Gayle King sat down for an exclusive interview with Telisha Nikki Jones, the creator and visionary behind Ai-powered R&B singer Xania Monet.
“CBS Mornings” aired the exclusive interview on Wednesday, Nov. 5.
Telisha, a poet from Mississippi, used Suno to create Xania’s singing voice, which has been compared to Beyoncé, Melania Fiona and others.
Jones signed a $3 million record deal for Xania after a bidding war. Xania is the first AI artist to debut on a Billboard radio chart with her song “How Was I Supposed to Know.”
“I was really looking forward to meeting you, because a lot of people were saying ‘Who is this girl? Who is she?'” Gayle said. “Because for so many people, they think ‘She’s not real, she doesn’t exist.’ Why did you want to comment and reveal yourself in this way?”
Telisha said she wanted people to know “there was a real person behind Xania. That there’s real emotion and soul put into those lyrics.”
Telisha said Xania was born as an avatar she created while teaching herself AI three months ago.
“The lyrics are 100 percent me,” Telisha said. “Xania is an extension of me, so I look at her as a real person.”
“But you can’t sing,” Gayle said, “so in that sense she’s not a real person.”
Gayle asked Telisha to respond to people who criticize her for not doing the hard work that real singers do.
“You seem to have circumvented, taken a shortcut through all of that,” Gayle said.
Watch the interview below.
Gayle King interviews Telisha Jones, the person who created the AI singer Xania Monet then breaks down how she did it. how do y’all feel about this ??? via @CBSMornings pic.twitter.com/PeNU8mU3ZD
— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2Blog) November 5, 2025
