Taylor Dayne Recalls Diane Warren 'Constantly' Showing Up with a 'Bird on Her Shoulder' (Exclusive)
Taylor Dayne Recalls Diane Warren 'Constantly' Showing Up with a 'Bird on Her Shoulder' (Exclusive)
Daniela Avila, Ilana KaplanFri, June 12, 2026 at 10:10 PM UTC
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Taylor Dayne and Diane WarrenCredit: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic -
Taylor Dayne recalls Diane Warren's quirky habit of showing up with a bird on her shoulder
Dayne performed Tina Turner's "We Don't Need Another Hero" at the Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony honoring Terry Britten and Graham Lyle
Dayne also reflects on her health journey after colon cancer, calling herself a "diligent warrior" with a renewed sense of purpose
Taylor Dayne and Diane Warren go way back.
Speaking with PEOPLE on the red carpet at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner in New York City on Thursday, June 11, Dayne recalled a funny story about her songwriting sessions with Warren.
"Diane used to show up with a bird on her," Dayne, 64, says of Warren, 68.
"I'm like, 'Who the F shows up with a bird on their shoulder constantly?'" she continues. "I'm like, 'How do you go to lunch with that?' She goes, 'Shut up, Taylor. Like I'm going to lunch with the bird.' Animals always came first with Diane, so I kind of got it. And then she would never clean up her studio."
She concludes, "There's a million stories about Diane, but her humanity is always animals first and humans later. And therapy."
Reflecting on her character, Dayne cited Cher's comments about Warren in her 2025 documentary Diane Warren: Relentless.
"We just know her so long. The relentlessness, the incredibleness, a true artist through and through and a wonderful human being," she says.
Dayne collaborated with Warren on two songs from her second studio album titled "Love Will Lead You Back" and "I'll Be Your Shelter." The first peaked at No. 1 and the second No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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At the ceremony, Dayne performed a tribute for inductees Terry Britten and Graham Lyle. She sang Tina Turner's "We Don't Need Another Hero," which they co-wrote.
Speaking with PEOPLE ahead of the performance, Dayne says it was "a great honor" as a fan of Turner.
The class of 2026 inductees also included Taylor Swift, Walter Afanasieff, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of KISS, Kenny Loggins, Alanis Morissette and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart.
Taylor DayneCredit: Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty
In 2024, Dayne opened up to PEOPLE about performing after a journey with colon cancer.
"I made a decision," Dayne said at the time. "I was lying in the hospital after surgery. I got really, really sick, and it gave me a new sense of purpose. I said, 'I'm not ready to go. I'm going to fight this.'"
She added, "The gratitude is immeasurable. I weighed 98 pounds by the end of my treatment. And I even walked weird. But that's one trial and tribulation. That's not the story."
At the ceremony, Dayne gave PEOPLE an update on her health.
"My health is something that I am a diligent warrior with," she says. "I'm ever grateful to be here. I understand so much more the value and my purpose for being here. I take it very seriously. I'm a warrior."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
