Cyndi Lauper

On January 26, 2020 Cyndi Lauper sang a chorus from the song I sing the Body Electric of the soundtrack from 1980's movie Fame at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards Show held in Los Angeles. Other performers were Ben Platt, Camila Cobello, Debbie Allen, who starred in the original movie, and more. It was a send off to long time Grammy Awards television producer Ken Erhlich. He will retire after a four decade run of producing the show.

On April 23, 2020 Lauper participated in an online fundraising concert to raise money for LGBTQ nightlife workers who struggled financially because of the coronavirus pandemic. Lauper ended the concert performing "True Colors". The concert was initiated by the Stonewall Inn Gives Back nonprofit organisation of the historic Greenwich Village gay bar. Other performing artists were Kate Pierson, Our Lady J, Rufus Wainwright and Darren Hayes amongst others.

The song "Together" was featured in the Canadian computer-animated film "Racetime" released in January 2019. Originally written and performed in French by Dumas, Lauper performed the English translation in the English version of the film originally titled "La Course des tuques".

On June 26, 2019, Lauper performed at the opening ceremony of Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019. Backed by the Hollywood Bowl orchestra, conducted by Thomas Wilkins, Lauper played two concerts on July 12 and 13, 2019 at the iconic Hollywood Bowl.

"Japanese Singles Collection - Greatest Hits" is a 2-disc greatest hits album that includes all of Laupers' singles released in Japan from 1983 to 1995 in chronological order. The second disc contains 26 music videos. Nine of these are available for the first time on DVD. The album will be released on September 6, 2019, nine days after its original Japanese release.

In September 2019, it was announced that Lauper will star alongside Jane Lynch in the new Netflix comedy series described as “kind of The Golden Girls for today”.

Together with singer Kesha, Lauper performed, amongst others, the song 'Praying' at the Grammy Award Ceremony in January 2018.

In March 2018, it was announced that Lauper together with co-'Time after time' songwriter Rob Hyman is going to compose the score for the musical version of the 1988 film 'Working Girl' which starred Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver. She teamed up with Hyman because she wanted " the music to sound like the 80s". The musical will be staged by Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley. A developmental production premiere of the musical is planned for the 2021/2022 season. Also in March 2018 it was announced that Cyndi Lauper will be one of the headliners for the 15th annual Rock the Park Festival in London Ontario Canada on July 12.

For Grandin Road Lauper exclusively designed her own Christmas collection, 'Cyndi Lauper Loves Christmas', available from September 2018. "I've always loved Christmas, it reminds me to find some happiness in the little things. I think the items in the collection really speak to that. I hope they help bring a bit of joy to peoples' homes this holiday season", said Lauper.

Her annual Home For The Holidays concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York was held on December 8, 2018.

Lauper guest starred playing a lawyer in an episode of the reboot of the television series "Magnum P.I.". The episode, titled "Sudden Death", aired on October 22, 2018.

On November 15, 2018 it was announced that Lauper will receive the Icon Award at the Billboard's 13th annual Women in Music Event on December 6 in New York City. According to Jason Lipshutz, Billboard's editorial director, "The entire world recognizes the power of Cyndi Lauper's pop music, and just as crucially, she has used her undeniable talent to soar beyond music, create positive change in modern society and become a true icon".

On August 30, 2017, songwriters Benny Mardones and Robert Tepper sued Cyndi Lauper for lifting elements from their song “Into the Night” for Kinky Boots’ final song “Raise You Up.” In August 2019 a filed letter by Mardones' lawyer stated that all parties involved have agreed in principle to settle the case. No more details were given at the time.

In January 2017, Lauper was featured on Austin City Limits' 42nd season performing some of her classic songs alongside country tunes from Detour. The episode aired on PBS. In October 2017 she released a new song, "Hope", in honor of World Psoriasis Day. "I know first-hand the impact psoriasis can have and my goal is to give a voice to the millions of Americans who may struggle with their psoriasis," said Lauper.

