Latest news with #Lauper
USA Today
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Cyndi Lauper says goodbye to touring with heart, color and powerhouse vocals: Review
BRISTOW, Va. – In the nine months since Cyndi Lauper launched her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour, she's birthed a worldwide arena run and an October premiere date for her long-gestating 'Working Girl' musical. She's also been rightfully crowned an inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this fall and remained a staunch advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and women's issues, raising $200,000 through fan donations during the tour for her Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights Fund. In other words, Cyndi has remained Cyndi – indefatigable, loyal and bracingly authentic. The final leg of her final tour kicked off July 17, this time hitting amphitheaters, with a slightly modified production from her arena run. Lauper, a seemingly ageless 72, will say goodbye to the road – but not to music – with a two-night stand at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles Aug. 29-30. At Jiffy Lube Live amphitheater in northern Virginia July 24, Lauper uncorked a generous mix of classics ('True Colors,' 'Change of Heart') and album tracks ('Who Let in the Rain,' 'Shine') with her well-honed five-piece band anchored by drummer Sterling Campbell and percussionist Mona Tavakoli. But her storytelling between the music also riveted those willing to stop scrolling through their phones to listen. There is a direct through line from Lauper to Lady Gaga from a theatrical standpoint. Unlike Gaga, also currently captivating fans with her sublime Mayhem Ball tour, Lauper has never been a dancer, aside from her unbridled arm waves and hip swings first captured on the cover of her blockbuster 'She's So Unusual' debut more than 40 years ago. She uses her bold fashion – wig changes from blue to canary yellow, outfits from ruffled trains to polka dots – and gale-force voice to sell her drama. Cyndi Lauper tells fans 'you write the book' While it is endlessly amusing to watch Lauper cavort through the opening 'She Bop' (hilarious to recall the song was considered risqué in the '80s) as fans are blasted with rainbow confetti and dance with abandon during the underappreciated 'The Goonies 'R Good Enough,' the songs where Lauper flourishes are ballads. Her rendition of Roy Orbison's 'I Drove All Night' is an exhale of yearning. But Lauper sharing her story of how being an outcast in high school shaped her is what garnered the most applause: 'This is one chapter in your life. You get to write the other chapters … you write the book,' she said in her staccato New York accent. A highlight of the two-hour show was her riveting performance of 'Sally's Pigeons.' Following a deep, detailed story about her family, growing up in Queens and the neighbor who inspired the song, Lauper stood under a lone spotlight, singing the first verse of the song a capella. Close-ups of her face on the long-paneled screens behind the stage captured every facial contortion as she poured her emotion into the poignant ballad. More: Lady Gaga thrills at theatrical Mayhem Ball tour kickoff: Review Cyndi Lauper has mastered mixing fun with philosophy Lauper's Carole-Lombard-meets-Lucille-Ball kookiness has always been part of her charm. She can blast her voice to stratospheric heights on her version of Gene Pitney's 1964 hit, 'I'm Gonna Be Strong,' gather her band and two backup singers for a sprightly skip through 'Iko Iko' or ask the crowd to hold up their phones to 'make a community of light, in case it gets really dark' for the eternally tender 'Time After Time.' Opener Jake Wesley Rogers joined her for a vigorous rendition of 'Money Changes Everything,' the pair slinging lyrics between them and laying on the stage floor to pound out emphatic notes before an encore that, of course, included 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun.' Through it all, Lauper's mixture of street-smart philosophies delivered with candor and undiminished vocal prowess cement her standing as a hall of famer far beyond a music museum.
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
Cyndi Lauper on how her iconic hairstyles reflected her life's defining moments
Cyndi Lauper's bold, ever-changing hairstyles have always been more than just a fashion statement -- they were acts of rebellion. In an interview with "Good Morning America" Digital, Lauper revealed that her half-shaved head in the "Time After Time" music video symbolized defiance at a time when women were "haunted by the image of their mother in a life of drudgery." "Cutting my hair in that way would also be a rebellious act, one culture fighting to move away from a more oppressive culture for women," she said. Lauper said she surprised Dave Wolff -- her longtime boyfriend in the '80s and former manager -- with her haircut, revealing her new red style for the first time while the cameras were rolling in the video because she wanted his reaction to be "natural." "The hair symbolized a counterculture and rebellion, and that was significantly important to me," she said. "If you're going to color your hair, you might as well ... color it a color." Lauper also reflected on a deeply personal moment in the video: The tears she shed onscreen were real. She said it was the moment she realized she had made it as a rock star, recalling how she had once faced homelessness and was voted "most likely to die" by her peers in school. "I was either going to expire or be this artist, and I wound up being this artist," she recalled. "That's why I was crying, because I couldn't believe life had given me that gift." Nearly 40 years later, the video has amassed more than 500 million views on YouTube, proof of its lasting cultural impact. "It became a classic because I think I spoke to people," Lauper said. Lauper added that the video's message still resonates, because women today can relate to the feeling of not wanting to fit in. "From the clothing to the hair to the makeup, it symbolized one culture fighting to move away from a more oppressive culture for women," she said. Lauper told "GMA" her hair has been an outlet for her creativity over the years and a way to encourage women. Below, she described the inspiration behind some of her most memorable styles. Photo shoot, 1983 "Red hair, I just liked the way it felt," she said. "And it wasn't just regular red, it was a crazy color. I think at that point I was using fire-engine red, and sometimes it was brighter than others." American Music Awards, 1985 "For the 'Money Changes Everything' music video, that was the color. Everything was black and white except for my hair, and that was painted," she said. Performing in Chicago, 1999 "A friend of mine had done her hair in dreads, and I said, 'How do you do that?' Because it looked like once you could do it, you didn't have to mess with it," Lauper recalled. She continued, "I had done my hair blue, which I liked at the time, and it was after I had my kid, and I just did my own dreads, and I was doing my own hair on tour … it looked good." Melbourne concert, 2023 "I like mohawks, and, yeah, purple is good," Lauper said. "A lot of times, you know, if it's spring, I get it. Inspired by the flowers, you know, and tulips." Lauper has seen tremendous success over her decadeslong career, earning two Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Tony Award for co-writing "Kinky Boots," four Billboard Music Awards, two American Music Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her debut album from 1983, "She's So Unusual," made history as the first by a woman to score four top-five hit singles, including the iconic "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "Time After Time." She is set to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November. Lauper is currently on the last leg of her yearlong Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour, with 21 shows left in North America this summer.
