Cyndi Lauper is headed to Australia for the next leg of her farewell tour.
And ahead of her trip Down Under, the American pop superstar appeared on The Project and reflected on her biggest hit, Girls Just Want to Have Fun.
The 71-year-old said that the track, originally written and performed by Robert Hazard, was given to her to make it a ‘female anthem’ and she was up to the task thanks to her feminist roots.
Lauper, who was looking decades younger than her years as she appeared on the show, famously changed the lyrics from their original meaning, flipping the script to put girls on top.
‘They kept telling me make it a female anthem, and, you know, I was thinking, “Okay. I can do that. That would be good”‘ she said.
‘But I guess they didn’t realise who they were talking to because I burnt my training bra at the first woman’s demonstration. You know, in ’69, I was there.
Cyndi Lauper (pictured) is headed to Australia for the next leg of her farewell tour. And ahead of her trip Down Under, the American pop superstar appeared on The Project and reflected on her biggest hit, Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Lauper was looking decades younger than her years as she appeared on the show
‘With my friend, she burnt the rollers, I burnt the bra. And so when people would say to me, “What are you some kind of bra burner?” You know, I still laugh and say, “Well, actually, yeah, my training bra at the time absolutely’.
‘The song came together, and, you know, the rest is herstory I guess.’
Cyndi kicks off the Aussie leg of the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour in Melbourne on April 2nd.
She then heads to Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney and Adelaide, before finishing up in Perth on April 12.
It comes after fans stepped in to fiercely defend the iconic singer after a January performance went viral for all the wrong reasons.
An account on X recently shared a video of the 1980s pop-rock singer performing during her headlining Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour — her first major run in a decade.
The clip showed the hitmaker — who suffered ‘awful’ sound problems during her Glastonbury set last June — with teal hair and wearing a metallic silver outfit as she enthusiastically danced around while singing her 1985 hit, The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough.
‘WTF happened to Cyndi Lauper?’ the caption on the post read, with another person stating, ‘She’s 71 for heaven’s sake. Quit already. You’re embarrassing yourself.’
The 71-year-old said that the track, originally written and performed by Robert Hazard, was given to her to make it a ‘female anthem’ and she was up to the task thanks to her feminist roots. Pictured in the video for Girls Just Want to Have Fun
However, many fans took to Cyndi’s defense.
Music critic and internet personality Anthony Fantano wrote: ‘She dropped multiple hits, made many albums, aged, and had a career that resulted in a fan base that she’s still performing for decades later. Will you be able to do the same? does being a dumba** on twitter see the same longevity?’
As to the question of what happened to the singer, one fan responded: ‘The same thing that will happen to you, age.’
‘Dude, she’s 71 years old. I hope I’m hopping around like that at 71,’ yet another chimed in.
‘She’s 71 years old? Idk if you expect her to look and sound the same as when she was 32 but that doesn’t happen. I think she looks frikkin amazing, and she sounds pretty good.’
Numerous other fans rallied to Cyndi’s defense, denouncing the misogyny and ageism directed towards her.
‘She’s had a great career. She loves what she’s doing. Why you all always gotta be negative and s**t on people.’
‘She’s entitled to grow old. Maybe she can’t retire because of our horrible economy. I, too, have added on pounds and many years since I saw her in concert in the mid-80s. Even old ladies can bop.’
Cyndi kicks off the Aussie leg of the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour in Melbourne on April 2nd. She then heads to Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney and Adelaide, before finishing up in Perth on April 12
Another one wrote: ‘Well, it may look as if Minnie Castevet is doing Rod Stewart in karaoke – BUT it’s Cyndi Lauper, whose career and talent has earned her the right to a classier response than mere misogyny and ageism.’
‘Would you stop it! She is 71 – still moving great and singing – it takes a lot of courage to keep going in life and getting older is not easy – Cyndi is a legend. Love her!!’
‘It is called aging. I wouldn’t pay to see her at this point but I gotta give her kudos for trying. She ain’t sitting in a nursing home existing. A body in motion stays in motion. Having to sing her songs keeps her mind intact. Don’t hate on her for keeping herself active.’
‘She aged. Not doin too bad far as I can see. Same age as my mom. Moms not dancing an singing on any stages. People get old. So what are you on about here?’
‘She’s 71 and doing what she loves. Try not being judgemental for once. She isn’t bothering you.’
Cyndi’s Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour began in Montreal, Canada, on October 18, 2024.
The pop star expressed a desire to host a farewell tour while she was still in good shape, allowing her to properly thank her fans for their support.
Lauper – who gets 25.7M monthly listeners on Spotify – has sold over 50M records worldwide during her four-decade career with Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits like Time After Time, She Bop, and True Colors.
The superstar has released eleven studio albums.
In 2013, Lauper achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first woman to independently win the Tony Award for Best Original Score for the Broadway musical Kinky Boots.
She shares son Declyn ‘Dex’ Lauper, 28, with Law & Order actor husband David Thornton, 71, to whom she’s been married since 1991.
Lauper – who gets 25.7M monthly listeners on Spotify – has sold over 50M records worldwide during her four-decade career with Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits like Time After Time, She Bop, and True Colors. Pictured in 1985
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