Cyndi Lauper revealed in an interview with The Guardian that her previous record label, which she had signed with Blue Angel, had insisted on her being like Barbra Streisand.
"Look, you already had a Streisand," she told the label at the time. Although it was not specified, Streisand was famously signed to Columbia Records, while Blue Angel was linked to Polydor Records.
In the interview, Lauper also discussed how her record label had previously pitted her against Madonna.
"As if you could only have one woman who is successful. What the hell is that about?" Lauper pointed out. "That woman's been entertaining us for years. She's made great pop songs. I want to be competitive, but not pitted against another woman. I'm not into that."
Madonna and Lauper's silent feud also sparked significant decisions, such as Lionel Richie choosing Lauper over Madonna for the 1985 hit "We Are the World."
"It's probably one of the most interesting questions in the world because we had only half a line to sing. Let me say this now, a half a line. So we had to have voices that people knew right away," Richie said in an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Addressing the conflict to E! News, Lauper shared that she never addressed their competition directly with Madonna because she didn't believe it would change anything.
"Nah, I didn't think she liked me that much," Lauper said before noting that they could have been friends. "It was a shame. I would have liked to have a friend." She likened their rivalry to "apples and oranges," suggesting people were forced to "choose" between them.
In the Guardian interview, Lauper also spoke about the struggles she had experienced early on in the music industry about the confidence that music industry executives have given in her, noting that her career would have been easier if she had "appeased" them more.
"Yes, I probably would have, but I wouldn't be who I am. I don't know what that path would have been," Lauper added, saying, "It might have been easier for a while, but I wanted to learn. And, honestly, I just always wanted to be a great artist."
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