In January 2016, Lauper announced she would release a new album on May 6, 2016. This composed of her interpretations of early country classics entitled Detour. The announcement was supported by a release of her version of Harlan Howard's "Heartaches by the Number" and a performance on Skyville Live with Kelsea Ballerini and Ingrid Michaelson. On February 17, 2016 she released her version of Wanda Jackson's "Funnel of Love".

In February 2016, Lauper was nominated for an Olivier Award for her contribution to the UK production of Kinky Boots along with Stephen Oremus, the man responsible for the arrangements. In January 2017, this production's album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

In May 2016, Lauper was featured on "Swipe to the Right" off of Electronica 2: The Heart of Noise from French producer Jean-Michel Jarre. This second album of the Electronica project is based on collaborations with artists related to electronic music (Tangerine Dream, Moby, Pet Shop Boys, etc.).

In October 2016, her son Dex Lauper was the opening act for her Scottsdale, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada dates on her Detour Tour.

In March 2015 Lauper once again guest starred on the crime show Bones as Avalon Harmonia.

On June 12, 2015, Lauper appeared on The Graham Norton Show alongside Seth MacFarlane, Dara Ó Briain, and Mark Wahlberg.

To promote her work with the National Psoriasis Foundation and Novartis and revealing she, herself has suffered from psoriasis for the past five years, Cyndi appeared on the Today Show in July 2015. During the interview Cyndi revealed she is working on a project with Seymour Stein. Later it was revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone she is working on a country album with Tony Brown, and Seymour Stein as executive producer.

On September 15, 2015, Kinky Boots opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End.

In the summer of 2013, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of her debut album She's So Unusual, Lauper embarked on an international tour covering America and Australia. The show consisted of a mix of fan favorites and the entirety of the She's So Unusual record. She was a guest on 36 dates of Cher's Dressed to Kill Tour, starting April 23, 2014. A new album was confirmed by Lauper on a website interview.

On September 17, 2014, Cyndi Lauper sang on the finale of America's Got Talent.

The Songwriters Hall of Fame included Lauper in its nomination list on October 2014. Also during October, Lauper's fourth consecutive 'Home for the Holidays' benefit concert for homeless gay youth was announced. Acts included 50 Cent and Laverne Cox with 100% of the net proceeds going to True Colors United

Her iconic cover and re-arrangement of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" established her as 'a feminist idol'. Sheila Moeschen argued that the song 'embodied a different kind of feminine aesthetic that ran counter to the raw sensuality and edginess of her contemporaries like Madonna or veteran rockers Joan Jett and Pat Benatar' that introduced 'a nation of women to a new kind of female role model, one that celebrated difference and encouraged playfulness in self-expression'. John Rockwell wrote that the song was "a giddily upbeat attestation to female pleasure that simultaneously made a feminist statement, fulfilled male fantasies and—especially in its often-played video version—evoked the warmth of family and friends." The video for "Girls" won the first-ever Best Female Video prize at the 1984 VMAs. It featured a multicultural cast of women with teased, sideways hair and neon eye shadow, singing alongside Lauper. She was the first woman to have four Top 5 hits from a debut album, the first woman to win the composing category solo during the 2013 Tony Awards and one of only four women to have won competitive Grammy, Emmy and Tony awards.

Lauper has been celebrated for her humanitarian work, particularly as an advocate for LGBT rights in the United States. Her charitable efforts were acknowledged in 2013 when she was invited as a special guest to attend U.S. President Barack Obama's second-term inauguration.

Lauper composed music and lyrics for the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, with Harvey Fierstein writing the book. The musical was based on the 2006 independent film Kinky Boots. It opened in Chicago in October 2012 and on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on April 4, 2013. In May, Lauper won for best score for Kinky Boots at the 63rd annual Outer Critics Circle Awards. The musical led the 2013 Tony Awards, with 13 nominations and six wins including Best Musical and Best Actor. Lauper won the award for Best Original Score. Lauper was the first woman to win solo in this category. After a six-year run and 2,507 regular shows, Kinky Boots ended its Broadway run on April 7, 2019. It is the 25th-longest-running Broadway musical in history. It grossed $297 million on Broadway.

