemed to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: Poetic words. I mean, you obviously felt it very deeply that --
PAISLEY: Yes.
MORGAN: Do you feel like many people that it's not really the president's fault, he hasn't lived up to that ridiculously high expectation level? Was that -- was there always going to be a slight end of the honeymoon, do you think?
PAISLEY: Oh, yes. I think that happens for anyone. And it's interesting because what got me as someone who's very apolitical, was I was in the green room at one of the networks, because I had played a show that day.
And watching the people in the street in New York City, blacks and whites hugging, they didn't know each other, the -- there was this hopeful optimism that really, for me, came from something -- there's so many reasons why that seemed like something that just -- we never thought we'd see it happen.
And inevitably, right, I mean, you know, a guy gets in there. It's a tough thing right now. I don't know. I mean, we'll see how this all shakes out. It's certainly -- the story hasn't been completely written yet.
MORGAN: Well, what you are is a musician. And when we come back after break, I'm going to talk to you about two women in your life. One is your wife, who you're very happily married to.
PAISLEY: Right.
MORGAN: And the other one is Carrie Underwood.
PAISLEY: Right, yes.
MORGAN: And not a bad gig, that one.
PAISLEY: That's a great gig. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAISLEY: I don't know. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about these CMA award hosting tryouts.
CARRIE UNDERWOOD, SINGER: Relax. We've got it in the bag.
(INAUDIBLE)
MISS PIGGY: Feast your eyes on the new host of the CMA Awards. Hmm.
Still here? Come on, Braddie.
PAISLEY: Carrie, it's been great.
Hi, Piggy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: That's a promo for November the 8th Country Music Awards, which you will host with Carrie Underwood. I mean, that is a bit of a result isn't it, as they say?
PAISLEY: Yes, definitely. We've done this -- this is our fourth year.
MORGAN: Yes.
PAISLEY: And we have the best time. It's just -- it's so much fun.
MORGAN: How does your wife feel about the fact that you keep co- hosting with Carrie Underwood?
PAISLEY: She's good with that. I --
MORGAN: How many more times will you do it before doubts start to creep in of what's going on here?
PAISLEY: Well, we also just had a big hit. We had -- we had a duet called "Remind Me," which was kind of steamy, which was great.
MORGAN: Yes.
PAISLEY: We're both -- we're both happily married.
MORGAN: If I'm Mrs. Paisley, I'm like, what is going down here.
PAISLEY: But, thankfully, you're not Mrs. Paisley. I'm really happy about that, sir.
(LAUGHTER)
MORGAN: You've won how many CMAs there?
PAISLEY: I don't know.
MORGAN: I mean, literally, so many you've got --
PAISLEY: I think somewhere around 12 or 13.
MORGAN: How important is the award process to you?
PAISLEY: It's all I do this for.
(LAUGHTER)
MORGAN: No, I would love it if that was your honest answer.
PAISLEY: I know, I know, wouldn't that be something?
MORGAN: It's a great moment.
PAISLEY: Finally, to be honest, there's certain nights of the year when it feels like that's what you're doing it for. But other than that, the next morning, you're off to work.
MORGAN: Who's the greatest country singer you've ever seen?
PAISLEY: Of all time?
MORGAN: Of all time.
PAISLEY: George Jones. No one would really debate that. In just -- and --
MORGAN: What made him special?
PAISLEY: Unique ability to sound instantly identifiable. He sounds like a steel guitar. His voice has that lilting thing, and I just adore him. And then, currently, I would say Carrie Underwood.
MORGAN: Would you really?
PAISLEY: Yes.
MORGAN: That good?
PAISLEY: She's -- she can sing -- and the beauty of it is, she could sing anything she wanted. She could be the biggest pop star in the world. But she chose to stay, you know, in our format, which is very flattering.
MORGAN: Which is great for the country music world, isn't it?
PAISLEY: Totally.
MORGAN: I mean, is she revered now in the -- in that world?
PAISLEY: Yes, I think so. MORGAN: For that kind of decision she took?
PAISLEY: I think she is. Everybody -- every -- you know, you win a big -- you know how this goes. You win a big show, like one of those, and they're skeptical, all you -- did you -- do you deserve this?
And instantly, her first song, "Jesus Take the Wheel" was a masterpiece. And she's just followed that up.
MORGAN: What would your grandfather have made it? Did he get to see how successful you've become?
PAISLEY: No. He died when I was 13. But he got to see me open for the Judds, which, as a 13-year-old kid --
MORGAN: Huge.
PAISLEY: -- that's a big deal. I mean, they were as big as they got.
