August 11, 2025 • 6 mins
In honor of National Radio Day on August 20, Elvis Duran opens up about his career in radio, from the way hearing himself on Z100 for the very first time "changed everything in [his] life" to revealing the one tradition he hope never goes away. He also shared why the first time Lady Gaga appeared as a guest on the show was the "most unforgettable" interview he has had to date.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I faintly remember the first time I talked on Z
one hundred in my headphones. It was the loudest thing
I've ever heard in my life. It hurt, it was
so loud, But I tell you, hearing my voice booming
around in my headphones changed everything in my life. And
I'll never forget that first moment and I realized I'm
on Z one hundred and my life was forever changed.
(00:22):
I'll never forget that moment. We've had so many guests
on our show, and being on Z one hundred you
have access to a lot of people. I think the
most unexpected guest was one day, Arnold Schwarzenegger was down
the hall doing an interview at another station, and my
producer TJ ran in and said, let's go get him.
And I said, no, no, no, no, I'm not prepared. I
don't know what to say to him. He's Arnold Schwarzenegger.
(00:45):
I don't bring him in. And the next thing I know,
the door opens and walks Arnold. I'm like, holy crap,
what are we going to do? He sat down and
his energy alone ran the interview. It was just, you know,
just add Water and stir Man, and it was one
of the most unexpected but fantastic interviews we've ever done.
I really enjoyed that most unforgettable interview I believe was
(01:08):
Lady Gaga the first time she came to see us,
where she walked through the door and we were like,
holy crap, once again, there's Lady Gaga. But she said
the same thing to us because she grew up listening
to us. She said, I can't believe I'm here listening
to your voices in the same room as you.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
I'm thinking us your Lady Gaga, what do you mean
about us? This is not about us. This is about you,
she said, Now it's about you.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
And having me on as a guest today is probably
the moment I'll never forget, and we'll never forget her
unforgettable moment at all as well. So there you go, Gaga.
I think my favorite interaction with listeners. I have many
favorite interaction moments with listeners. One of my favorites the
people who are in the car stuck in traffic on
their way to chemotherapy, on the way to go to
(01:54):
their chemo session, knowing they're going to feel like total
hammered dog crap within moments. Have they stick those needles
in and they call us to say, hey, you're lightning
my mood. You're making me feel better.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Thank you. And we actually called it the Chemo Club.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
All of our chemotherapy listeners who are listening every morning,
they rely on us because they know exactly what it's
going to feel like moments later, and they need for
us to be there just give them that extra little
kick and they ask and make them feel like, Hey,
you know it's going to be okay. We're going to
be back here tomorrow morning, so you're going to get
through this day. You're gonna be sick as a dog,
but we'll be back tomorrow. We'll be reliable. Unless it's
(02:32):
a Friday. We won't be on a Saturday. Sorry about that.
We'll see you on Monday. The toughest on air moment
was opening the microphone on September twelfth, two thousand and one,
the day after what happened in Manhattan and in Pennsylvania
and at the Pentagon. Of course, nine to eleven was
just a nightmare for all of us, and opening the
microphone for the first time thinking, well, who am I
(02:54):
to go on the air and talk to these people
who are afraid and hurting and sad and angry. You
know who am I to do that? That was the
toughest moment, But the moment after that was the most rewarding.
We understood what we are all supposed to do. Our
assignment is to be here to serve the public, plain
(03:14):
and simple. We're here to be there for other people,
to guide them to safety, to make them feel good
about where they're going that day, let them know that, hey,
you know, we're here for you. We're here for you
whatever you need. And that was the most rewarding moment.
So those two moments, working in tandem with each other,
the most important moments of my career. I don't really
have regrets in my life. Maybe I should start regretting things,
(03:36):
maybe it'd make me a better person. But I've always
been close to regretting the moments I've ruined the endings
to movies. For instance, I think the Sex and the
City movie came out and I hopped on board. The
next day, I went, oh my god, I can't believe
Big died. Oh hell broke lowse People were calling storming
up to the station to burn me, like you gave
(03:58):
away the ending to this film, And I went Oh god,
I don't think there's any interviews I want to redo.
The only reason you want to redo an interview is
because it was bad, And if it was a bad interview,
I don't want to talk to them ever again anyway.
So I think a challenge that radio people don't always see,
and I know we're all guilty of it is sometimes
over preparing. Over preparing some people say you need to do.