In September 2012, Lauper performed at fashion designer Betsey Johnson's 40 year Retrospective Fashion show. She also released a New York Times Best Selling memoir that detailed her struggle with child abuse and depression.

In 2012 Lauper started True Colors United after learning that while 10% of American youth identify themselves as LGBT, up to 40% of American homeless youths do so. The organization works to end youth homelessness, focusing on the experiences of LGBT youth. She set up the True Colors Residence in New York City for LGBT homeless youths. The 30-bed facility offers temporary shelter and job placement help.

Lauper made international news in March 2011 for an impromptu performance of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" while waiting for a delayed flight at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires. A video was later posted on YouTube.

In November 2011, she released two Christmas singles exclusive to iTunes. The first release was a Blues-inspired cover of Elvis Presley's classic "Blue Christmas", and the second was a new version of "Home for the holidays", a duet with Norah Jones. In June 2012, Lauper made her first appearance for WWE in 27 years, to promote WWE Raw's 1000th episode to memorialize "Captain" Lou Albano.

In January 2010, Mattel released a Cyndi Lauper Barbie doll as part of their "Ladies of the 80s" series.

In March 2010, Lauper appeared on NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice, coming in sixth place. She donated her winnings to her organization True Colors United. Lauper also performed a song from her upcoming album Memphis Blues in the show's live season finale.

Memphis Blues—Lauper's 7th studio album—was released on June 22, 2010 and debuted on the Billboard Blues Albums chart at No. 1, and at No. 26 on the Billboard Top 200. The album remained No. 1 on the Blues Albums chart for 14 consecutive weeks; Memphis Blues was nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album at the 2011 Grammy Awards.

In 2009, Lauper took a role and wrote a song for the Serbian movie Here and There, which stars her husband, David Thornton.

Lauper's TV appearances in 2009 included the American soap opera As the World Turns, performing "Time After Time" as a duet with Allison Iraheta, on the season 8 finale of American Idol and at the 2009 TV Land Awards on April 19 dressed as the "Empress of Evil" for a musical tribute to Sid and Marty Krofft. Lauper performed a duet with Leona Lewis on VH1 Divas on September 19, 2009, singing "True Colors", and performed a comedy skit with Eminem at the MTV VMA's in September 2009. She also played herself in 30 Rock's third-season finale and appeared as Avalon Harmonia, a psychic, on the Season 5 premiere of Bones.

On November 17, 2009, Lauper performed a collaborative work with Wyclef Jean called "Slumdog Millionaire", performing it on the Late Show with David Letterman. The collaborative effort stems from Jean's latest album: Toussaint St. Jean: From the Hut, To the Projects, To the Mansion.

Lauper contributed a track called "Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)" for the Vibes soundtrack, but the song was not included. A music video was released, a high energy, comic action/adventure romp through a Chinese laundry. The song reached No. 54 on the US charts, but fared better in Australia, reaching No. 8. "Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)" became the opening song on her 2008 Australian tour.

Lauper's sixth studio album, Bring Ya to the Brink was released in the United States on May 27, 2008. By the time of the album's US release, the single "Set Your Heart" had already had significant airplay in Japan, and Lauper had begun an Australian tour with Katie Noonan and Kate Miller-Heidke. The album featured dance tracks written with artists including Axwell, The Scumfrog, Basement Jaxx, Digital Dog, Dragonette, Kleerup, and others. Bring Ya to the Brink received one Grammy nomination for Best Electronic/Dance Album and charted two #1 hits on the Billboard Dance chart. "Set Your Heart" was used in the Japanese advertising campaign for the 2008 Toyota MarkX ZIO.