And he would slip out. I mean, when I won the Entertainer of the Year award last year, I talked about him for a good portion of the speech, because I remember watching that show with him, because he loved music. He just loved it.
MORGAN: We've got that clip. Let's watch this clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAISLEY: He said I want you to learn to play the guitar, because this is -- this is going to get you through lonely times, and you'll never be alone with this. And I don't think he ever thought that it would draw 20,000 people.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: What were you feeling as you -- as you got emotional there?
PAISLEY: I'm keenly aware of the fact that CMA is -- that's our Oscars. There have been 45 -- 44. This year's 45 -- of those given out, Entertainer of the Year award. Some people have won it three or four times. So, that's a really short list of people that have their name at the top of that big award.
And I was really aware of that going into that. I think that this is not something to be taken lightly. This isn't -- this isn't anything small. This is as big as it can be, award-wise. And I always really hoped I'd get one of those, you know.
MORGAN: Now, you've won one.
PAISLEY: Yes. MORGAN: How many more do you want to snaffle?
PAISLEY: Don't need any more. I'm good. If I won any more, not going to be upset, but it's -- I'm good.
MORGAN: I mentioned your wife earlier, Kimberly Williams, is an actress. What I love about her is -- if this story is true -- that you fell for her after watching "The Father of the Bride" with Steve Martin. Is that true?
PAISLEY: It's totally true. It's the strangest story, and I'll synopsis -- I'll do a synopsis.
MORGAN: Where were you? Where were you watching the movie?
PAISLEY: I was -- I was 20 years old. It was 1991. And I -- it was the strangest thing. I'd asked a girl out on a date. She wanted to go see that, so we went to see it.
That became my first long-term relationship, which ended badly when I moved to Nashville.
And then shortly after moving to Nashville, I got broke up with by her. And so I wrote most of my songs about it. And years later, the sequel came out. I was in Nashville a year or two and started -- I say in the book I had gone from I hope she calls to I hope she dies and back to I hope she calls.
MORGAN: Pretty extreme parameters.
PAISLEY: You've been there, I bet.
MORGAN: Yes.
PAISLEY: But it's like anything. When the sequel came out, I thought this is poetic. I should go and see if she knows that on our anniversary of the ten year -- or whatever the anniversary was of our first date, I should go see this. I had buddies talk me into this. It's the most romantic thing.
If that girl is there, it's fate. I did. I went to the same theater same time for anniversary of the first date, thinking maybe she'll think of this. It was the stupidest thing I've ever done. In some ways, it ended up being the best thing I had ever done, because I came home and I wrote a song about it.
And it ended up being a title cut to the album called "Part Two." And woke up one day and thought to myself, that's not who I belong with. Not the girl I took to the movie. I really -- it's the strangest thing. I sound like a psycho.
MORGAN: You do.
PAISLEY: I know.
MORGAN: A good psycho. I like this. PAISLEY: I thought you know who I belong with is really the girl in the movie. And it was so weird because I had no idea who she was really. Just I think I knew her name. So quickly I called a friend of mine in Hollywood and said, I was thinking about the song I wrote about that. Wouldn't it be great if that actress was in the video?
Do you have any way of getting ahold of her? And he did.
MORGAN: You're not only a psycho. You're a devious psycho.
PAISLEY: And a very lucky psycho, because that night she called me. I -- through her management, I told them the story of going to see the movie and writing a song about it. I didn't say anything of course about being a psycho.
MORGAN: Of course. She calls you. Wants to be in the video.
PAISLEY: What's this I hear about this crazy thing you did? I told her all about it. And we hit it off on the phone. I flew out to Los Angeles. I used "Hollywood Squares" as a free ticket out. I took a gig on there for taping some shows, so I could be here for a couple days.
And then we went out on a first date. And it was love at first sight for me, and love at first month or two for her. That's typical.
MORGAN: Good luck with the CMAs.
PAISLEY: Thank you.
MORGAN: I like your story.
PAISLEY: Thank you.
MORGAN: There is something very authentic about it.
PAISLEY: It's all made up, but thanks. I'm glad you like it.
MORGAN: I knew it was. Thanks.
PAISLEY: Thanks, bud.
MORGAN: Brad Paisley.
My next guest absolutely blew me away from the first note she sang and she'll do it again when she sings here. The incredible Susan Boyle coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MORGAN: Susan Boyle burst onto the scene two years ago on "Britain's Got Talent." No one expected much. When she opened her mouth to sing, wow. I was a judge that night and it was one of the most extraordinary things I've ever witnessed.
Susan's voice captivated all of us and then the whole world. Her first album went to number one globally. Her second also went to number one globally. She sold 14 million copies in 14 months. Her third, "Someone To Watch Over Me," is released this week and already is riding high up the charts.
