STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
And now this.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ON & ON")
ERYKAH BADU: (Singing) Oh, my, my, my. I'm feeling high.
INSKEEP: The singer Erykah Badu has a triple-platinum album and a Grammy. So she's talented, but not talented enough to impress New York.
LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:
That's where the singer tried her hand at busking.
BADU: I just kind of always wanted to see what it would be like to, you know, sing for money on the streets.
INSKEEP: So she tried it in Times Square.
BADU: (Singing) Hey, sir, can you help me out? I need some money.
WERTHEIMER: She put a hat on the sidewalk so people could toss in a buck or two - hardly anybody did.
INSKEEP: Now, let's be fair to the cultural sensibility of the Times Square crowd. Erykah Badu did not bust out with one of her platinum hits. But whatever the reason, she made only $3.60.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ON & ON")
BADU: (Singing)I was born underwater with $3 and six dimes. Yeah, yeah... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.