Other projects for 2008 included the True Colors Tour and a Christmas duet with Swedish band The Hives, entitled "A Christmas Duel". The song was released as a CD single and a 7" vinyl in Sweden. Lauper also performed on the "Girls Night Out", headlining it with Rosie O'Donnell in the US.

In August 2008, she contributed an article titled "Hope" to The Huffington Post, encouraging Americans to vote for Barack Obama in the upcoming United States presidential election. Lauper performed at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

She co-founded the True Colors tour for Human Rights throughout the United States and Canada in June 2007. One dollar from each ticket was earmarked for the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates equal rights for LGBT individuals. In April 2010, Lauper's True Colors United launched the Give a Damn campaign, to help get straight people more involved in LGBT rights.

On October 16, 2006, Lauper was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.

In 2005, under a new contract with Sony Music, Lauper released The Body Acoustic, an album that featured acoustic reinterpretations of tracks from her repertoire. The album also included two new tracks including "Above the Clouds". Guest performers on the album included Shaggy, Ani DiFranco, Adam Lazzara of Taking Back Sunday, Jeff Beck, Puffy AmiYumi, Sarah McLachlan, and Vivian Green. "Time After Time" with Sarah McLachlan charted on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

She made appearances on Showtime's hit show Queer As Folk in 2005, directed a commercial for Totally 80s edition of the board game Trivial Pursuit in 2006, served as a judge on the 6th Annual Independent Music Awards and made her Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated The Threepenny Opera as Jenny. She performed with Shaggy, Scott Weiland of Velvet Revolver/Stone Temple Pilots, Pat Monahan of Train, Ani DiFranco, and The Hooters in the VH1 Classics special Decades Rock Live. In 2006, she sang "Message To Michael" with Dionne Warwick and "Beecharmer" with Nellie McKay on McKay's Pretty Little Head album.

Her song "Above the Clouds" celebrates the memory of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man beaten to death in Wyoming. As a member of the Matthew Shepard Foundation Board, Lauper devoted a concert tour in 2005 to promoting the Foundation's message.

In April 2004, Lauper performed during the VH1's benefit concert Divas Live 2004 alongside Ashanti, Gladys Knight, Jessica Simpson, Joss Stone and Patti LaBelle, in support of the Save the Music Foundation.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Spotify notes that She's So Unusual and her distinctive idiosyncratic appearance "helped popularize the image of punk and new wave for America, making it an acceptable part of the pop landscape". Rolling Stone magazine stated that her debut was "arguably the first time explicitly punk-influenced elements were front-and-center on the pop landscape, both musically and via Lauper's Patrick Lucas-styled ensembles, dressing up the droll Reagan decade in feminist chutzpah." The album ranked at #487 on Rolling Stone' s list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003. The album ranked at #41 on Rolling Stone' s list of Women Who Rock: The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2012. Rolling Stone's review stated, "A wild and wonderful skyrocket of a voice... Lauper's extraordinary pipes connect with the right material, the results sound like the beginning of a whole new golden age." Thirty years after its release, the album was praised as 'everlasting' and a 'once-in-a-lifetime album'.

In 2002, Sony issued a best-of CD, The Essential Cyndi Lauper. Lauper also released a cover album with Sony/Epic Records entitled At Last (formerly Naked City), which was released in 2003. At Last received one nomination at the 2005 Grammy Awards: Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), for "Unchained Melody". The effort was also a commercial hit, selling 4.5 million records

In 2001, Lauper prepared a new album Shine. The album was a return to her early punk-rock sound and featured Japanese pop superstar Ryuichi Sakamoto, and George Fullan of Train. Just weeks before the album's scheduled release on September 11, 2001, her label (Edel America Records) folded. A five-song EP of Shine was released in June 2002, but the full-length album was released exclusively in Japan. An album of Shine remixes was eventually released through Tower Records.