Susan, welcome.
SUSAN BOYLE, SINGER: Hello.
MORGAN: Who would have thought two years ago that you and I would be sitting here in Hollywood from a position where you were a complete unknown coming on this talent show, hoping for the best, not knowing what would happen. And now 15 million albums later, can you believe it?
BOYLE: Still pretty much surreal.
MORGAN: You did do an interview with my predecessor, Larry King. And the reason I know that is I also appeared on it. And we have a clip to play.
BOYLE: Not this one.
MORGAN: This is before the end of "Britain's Got Talent." You had already done the audition, which had gone rather well, but you hadn't actually got to the final yet. Let's watch a bit of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: I'd like to say, Susan, I was very touched by the very flattering remarks you made about me in the newspapers this weekend, which did not go unnoticed, particularly as you chose me over Simon as your potential suitor. And I would like to extend an invitation to you to have dinner with me in London, Susan.
BOYLE: I accept.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOYLE: Oh, my God.
MORGAN: We've never actually had our dinner date, have we?
BOYLE: Hum.
MORGAN: I still owe you that dinner. What do you think when you look at yourself back there? What do you think?
BOYLE: I think oh, my God, what a platt (ph).
MORGAN: Now I have a bone to pick with you.
BOYLE: Oh, dear.
MORGAN: Despite our ongoing (INAUDIBLE) I think is the best way of describing it -- I had to turn on a rival show the other morning. And I witnessed a scene that I wasn't happy about, Susan. I'm going to play this to you and then remonstrate with you afterwards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROSS TALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is not pushing that leg away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to get a real live performance from Susan Boyle and she is going to sing a little later too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe a duet the way this thing is going.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting a little close there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: What the hell are you doing with Bill Cosby? I thought I was the man in your life.
BOYLE: Ah ha.
(CROSS TALK)
MORGAN: I mean, I love watching that because apart from the fact you seem so relaxed, the fact that you are just cavorting with one of the most famous television stars of all time, again, you must feel like pinching yourself, don't you?
BOYLE: I still get a fight. He is a lovely man. A nice man. Like yourself.
MORGAN: I don't want to get into a battle with Bill Cosby.
BOYLE: You don't.
MORGAN: I would lose. Tell me about the new album.
BOYLE: The new album is "Someone To Watch Over Me." It's a reflective album. I sing a variety of songs to suit all ages.
MORGAN: I know your manager very well. He is a lovely guy and he has taken great care of you. He said to me I think after the first album had been number one all around the world -- he said the really interesting thing about Susan, unlike everyone he had worked with from George Michael onwards, all the great singers he has worked with -- is that you had no knowledge of or interest in how many records you sold or how much money you made.
It just didn't interest you.
BOYLE: I just love the job too much.
MORGAN: Do you know now? Do you ever look at charts? Do you ever ask how you're going?
BOYLE: Every artist does have that wee bit of let's be the best. MORGAN: So you've now gotten a little bit more now competitive?
BOYLE: It's the name of the game.
MORGAN: Because at the moment, you're in a head-to-head battle I think with Justin Bieber.
BOYLE: He is a lovely boy.
MORGAN: You want to take him down.
BOYLE: He's a lovely boy.
MORGAN: Come on, Susan.
BOYLE: He is a lovely boy.
MORGAN: You're about to say, I'm going to smack down the Bieber boy.
BOYLE: He is a lovely boy. A good -- great voice. Lovely person. He's a good boy. I'd adopt him. Why not.
MORGAN: You're going to adopt him. That's a good idea.
BOYLE: I'll adopt him. Why not.
MORGAN: Quite adoptable, isn't he?
BOYLE: He is lovable. He is lovable.
MORGAN: So if he is watching, you would happily take him under your wing.
You grew up in this little village in Scotland. Not many people live there. It was not as people like to say an unhappy upbringing. You were very happy actually for most of your life before you came on "Britain's Got Talent." We discussed that.
BOYLE: Still am.
MORGAN: The key person in your life was your mother, who very sadly died really before she saw any of this. What would your mother have made of this, do you think?
BOYLE: That was a bit of a tricky one. She probably would have said, stop all the nonsense and just go on with it.
MORGAN: What were the values she taught you?
BOYLE: Christian values, how to put yourself in other people's shoes and how to give your best even when things are really tough.
