Where Are They Now? '80s Pop Rock Music Icon Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper, with her crazy orange waffled hair and unforgettable '80s style, rocked the music world with her hit songs "Time After Time" and "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." Videos on MTV, the then-new music video television channel, which propelled other pop icons like Michael Jackson and Madonna to worldwide fame, further made the punk rock, New Wave singer a worldwide phenomena.

Lauper, who was all of 30 years old (ancient by our contemporary standards of young teen American music heartthrobs like Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus) won a Grammy in 1985 and enjoyed major musical success, her music staying at the top of the Billboard charts week after week. Other music projects like "True Colors" and the original "We Are The World" further propelled Cyndi to unparalleled musical success.

The '90s saw a swift decline for the talented musician, who continued to put out new albums like Sisters ofAvalon, which only made a small blip in the musical landscape. A series of failed Hollywood films further doomed Lauper to oblivion, although the gay club crowd continued to love Lauper's music. Soon the hip mother became an outspoken advocate of AIDS awareness, intertwining her musical talents with political rallies.

The year 2000 found Lauper taking a more traditional spin, a singer of standards with the At Last Album, which gets her a long-awaited Grammy nomination after over a decade of being absent from the musical spotlight.

Now 56 years old, Lauper has continued to grace the American public with her edgy presence, making cameo and guest appearances on various television shows, including "Celebrity Apprentice" and the popular crime forensic drama "Bones." Her musical days are not over, however, and the pop punk rock goddess has recently released Memphis Blues.

Lauper admitted to Billboard recently that she was happy to be off the infantile show "Celebrity Apprentice," which she felt was apparently too "high schoolish," although she was happy that she raised awareness and funding for her True Colors Fund. Cyndi enjoyed her stint on "Bones" and hopes to "weasel in" another appearance as the psychic on the show.

The punk rocker shows no signs of stopping, and Lauper continues to campaign for AIDS awareness nationwide, sometimes alongside current music idols like wacky-weird Lady Gaga, who sometimes looks like the third millennium's answer to Lauper.

According to the Idolator, Lauper's next musical project will have a sharp political bent, what the singer calls "a cake that has bitter jelly."

Sources:
"About," Cyndi Lauper Online.
"Cyndi Lauper, Good Genes or Good Docs?" Tmz
"Cyndi Lauper Defends Lady Gaga..." Idolator.com.
Linden, Sherri, ed. "Cyndi Lauper realizes long time dream with blues." Reuters.com.