On October 12, 2000, Lauper took part in the television show Women in Rock, Girls with Guitars performing with Ann Wilson of Heart and with the girl group, Destiny's Child. A CD of the songs performed was released exclusively to Sears stores from September 30 to October 31, 2001, and was marketed as a fundraiser for breast cancer.

On January 17, 1999, Lauper appeared as an animated version of herself in The Simpsons episode "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken", singing the National Anthem to the melody of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". In the same year, Lauper opened for Cher's Do You Believe? Tour alongside Wild Orchid. She also appeared in the films Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle and The Opportunists.

Lauper contributed a cover version of The Trammps' "Disco Inferno" to the soundtrack for the film A Night at the Roxbury. The song was also released as an EP and earned Lauper a nomination 1999 Grammy Awards for Best Dance Recording. In 2000, Lauper contributed the song "I Want a Mom That Will Last Forever" to the children's movie Rugrats in Paris. The song was written with Mark Mothersbaugh (DEVO). In 2000, Lauper also co-wrote the song "If You Believe" with Faye Tozer of the British pop group Steps, for the band's third studio album, Buzz.

In November 1998, Lauper released the Christmas album Merry Christmas...Have a Nice Life. The album contained both original material and standards, and was co-produced and mixed by William Wittman.

On November 19, 1997, Lauper gave birth to her son Declyn Wallace Thornton. Her fifth album, Sisters of Avalon, was released in Japan in 1996 and elsewhere in 1997. The album was written and produced with the help of Jan Pulsford (Lauper's keyboard player) and producer Mark Saunders. As in Hat Full of Stars, some of the songs in Sisters of Avalon addressed dark themes. The song "Ballad of Cleo and Joe" addressed the complications of a drag queen's double life. The song "Say a Prayer" was written for a friend of hers who had died from AIDS. "Unhook the Stars" was used in the movie of the same name. Again without support from her label, the release failed in America, spending a single week on the Billboard album chart at No. 188. This album also met with much critical praise, including People magazine, which declared it "90s nourishment for body and soul. Lauper sets a scene, makes us care, gives us hope."

Her greatest hits album, Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some, was released outside of the US in 1994 and reached US audiences in summer of 1995. The album sold over six million copies worldwide. It included two re-recorded tracks, "I'm Gonna be Strong", originally recorded with Blue Angel, and a reworking of her first hit, newly christened "Hey Now (Girls Just Want to Have Fun)".

Lauper's fourth album Hat Full of Stars was released in June 1993 and was met with critical acclaim, but failed commercially, unsupported by her label. The album, which tackled such topics as homophobia, spousal abuse, racism, and abortion sold fewer than 120,000 copies in the United States and peaked at No. 112 on the Billboard charts. The video for the album's song "Sally's Pigeons" features the then-unknown Julia Stiles as the young Cyndi.

In 1993, Lauper returned to acting, playing Michael J. Fox's ditzy secretary in Life with Mikey. She also won an Emmy Award for her role as Marianne Lugasso in the sitcom Mad About You.

On November 24, 1991, Lauper married actor David Thornton.

On July 21, 1990, Lauper joined Roger Waters and other artists performing "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" as part of the concert The Wall in Berlin. As part of the concert, Lauper also performed "The Tide Is Turning" with Waters, Joni Mitchell, Bryan Adams, Paul Carrack and Van Morrison. Three hundred thousand people attended the concert and over five million people worldwide watched on live television.

Because of a friendship with Yoko Ono, Lauper took part in the May 1990 John Lennon tribute concert in Liverpool, performing the Beatles song "Hey Bulldog", and the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero". She also took part in Ono and Lennon's son Sean's project called "The Peace Choir", performing a new version of Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance".

Lauper made her film debut in August 1988 in the quirky comedy Vibes, alongside Jeff Goldblum, Peter Falk, and Julian Sands. Lauper played a psychic in search of a city of gold in South America. Deborah Blum and Tony Ganz produced the film, with David Wolff as associate producer. To prepare for the role, Lauper took a few classes in finger waving and hair setting at the Robert Fiancé School of Beauty in New York, and studied with a few Manhattan psychics. The film flopped and was poorly received by critics, but would later be considered a cult classic.