MORGAN: You certainly did that. And you entered "Britain's Got Talent." And after the break I want to show you the clip that the whole world watched, the famous audition clip where I was there and I'll be honest laughing at you. But I wasn't laughing once you began to sing. You have the last laugh.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWS BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: What a moment. Susan Boyle's audition for "Britain's Got Talent." I actually had a lump in my throat, Susan. The moment that you finished and the audience in Scotland rose as one, 3,000 people roaring from the roof tops, and the judges all gave you these rave reviews and stuff, that must have been for you -- you were 47 years old at the time. You'd lived this dream all your life. And in that moment you must have felt I don't know -- how did you feel?
BOYLE: A bit pleased. I was quite frightened. I would usually go, would you get off your -- but it was quite something to be accepted. I felt accepted. And the warmth from the audience really made me feel accepted.
MORGAN: Although you had had a good upbringing and were very close to your mother and loved by many people, but you had had a lot of bullying when you were at school and stuff. And I suspect there was a sense of vindication, wasn't there, that went with all the -- all the other feelings you were feeling, of I've just got one back at those people that believe me.
BOYLE: I said it in the album, "You'll See" was one of the albums I did, one of the songs. The song "You'll See" summed it all up. I've since had very nice relationships with some who had been bullies growing up.
MORGAN: Really?
BOYLE: It's a happy ending.
MORGAN: They've contacted you and they said sorry?
BOYLE: Some of them have. Some of them -- you lose contact with some. But those who have contacted me have just been OK. They've grown up. They were just silly kids. Just silly kids.
MORGAN: When the audition got aired on television, I remember it because Simon Cowell and I spoke. He was here. I was in London. Both our phones were going off the hook. We hadn't predicted this at all. We thought it would be a good moment in the show, but not necessarily even the best moment of that night.
By the next day, you had a million hits on Youtube. By the end of the week, 10 million. By the week after, 100 million. It became -- the statistics are incredible. I think 300 million hits on Youtube at its peak. It was the most downloaded clip in the world in 2009. And then "I Dreamed a Dream," U.S. album numbers, 701,000 copies sold in its first week, the biggest opening week for a debut artist in over a decade. You beat Eminem, who only sold 608,000 that week.
Your second biggest selling album of 2009 in America just behind Taylor Swift. Stuff of dreams isn't it?
BOYLE: It is, yeah. Is someone kidding me? That's what it feels like, is someone kidding me?
MORGAN: Does it still feel like that?
BOYLE: It does a bit. It does a bit. I guess I'll grow into it.
MORGAN: What has been your biggest pinch me moment of them all?
BOYLE: I think I would have to say meeting Donny Osmond.
MORGAN: Meeting Donny Osmond, really?
BOYLE: Why not?
MORGAN: You have a big soft spot for him, haven't you?
BOYLE: I certainly have, yes.
MORGAN: And he's a lovely guy, isn't he? And he is as nice really in private as he is in public.
BOYLE: Very family oriented, very grounded.
MORGAN: Have you sang with Donny yet?
BOYLE: Not yet.
MORGAN: You sang for the Pope?
BOYLE: That was extra special. That's something that was really private for me.
MORGAN: Because you're a Catholic. I mean, a big moment.
BOYLE: That's not something you get to do in a lifetime twice. And for the city that (INAUDIBLE) overwhelming. You know, I kissed his ring. It was an emotional moment. Something I'll never forget.
MORGAN: Do you know how much money you've made? Have you any idea?
BOYLE: Maybe 500,000. I don't know.
MORGAN: You could afford to live here in Hollywood in some huge mansion, but that doesn't interest you, does it? BOYLE: I believe in being a normal person. I believe in being a person who is an entertainer, because you're mixing with people all the time, and you're in a close community. You come away from that glitz and become a normal person. I like that transition.
MORGAN: What's the ambition now? You've obviously realized the original ambition. What's the next ambition for you?
BOYLE: Ambitious to be continuing doing what I'm doing, continue to make people happy. And I hope that as long as it lasts, the public can continue accepting me. I believe they do.
MORGAN: I don't think you have to worry on that score, Susan. It's been a great pleasure for me and a privilege to see somebody that I saw on that day in Scotland, the first audition, when we had that magical moment together and with the other people who were there, and to see you now, your third album, possibly by the time this airs even, maybe number one again in America. Three on the bounce.
Very few people in history have ever achieved that. It's a remarkable achievement. Good luck. You've got a little Bieber man to see off.
BOYLE: He is lovely.
MORGAN: Good luck. It's been a pleasure seeing you. I wish you all the very best. I believe you're going to now do a little performance for me. Of the singing variety, right?
BOYLE: It's from the album.
MORGAN: Great. We'll take a break. And when we come back, Susan Boyle will sing. Thank you very much.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MORGAN: Performing "Both Sides Now" from her third album, "Someone to Watch Over Me," the great Susan Boyle.
(SINGING)