Boston Globe
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Does pop music need a retirement age?
Cyndi Lauper performed during the Global Citizen festival on Sept. 25, 2021, in New York. STEFAN JEREMIAH/Associated Press If this is Lauper's last tour, she's the rare legacy artist to leave behind the rigors of the road. Like Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court, pop music has no retirement age. And for better or worse, artists in their 70s, 80s, and beyond keep touring and flogging their oldies for fans who just don't know how to let go. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Then again, neither do the performers. Advertisement Last week, During the first part of that tour in 2022, McCartney played two sold-out shows at Fenway Park. In his Advertisement For devoted fans, the intangible essence that makes a particular artist distinctive can obscure the inevitable ravages of time, even to the artist themselves. A few years ago I went to a concert featuring two groups whose commercial peak came in the 1980s. One of the bands, a British duo, sounded fantastic, as if no time had passed. Not so with the lead singer of the other group who, at 70, didn't seem to notice that once easily accessible notes were now well beyond his reach. But for older performers it can be more than octaves that are no longer within their range. Last year, social media was inundated with clips of singer 'I absolutely love what I do,' Valli wrote. 'And I know we put on a great show because our fans are still coming out in force and the show still rocks.' Others recognize when it's time for their last encore. Plagued with health problems, In May, Osbourne told Advertisement For many artists, the fans who've stayed with them for decades are family, too, and they can't imagine walking away despite fragile health or advanced age. Excess, not age, was Elvis Presley's problem, and it led to his death at 42. In an 'E! True Hollywood Story' about But his fans didn't care. 'His audience accepted him,' Jerry Weintraub, a legendary concert promoter and film producer, said in the episode. 'When they saw him on the stage and they saw him at 300 pounds, they saw the Elvis from 20 years before. They couldn't see [the physical changes].' Remembering aging artists as young and dynamic is also a vital link to our own younger and more dynamic selves. That's part of what music alone uniquely does. A riff or a chorus whisks an audience back to that original moment of revelation. Gleefully screaming out the lyrics of a favorite song played live in concert erases today and its woes and revives all those yesterdays full of possibilities. I felt that the first time I saw Lauper in concert on an unseasonably raw spring day in 2004, two decades after her breakthrough album, 'She's So Unusual.' She stood on the arms of a seat in the middle of the audience and belted out 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' — in the same venue where she'll play on Thursday. It's understandable why many musicians shun retirement — few things can replace the rapture of an adoring audience. But there's a lot to be said for those who walking off the stage too early rather than too late when neither the singer nor the song remain the same. Advertisement Renée Graham is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
Cyndi Lauper breaks down her iconic hairstyles from the '80s to now
We showed Lauper some of our favorite hairstyles and had her react. She shared a hilarious story about her hair during the "We Are The World" filming.
UPI
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
Watch: Cyndi Lauper says 'Girls' farewell tour is a 'celebration'
1 of 5 | Cyndi Lauper discussed her farewell tour on "The Late Show" Tuesday. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo June 11 (UPI) -- "Time After Time" singer Cyndi Lauper described her farewell tour as "a celebration" when she stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Tuesday. Lauper, 71, launches the final leg of her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour in July. The singer-songwriter said on The Late Show that the tour is inspired by music and art. "There was a living art movement between 1910 and 1930 in Paris, and that is what inspired mixing art and music, and I got to do it. And that's why I'm so excited," she told Colbert. "This is what I always wanted to do, and when they said, 'Why don't you do, you know, a farewell tour?' I said, 'If I do a farewell tour, I'm going to do what I always wanted.' And that was mix art and music in an arena." "I'm excited, and it's a celebration Stephen. Everybody comes, everyone's welcome. Some people dress up. Some people don't. It's a lot of fun. We sell wigs," she added. Lauper is also among the upcoming Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. "I still believe that rock 'n' roll can save the world," she told Colbert. The induction ceremony will take place Nov. 8 in Los Angeles and stream on Disney+. Cyndi Lauper turns 70: a look back Cyndi Lauper opens for Cher at Vancouver's GM Place in Canada on August 13, 1999. Photo by H. Ruckemann/UPI | License Photo