A Night to Remember – Lauper's third album – was released in the spring of 1989. The album had one hit, the No. 6 single "I Drove All Night", originally recorded by Roy Orbison, three years before his death on December 6, 1988. Lauper received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 1990 Grammy Awards for "I Drove All Night", but overall album sales for A Night to Remember were down. The music video for the album's song "My First Night Without You" was one of the first to be closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.

Lauper received two nominations at the 1986 Grammy Awards: Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "What a Thrill" and Best Long Form Music Video for Cyndi Lauper in Paris.

Lauper released her second album, True Colors in 1986. It entered the Billboard 200 at No. 42 and peaked at No. 4. It sold 2 million copies in the US. She increased her involvement in production and songwriting on her second album, co-writing most of the songs with Essra Mohawk, John Turi, Billy Steinberg, and Tom Kelly. Guests included Angela Clemons-Patrick, Nile Rodgers, Aimee Mann, Billy Joel, Adrian Belew, The Bangles, Ellie Greenwich and Rick Derringer.

In 1986, Lauper appeared on the Billy Joel album The Bridge, with a song called "Code of Silence". She is credited as having written the lyrics with Joel and she sings a duet with him. In the same year, Lauper also sang the theme song for the series Pee-wee's Playhouse, credited as "Ellen Shaw". In 1987, David Wolff produced a concert film for Lauper called Cyndi Lauper in Paris. The concert was broadcast on HBO.

Note: "We Are the World" (which featured Cyndi Lauper as a vocalist) also won Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Music Video, Short Form, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1986. Song of the Year is credited to the songwriters and not the performer, The song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group were presented to the producer in 1986, the song was produced by Quincy Jones. Best Music Video, Short Form is presented to the director and producer, Tom Trbovich directed the video while Quincy Jones served as producer.

Lauper won Best New Artist at the 1985 Grammy Awards. She's So Unusual also received nominations for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"), and Song of the Year (for "Time After Time"). She wore almost a pound of necklaces at her award ceremony. It also won the Grammy for Best Album Package, which went to the art director, Janet Perr.

In 1985, Lauper participated in USA for Africa's famine-relief fund-raising single "We Are the World", which sold more than 20 million copies since then.

In 1985, Lauper released the single "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough", from the soundtrack to the movie The Goonies, and an accompanying video which featured several wrestling stars. The song reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Note: "She's So Unusual" also won Best Album Package in 1985. Best Album Package is credited to the art director and not the performer, The art director was Janet Perr.

Lauper has sold over 50 million records worldwide. She has won awards at the Grammys, Emmys, Tonys, the New York's Outer Critics Circle, MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), Billboard Awards, and American Music Awards (AMAs). An inductee into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Lauper is one of the few singers to win three of the four major American entertainment awards (EGOT). Lauper won the inaugural Best Female Video prize at the 1984 VMAs for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". This music video is recognized by MTV, VH1 and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest music videos of the era. She is featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum's Women Who Rock exhibit. Her debut album is included in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, while "Time After Time" is included in VH1's list of the 100 Best Songs of the Past 25 years. VH1 has ranked Lauper No. 58 of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll.

The video for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" won the inaugural award for Best Female Video at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, and made Lauper an MTV staple. The video featured professional wrestling manager "Captain" Lou Albano as Lauper's father, and her real-life mother, Catrine, as her mother, and also featured her attorney, her manager, her brother Butch, and her dog Sparkle. In 1984–85, Lauper appeared on the covers of Rolling Stone magazine, Time, and Newsweek. She appeared twice on the cover of People, and was named a Ms. magazine Woman of the Year in 1985.

