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I caught up with Cyndi prior to her October performance
at Hershey's new Giant Center. Due to deadline restrictions
and space issues, I was unable to run the article before
now. The last issue of the year seemed like as good
a time as any. Consider it a year-end clearance on celebrity
interviews. - ed.
Less than a year after the release of her debut album,
She's So Unusual (1983), Cyndi Lauper was a certified
1980s icon. The album ultimately sold over 9 million
copies worldwide on the shoulders of singles like the
No. 1 smash "Time After Time" and the anthemic "Girls
Just Want to Have Fun." After walking away with a Grammy
for Best New Artist, Lauper proved she was no flash
in the pan by releasing a string of successful albums
and hit singles, including "She Bop" (No. 3), "Change
of Heart" (No. 3), and "True Colors" (No. 1).
In the 1990s, Lauper ditched her wacky wardrobe and
technicolor hair and reinvented her celebrity as an
actress in Hollywood films ("Life with Mikey," "Vibes")
and a slew of TV shows; in 1995, she took home an Emmy
for her recurring role on the popular sitcom, "Mad About
You." Now, in the 2000s, the 49-year-old diva is getting
back to basics. With a new CD, Shine, released this
summer and another on the way, the resilient Lauper
took to the road with Cher in an effort to reconnect
with her fans.
"For me, yeah, I'm coming back to the people. I was
disconnected from them for a long time," Lauper gushes
during a recent Fly interview. "And it's been an extraordinary
experience, because it's my coming back to the people,
which is kind of how I started. When I became really
successful, there was a wall up between myself and the
people. ... Now I'm breaking down the wall, and the
music is starting to be played on the radio. And that's
from the people, because the people are requesting it."
Lauper's journey began a few years ago when, in preparation
for a comeback album, she began road-testing some new
material. "I was continuing writing and playing live
and trying the new stuff out to see what parts of the
songs work, and what didn't," she explains, "which you
don't always get a chance to do once you're really successful.
"I play old, new, old, new. As a writer, I've been
doing it to see how the new songs hold up, and they
hold up just as good," she continues. "I think as a
writer, that's a good thing to do, because you really
get a full gauge of what you're doing and how it affects
people."
And then, something extraordinary happened. "As I was
playing to people, the participation got louder and
louder, but not really just on the old songs, but on
the songs that went on to be on Shine. And when I was
in Dallas, there were 20,000 people singing those songs
back to me. And at that point, I thought it would be
good to put out [an album]."
However, as Lauper prepared to enter the studio to
record her comeback project for Warner Brothers, along
came a surprise in the form of uber-diva Cher, who offered
Lauper the opening slot of her 1999 tour.
The tour went so well that Cher came knocking once
again in preparation for the much-publicized 2002 Farewell
Tour. Not yet finished with her comeback album, Lauper
released a five-song EP (Shine) of clean, poppy ear
candy reminiscent of her earliest anthems. "The thing
about what Cher's done for me is that, when I was playing
arenas by myself, I was given a list of rules, a list
of what I could do and I couldn't do. And Cher was totally
different. She was like, 'Just go do what you do.' And
it became this journey back to the people again. And
this time, I have a CD," she says. The tour with Cher
will wrap up at the end of this month, finally allowing
Lauper to concentrate on that long-awaited release.
But despite the anticipation, Lauper isn't exactly chomping
at the bit to reassume the pop throne. "I'm still pretty
famous," she frankly states. "It's pretty great what's
going on now, but I live in now. I don't project. I
project that I'll be really happy and successful, and
live a very fulfilling life. And I don't live in the
past, because some of that was good and some of it wasn't.
So I try and take all the good stuff and move forward.
"It's pretty exciting to win like this," she continues.
"This is one of those extraordinary experiences that
come along rarely, and that's why this moment is a great
one. I couldn't compare it to anything else, because
I've never experienced anything like this."
For more info on Cyndi Lauper and updates on her forthcoming
album, visit www.cyndilauper.com.
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