(04:21):
I think if you're over prepared, you have too many
notes in front of you with an interview that's going on.
You're too busy thinking about your next question. You're not
listening to the flow of the interview. You're not listening
to the conversation. You're not listening to what they're saying
as deeply as you should, because whatever they say to
you gives you another question automatically, that's where the interview goes.
(04:42):
So I think the biggest challenge we all need to
work on constantly is stop overthinking.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Just relax.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Interview people interview their hearts and their passions, and they'll
give you the answer every time. You know, there really
isn't a radio moment in my career anyway that I
want to relive, because that's the whole point where live
radio sh show. We're not pre recorded, we're live. That
moment is done, it's on and is gone. I don't
want to go back there ever again. It gave us
what we needed. The energy is in the atmosphere, it's
(05:10):
out in the universe. We don't need it anymore. I
don't want to relive any moments at.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
All on this show. I know it sounds really bad,
but it's true. Let's move on to something else.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
I think the only tradition I like in radio, and
I want it to happen every single year is a
jingle ball. Z one hundred's jingle Ball is It's that
magic moment. It's our super Bowl for Z one hundred
in New York Madison Square Garden with artists that have
played there and sold it out before an artists who've
never played there ever, walking out on that stage for
the first time, the magic of the garden with Z
(05:41):
one hundred in the background. We are the hosts. That's
the tradition I never ever want to let loose of.
I mean, it's the best here in the year twenty
twenty five. How do I describe radio this year?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
I can't. You can't really define it until next year.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Really in twenty twenty six, I can tell you about
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
We're still working on it.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
My favorite thing about being a part of the iHeart
Radio family is show biz. You know, before iHeart Radio
came in and taught us there's so much more to
radio than radio. Now we're doing things to concerts. I
remember when we told us we're doing this iHeart Radio
Music Festival in Las Vegas. We're all going out, We're
going to put it together together. I mean, what are
(06:22):
we doing. We've never done this before. Exactly, We're gonna
go out there and do it ourselves. It's like, come on,
let's put on a show in the barn. And we
invited superstars to come perform on the stage. We learned
how to do it on our own. It took time.
It took us two or three years to make it work,
and we're still doing it. And I think that's one
of the great things about iHeart Radio. It has proven
(06:43):
to us and to our listeners and our partners that
were much more than just radio. We're so many things,
and all the other things we do other than radio
makes doing the radio part all the more exciting.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
That's what I love about iHeart
I faintly remember the first time I talked on Z
one hundred in my headphones. It was the loudest thing
I've ever heard in my life. It hurt, it was
so loud, But I tell you, hearing my voice booming
around in my headphones changed everything in my life. And
I'll never forget that first moment and I realized I'm
on Z one hundred and my life was forever changed.
(00:22):
I'll never forget that moment. We've had so many guests
on our show, and being on Z one hundred you
have access to a lot of people. I think the
most unexpected guest was one day, Arnold Schwarzenegger was down
the hall doing an interview at another station, and my
producer TJ ran in and said, let's go get him.
And I said, no, no, no, no, I'm not prepared. I
don't know what to say to him. He's Arnold Schwarzenegger.
(00:45):
I don't bring him in. And the next thing I know,
the door opens and walks Arnold. I'm like, holy crap,
what are we going to do? He sat down and
his energy alone ran the interview. It was just, you know,
just add Water and stir Man, and it was one
of the most unexpected but fantastic interviews we've ever done.
I really enjoyed that most unforgettable interview I believe was
(01:08):
Lady Gaga the first time she came to see us,
where she walked through the door and we were like,
holy crap, once again, there's Lady Gaga. But she said
the same thing to us because she grew up listening
to us. She said, I can't believe I'm here listening
to your voices in the same room as you.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
I'm thinking us your Lady Gaga, what do you mean
about us? This is not about us. This is about you,
she said, Now it's about you.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
And having me on as a guest today is probably
the moment I'll never forget, and we'll never forget her
unforgettable moment at all as well. So there you go, Gaga.
I think my favorite interaction with listeners. I have many
favorite interaction moments with listeners. One of my favorites the
people who are in the car stuck in traffic on
their way to chemotherapy, on the way to go to
(01:54):
their chemo session, knowing they're going to feel like total
hammered dog crap within moments. Have they stick those needles
in and they call us to say, hey, you're lightning
my mood. You're making me feel better.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Thank you. And we actually called it the Chemo Club.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
All of our chemotherapy listeners who are listening every morning,
they rely on us because they know exactly what it's
going to feel like moments later, and they need for
us to be there just give them that extra little
kick and they ask and make them feel like, Hey,
you know it's going to be okay. We're going to
be back here tomorrow morning, so you're going to get
through this day. You're gonna be sick as a dog,
but we'll be back tomorrow. We'll be reliable. Unless it's
(02:32):
a Friday. We won't be on a Saturday. Sorry about that.