"She Bop", the third single from She's So Unusual made history as the first and only top ten song to directly mention a gay porn magazine. The single was included in the PMRC's "Filthy Fifteen" list that led to the parental advisory sticker that marked recordings thought to be unsuitable for young listeners. In their 1984 retrospective Rolling Stone listed She Bop as the 36th best song of that year, praising it for its unusual playfulness regarding sexuality.

The MTV Video Music Awards were established in 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top music videos of the year. Lauper won one award from 14 nominations, being the first person to win in the category Best Female Video.

Since 1983, Lauper has released eleven studio albums and participated in many other projects. In 2010, Memphis Blues became Billboard' s most successful blues album of the year, remaining at number one on the Billboard Blues Albums chart for 13 consecutive weeks. In 2013, Lauper won the Tony Award for best original score for composing the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, making her the first woman to win the category by herself. The musical was awarded five other Tonys including Tony Award for Best New Musical. In 2014, Lauper was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for the cast recording. In 2016, the West End production won Best New Musical at the Olivier Awards

On October 14, 1983, Lauper released her first solo album, She's So Unusual. The album peaked at No. 4 in the US, and became a worldwide hit. The primary studio musicians were Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman (of The Hooters), Rick Chertoff, Richard Termini and Peter Wood. Lauper became popular with teenagers and critics, in part due to her hybrid punk image, which was crafted by stylist Patrick Lucas.

After Blue Angel broke up, Lauper spent time, due to her financial problems, working in retail stores, waitressing at IHOP (which she quit after being demoted to hostess when the manager sexually harassed her), and singing in local clubs. Her most frequent gigs were at El Sombrero. Music critics who saw Lauper perform with Blue Angel believed she had star potential due to her four-octave singing range. In 1981, while singing in a local New York bar, Lauper met David Wolff, who took over as her manager and had her sign a recording contract with Portrait Records, a subsidiary of Epic Records.

Lauper received recording offers as a solo artist, but held out, wanting the band to be included in any deal she made. Blue Angel was eventually signed by Polydor Records and released a self-titled album on the label in 1980. Lauper hated the album cover, saying that it made her look like Big Bird, but Rolling Stone magazine later included it as one of the 100 best new wave album covers (2003). Despite critical acclaim, the album sold poorly ("It went lead", as Lauper later joked) and the band broke up. The members of Blue Angel had a falling-out with Massarsky and fired him as their manager. He later filed an $80,000 suit against them, which forced Lauper into bankruptcy. After this Lauper temporarily lost her voice due to an inverted cyst in her vocal cord.

In 1978, Lauper met saxophone player John Turi through her manager Ted Rosenblatt. Turi and Lauper formed a band named Blue Angel and recorded a demo tape of original music. Steve Massarsky, manager of The Allman Brothers Band, heard the tape and liked Lauper's voice. He bought Blue Angel's contract for $5,000 and became their manager.

In the early 1970s, Lauper performed as a vocalist with various cover bands. One, called Doc West, covered disco songs as well as Janis Joplin. A later band, Flyer, was active in the New York metropolitan area, singing hits by bands including Bad Company, Jefferson Airplane and Led Zeppelin. Although Lauper was performing on stage, she was not happy singing covers. In 1977, Lauper damaged her vocal cords and took a year off from singing. She was told by doctors that she would never sing again, but regained her voice with the help of vocal coach Katie Agresta.

Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album She's So Unusual (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achieve four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100—"Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time", "She Bop", and "All Through the Night"—and earned Lauper the Best New Artist award at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985. Her success continued with the soundtrack for the motion picture The Goonies and her second record True Colors (1986). This album included the number one single "True Colors" and "Change of Heart", which peaked at number three.

On April 1 (March 1 in Europe), Lauper released the 30th Anniversary edition of She's So Unusual through Epic Records It featured a remastered version of the original album plus three new remixes. The Deluxe Edition featured bonus tracks such as demos and a live recording as well as a 3D cut-out of the bedroom featured in the 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' music video with a reusable sticker set.