Before becoming a pop icon, Cyndi Lauper had to dodge quite a many hurdles in her music career. A major challenge was the persistent comparisons with other successful women in the industry as she endured comparisons with then-emerging Madonna throughout her career.
Though the singer-songwriter had dedicated her life to art, she wasn’t ready to taste success at the expense of her integrity. Hence, she often clashed with music executives asking her to be like EGOT winner Barba Streisand and the Queen of Pop.
Cyndi Lauper denied being pitted against other successful women
Veteran artist, Cyndi Lauper, 71, is sharing insight into her four-decade-long career in the music industry. The Grammy winner recalled the ordeal with music executives after she signed her former band, Blue Angel with a record label, during an interview with The Guardian on Tuesday, June 25.
The Time After Time singer revealed the label wanted to establish her as a solo artist and urged her to follow the lane of Barbra Streisand. “Look, you already had a Streisand,” Lauper quipped.
Besides the entertainment mogul, Lauper was also pitted against Madonna, who was on the rise following her debut album’s release in 1983.
Lauper, the maker of the feminist anthem Girls Just Want To Have Fun, questioned why the industry could not have more successful women and would rather pit one against another.
“As if you could only have one woman who is successful. What the hell is that about?…I want to be competitive, but not pitted against another woman. I’m not into that,” the She Bop singer declared while defending Madonna for her continued work in the entertainment industry.
Elsewhere in the interview, the New York native pondered if her career would have been easier had she pacified the execs. While she agrees it could have been, Lauper has no regrets as the ups and downs of her journey made her the artist she is today. The esteemed musician added, “Honestly, I just always wanted to be a great artist.”
Cyndi Lauper gets a documentary and signals the final tour
Even four decades later, Cyndi Lauper’s career is as good as new. But the singer has decided it’s time to bid farewell to active music-making as she recently announced her final tour, Girls Just Want To Have Fun Farewell Tour that will kick off in early October and will go on until February 2025, per Live Nation.
That’s not it. The icon is the inspiration behind Alison Ellwood’s latest documentary, Let the Canary Sing, which delves into Lauper’s life and career. The now-streaming documentary explores the singer’s childhood growing up with an abusive father, to pursuing her passion for music in New York, creating her career’s greatest song, Girls Just Want To Have Fun, and building a legacy for the ages to come, per The Guardian.
When asked about filming the documentary, Lauper joked, “The good news is it’s not a thriller, and she lives at the end.”
Let the Canary Sing premiered on 7 June and is now available to stream on Paramount+.
