Cyndi Lauper

GRAMMY®-WINNING CYNDI LAUPER REFLECTS ON THE LONGEVITY OF HER CAREER, HER TIRELESS ADVOCACY WORK WITH TRUE COLORS UNITED AND DISCUSSES HER EXPERIENCE WITH DONALD TRUMP DURING ‘CELEBRITY APPRENTICE’ IN THESE EXCLUSIVE LOOKS AT A NEW EPISODE OF THE BIG INTERVIEW, AIRING TUESDAY, APRIL 30 AT 8pE/5pP

Los Angeles (April 25, 2019) – GRAMMY®, Tony®, and Emmy®-winning singer, actress, author, and advocate Cyndi Lauper sits down with Dan Rather for an all-new episode of The Big Interview—airing Tuesday, April 30 at 8pE/5pP. During the discussion, Lauper reflects on the longevity of her legendary career; describes the creative process behind some of her most enduring songs; talks about Donald Trump and opens up about her charity, True Colors United.

In this exclusive first look, Lauper recalls the first time she heard the demo for what would become one of her biggest hits and an enduring anthem for women, “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” and why she almost decided to pass on it. “I listened to it and said, ‘No. I can’t do this song.’ Because a man wrote it, so imagine what it’s really about,” Lauper explains. “There was a whole bridge [that] was like, ‘Hey, dad, we are the fortunate ones.’ Nudge-nudge. ‘‘Cause girls, they want to have fun’… I’m like, how am I supposed to write this?” Encouraged to turn it into an anthem that more appropriately suited her unique personality, Lauper set out to completely make the song her own—from the lyrics to the sound of the music, itself. She continues, “I had this idea with ‘Girls’, if I sang like a trumpet, and the guitar played that Motown feel that I grew up with and I loved, and we used the electronic snare—that street sound—and [keyboardist Rob Hyman] could play it as if it were a Reggae song… So, they just played that, I sang what I was singin’, and all of a sudden we looked at each other and went, ‘Yes!’” Watch it here.

In this second clip, Lauper recounts her days on “Celebrity Apprentice” with Donald Trump and says she had no idea he’d run for president. “Maybe he doesn’t even realize that he preaches hate. I feel really bad for Americans, because instead of bringing us together, he’s pulled us apart and that doesn’t make sense.” The clip is available here.

The Big Interview airs every Tuesday at 8pE/5pP, only on AXS TV.