Podcast Summary

Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend

Episode Title: The Jazz Singer
Air Date: January 8, 2026
Host: Conan O’Brien
Guest: Lucy Yeghazarian (Jazz Singer)
Co-host: Sona Movsesian

Episode Overview

This episode features jazz singer Lucy Yeghazarian, diving into her journey from Armenia to New York, adapting to American life, and carving out a career in jazz. The conversation is warm, playful, and quick-witted, with plenty of laughs as Lucy, Conan, and Sona discuss music, immigration, language, tough times, and the subtle power of humor in performance and relationships.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Armenian Connection & Introduction

[01:29 - 02:34]

• Lucy, an Armenian now living in New York, connects with Conan and Sona (who is also Armenian). Playful banter ensues around Armenian cultural connections and stereotypes.
• Lucy jokes about being glad there aren’t many Armenians in New York (“I love my people, but in moderation” – Lucy, 03:12), leading Conan to riff on his own Irish background.

  “I avoid the Irish at all costs, really. A horrible tribe. A horrible tribe.” — Conan (03:21)

2. Lucy’s Path to Jazz Singing

[03:31 - 04:46]

• Lucy shares her journey from studying history to becoming a jazz singer in NYC, taking gig work out of necessity and developing her career over time.
• Briefly mentions starting a cookie business during the COVID pandemic to make ends meet.

3. Discovering Jazz and Learning English via Conan

[04:46 - 06:52]

• Lucy’s early exposure to jazz came from her father's illicit Soviet-era collections, finding American jazz to symbolize hope and the American dream.

• Reveals she learned English almost entirely from watching “Conan,” “Family Guy,” and “Mr. Rogers” after immigrating:

  “I learned English pretty much from Conan, ‘Family Guy,’ and ‘Mr. Rogers.’” — Lucy (05:51)
  “I think people don’t give enough credit to television, especially… late night television where that fourth wall isn’t there… You were talking to me.” — Lucy (06:30)

• Conan is both charmed and horrified:

  “Many times I've had people tell me that... they would learn English from me, which I find kind of horrifying. But I’m also happy. Your English is fantastic, by the way.” — Conan (06:15)

4. Playful Jazz Lesson: Scatting with Conan

[07:12 - 10:10]

• Conan expresses a desire to learn jazz singing, and Lucy explains scat:

  “If you were drunk at a bar and there’s this song you remembered... that’s what scat singing is. You’re just trying to recreate a melody.” — Lucy (07:52)

• They improvise a jazz version of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” with Conan enthusiastically oversinging and Lucy providing gentle feedback:

  “Okay. You got to bring it down.” — Lucy (09:25)
  “Everything I do is wrong.” — Conan (09:46)

5. Jazz Themes and Humor as Release

[13:45 - 16:26]

• Lucy gravitates towards singing “old blues that are about terrible, terrible men,” but likes to use humor to point out life’s problems and bring people together:

  “I like to point out the elephant in the room and then we can all kind of like laugh at it and move forward together.” — Lucy (14:37)

• Discussion of how performing allows saying things you wouldn’t otherwise say—especially when Lucy playfully mocks her saxophonist husband onstage.
• Sona and Conan joke about Conan’s passive-aggressive communication style, with Sona declaring:

  “If there’s a genre of music that’s just being passive aggressive, Conan would be the number one artist.” — Sona (15:53)

6. Lucy’s Struggles and Resilience

[17:05 - 19:02]

• Lucy describes moving to NYC, being broke, getting fired as a Madison Square Garden tour guide (“I got fired because I used to tell them that there used to be a beautiful train station there, and they tore it down to build this” — Lucy, 17:25), and selling her mandolin for emergency dental work.
• She endured further disappointment by losing the prestigious Monk jazz competition, capping her rough patch.

7. Immigrant Experience

[19:16 - 20:15]

• Conan expresses deep respect for immigrants adapting to a new language and culture:

  “It takes an amount of grit and courage that’s awe inspiring. It really is.” — Conan (19:54)

• Lucy reflects on the strangeness and difficulty of emigrating, a sentiment Sona underscores with playful exaggeration about her own “origin story.”

8. Promoting Lucy’s Work & Finale

[22:17 - 23:11]

• Lucy invites Conan and Sona to her upcoming show at The Alex in Glendale (February 13), hinting it’s a great pre-Valentine’s Day plan.
• More trademark comedy as Conan and Sona riff about relationships and Valentine’s Day.
• Conan closes with sincere appreciation:

  “You’ve given me a lift. And you’re really funny. So thank you very much.” — Conan (23:11)

• Lucy thanks Conan for teaching her English, to which Sona dryly refuses to thank him, sustaining their ongoing, sibling-like banter.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Lucy, on Armenian-American networking:

  “I wanted to make sure that I met you not through Sona, you know, to avoid any kind of nepotism.” (01:42)

• On learning English:

  “I learned English pretty much from Conan, Family Guy, and Mr. Rogers.” — Lucy (05:51)

• Scat lesson highlight:

  “You gotta bring it down.” — Lucy (09:25)
  “I’m drunk!” — Conan (09:31)
  “No, like a mellow kind of drunk... Psychotic Irishman. Okay, that’s too much.” — Lucy (09:38)

• On music and humor:

  “I like to point out the elephant in the room and then we can all kind of like laugh at it and move forward together.” — Lucy (14:37)

• Resilience and grit:

  “It takes an amount of grit and courage. That’s awe inspiring.” — Conan (19:54)

• Sona, in character as Conan’s long-suffering assistant:

  “Is this the story where you said I jumped out of a bush and then you’re like, ‘I’ll domesticate you and teach you English’? Or is this the one where I floated to this country in a basket?” — Sona (20:36)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:29] Introduction to Lucy, Armenian connection revealed
• [03:31] Lucy recounts her move to NYC and start in jazz
• [05:51] Lucy credits Conan for helping her learn English
• [07:12] Conan receives a jazz “scatting” lesson
• [13:45] Music’s themes, humor, and gender in jazz/performing
• [17:05] Lucy’s career lows and resilience in NYC
• [19:16] Reflections on the immigrant experience
• [22:17] Lucy invites Conan/Sona to her concert
• [23:11] Episode closes with mutual appreciation

Summary

This episode blends heartfelt immigrant stories with trademark Team Coco humor. Lucy Yeghazarian’s wit, resilience, and love for jazz shine, while Conan and Sona keep the atmosphere buoyant. Listeners will enjoy a rare inside look at the life of a working jazz singer—and the life-affirming impact of late-night TV and well-timed laughter.

Recommended if you enjoy: Real talk about music, immigrant journeys, and Conan O’Brien’s comedic banter.