We'll see you on Monday. The toughest on air moment
was opening the microphone on September twelfth, two thousand and one,
the day after what happened in Manhattan and in Pennsylvania
and at the Pentagon. Of course, nine to eleven was
just a nightmare for all of us, and opening the
microphone for the first time thinking, well, who am I
(02:54):
to go on the air and talk to these people
who are afraid and hurting and sad and angry. You
know who am I to do that? That was the
toughest moment, But the moment after that was the most rewarding.
We understood what we are all supposed to do. Our
assignment is to be here to serve the public, plain
(03:14):
and simple. We're here to be there for other people,
to guide them to safety, to make them feel good
about where they're going that day, let them know that, hey,
you know, we're here for you. We're here for you
whatever you need. And that was the most rewarding moment.
So those two moments, working in tandem with each other,
the most important moments of my career. I don't really
have regrets in my life. Maybe I should start regretting things,
(03:36):
maybe it'd make me a better person. But I've always
been close to regretting the moments I've ruined the endings
to movies. For instance, I think the Sex and the
City movie came out and I hopped on board. The
next day, I went, oh my god, I can't believe
Big died. Oh hell broke lowse People were calling storming
up to the station to burn me, like you gave
(03:58):
away the ending to this film, And I went Oh god,
I don't think there's any interviews I want to redo.
The only reason you want to redo an interview is
because it was bad, And if it was a bad interview,
I don't want to talk to them ever again anyway.
So I think a challenge that radio people don't always see,
and I know we're all guilty of it is sometimes
over preparing. Over preparing some people say you need to do.
(04:21):
I think if you're over prepared, you have too many
notes in front of you with an interview that's going on.
You're too busy thinking about your next question. You're not
listening to the flow of the interview. You're not listening
to the conversation. You're not listening to what they're saying
as deeply as you should, because whatever they say to
you gives you another question automatically, that's where the interview goes.
(04:42):
So I think the biggest challenge we all need to
work on constantly is stop overthinking.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Just relax.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Interview people interview their hearts and their passions, and they'll
give you the answer every time. You know, there really
isn't a radio moment in my career anyway that I
want to relive, because that's the whole point where live
radio sh show. We're not pre recorded, we're live. That
moment is done, it's on and is gone. I don't
want to go back there ever again. It gave us
what we needed. The energy is in the atmosphere, it's
(05:10):
out in the universe. We don't need it anymore. I
don't want to relive any moments at.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
All on this show. I know it sounds really bad,
but it's true. Let's move on to something else.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
I think the only tradition I like in radio, and
I want it to happen every single year is a
jingle ball. Z one hundred's jingle Ball is It's that
magic moment. It's our super Bowl for Z one hundred
in New York Madison Square Garden with artists that have
played there and sold it out before an artists who've
never played there ever, walking out on that stage for
the first time, the magic of the garden with Z
(05:41):
one hundred in the background. We are the hosts. That's
the tradition I never ever want to let loose of.
I mean, it's the best here in the year twenty
twenty five. How do I describe radio this year?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
I can't. You can't really define it until next year.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Really in twenty twenty six, I can tell you about
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
We're still working on it.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
My favorite thing about being a part of the iHeart
Radio family is show biz. You know, before iHeart Radio
came in and taught us there's so much more to
radio than radio. Now we're doing things to concerts. I
remember when we told us we're doing this iHeart Radio
Music Festival in Las Vegas. We're all going out, We're
going to put it together together. I mean, what are
(06:22):
we doing. We've never done this before. Exactly, We're gonna
go out there and do it ourselves. It's like, come on,
let's put on a show in the barn. And we
invited superstars to come perform on the stage. We learned
how to do it on our own. It took time.
It took us two or three years to make it work,
and we're still doing it. And I think that's one
of the great things about iHeart Radio. It has proven
(06:43):
to us and to our listeners and our partners that
were much more than just radio. We're so many things,
and all the other things we do other than radio
makes doing the radio part all the more exciting.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
That's what I love about iHeart
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