Cyndi Still Wants to Have Fun

Before Madonna and Lady Gaga, there was Cyndi Lauper, the all-around artist who won the hearts of music-lovers around the world with her revolutionary style, adding drama to her performance with the changing colors of her hair and with trend-setting attire, oftentimes doing acrobatics (like bending over backwards or lying on her back) that enhanced but never affected her singing. She’s the original total performer.

Her hit song Girls Just Wanna Have Fun predated Madonna’s signature songs Papa Don’t Preach and Like A Virgin, and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way as the anthem of the young. She was also hailed as a gay icon before Madonna and Lady Gaga were.

“It’s an honor to always have the genuine affection of the gay community, they have never turned their back on me. I will never turn my back on them. We’ve had a long and enduring love affair,” Cyndi was quoted as saying.

Madonna and Lady Gaga for sure feel the same way and echo the same sentiment. The truth is that, on record, Cyndi has joined Lady Gaga as spokesperson for the MAC Viva Glam Campaign to educate women about HIV/AIDS around the world, while championing the rights of gays and lesbians.

Here are more facts about Cyndi, whose real full name is Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper, born a Roman Catholic (like Madonna and Lady Gaga) on June 22, 1953, in Queens, New York, to a German-Swiss father and an Italian-American mother:

•Cyndi is a multi-Grammy awarded artist (with six so far);

• She has sold over 50 million records worldwide;

• Aside from Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, her chart-topping hits include True Colors, Time After Time, Money Changes Everything and All Through The Night.

• She became the first female singer to have four Top-5 singles released from a single album;

• She has since released 11 albums, including the recent Memphis Blues, which was Billboard’s biggest-selling blues album in 2010;

• In 2008, she was proclaimed “the fourth most unforgettable singer of all time” by the leading British tabloid Sun;

• She is currently a staunch supporter for awareness against gay, lesbian and bisexual discrimination;

• Her songs have been covered by dozens of artists through the decades since she started her career, including Phil Collins, Miles Davis, Stone Temple Pilots, Train, Staind, Saosin, Arcade Fire, The Killers, Matchbox 20 and Miley Cyrus;

• She was also among the crème dela crème of the music world that collaborated to create the first We Are The World music video along with Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles; and

•She recently starred in Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice.

The good news is that Cyndi is coming back for another concert on March 17 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. (Producer is PULP Live World; for tickets, call Ticketnet at 911-5555 or the Pulp office at 727-4957.)  

Cyndi recently did an exclusive e-mail interview to The STAR, the only Philippine paper she agreed to do it with.

What are your memories of your first concert in Manila when you donated an amount for typhoon victims? Did you know that another typhoon and a big earthquake have just devastated parts of the Philippines?

“What I remember most about my last visit to Manila was the people there. What great spirits. We all felt so welcomed by the generosity shown to us. I did know about the last typhoon, so sad. Nature can be very cruel. I send my warmest messages to recovery to all the people who were affected there.”

How are you today compared to what you were 10 or 20 years ago? You were a trendsetter.  

“I think as you get older, things get a bit easier so for me I am more content now than I was 20 years ago. In the beginning of my career I had to fight to do what I wanted to do artistically, until I proved myself to my labels. Once I had a few hits, they were more willing to allow me to follow my muse. Today I just go where my muse takes me. Regarding the word ‘trendsetter,’ I always have loved fashion and that is a big compliment.”

When you look 10 or 20 years back at your life and career, what comes to your mind? What would you have changed, if any?  

“I wouldn’t change a thing. Of course I’ve made some mistakes but without those mistakes I wouldn’t have become the artist and person I am today and I like where I am.” 

Aside from your career, what’s keeping you busy these days?  

“I have a 14-year-old son and a fantastic husband so whenever I have down time I am with them of course doing what regular families do. But that is my real joy!”

You were quoted as saying (in part), ‘it’s an honor to have the genuine affection of the gay community...’ Is that why you are such a staunch supporter for awareness against gay, lesbian and bisexual discrimination?    

“I have friends, family and fans in the community. What kind of person would I be if I didn’t stand up for my friends, family and fans? You are born the way you are born, and you shouldn’t be discriminated against for that.” 

What has changed about you these past years?      

“Being a mom to my son. Motherhood has made me less selfish. And more honest.”

How has your music evolved? Do you still pursue the “girls just wanna have fun” line?  

“Yes, absolutely. Girls is a song about empowerment for women and we all strive for that.”

What makes you happy?      

“My family, making music, being with friends, travel....all of these things make me happy.”

Please sing your hit songs during your Manila concert.      

“Of course I will, don’t you worry about that. It’s going to be a great concert, the hits the fans love, songs from many albums including a few songs off my new album Memphis Blues.”  

Any message to your Manila fans?

“I’ve missed you and look forward to spending time together again in March!!!”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to askrickylo@gmail.com. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)