Cyndi Lauper Receives Icon Award At Billboard Women In Music Event, Capping Tremendous 2018
It has been a tremendous year for Cyndi Lauper, who received the Icon Award at Billboard’s Women In Music event earlier tonight. Said Cyndi, after receiving her award:
"From the beginning, I’ve worked hard and on purpose to be inclusive. If you look at the ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ video, you’ll see that I assembled a great group of women who represented every race and ethnicity. It was important to me that every little girl could actually see herself in it, and it would be kind of contagious that everyone was entitled—no matter what race or color or anything—you were entitled to this joyful experience. I hope I’ve managed to continue to do that throughout my career."
Saturday night she’ll host her 8th annual Home For The Holidays concert, a star-studded benefit at the Beacon Theater. 100% of the net proceeds of Home For The Holidays go to the True Colors Fund’s programs to prevent and end homelessness among LGBTQ youth. The True Colors Fund was co-founded by Cyndi and this year marks its 10th anniversary.
Cyndi started her 2018 with a performance during a key moment at the GRAMMYs alongside Kesha and other stars. She toured coast to coast for two months this summer with Rod Stewart, including Madison Square Garden and the Hollywood Bowl. Variety then included Cyndi and the True Colors Fund in their annual Philanthropy in Entertainment issue, after the True Colors Fund unveiled the State Index on Youth Homelessness in June.
The successful musician and entertainer also appeared as a guest on Magnum P.I. and debuted a line of retro holiday goods for Grandin Road which is virtually sold out. Cyndi is also working on the music for the forthcoming Working Girl musical. Kinky Boots, the show that Cyndi earned a Tony Award for, will close on Broadway in April, following a 6-year, record-breaking run.
2019 will bring much more news from Cyndi, and congratulations on a phenomenal year.
For more on Cyndi's Home for the Holidays concert tomorrow, watch her appearance on The Today Show from earlier this week: https://www.today.com/video/cyndi-lauper-talks-about-home-for-the-holidays-benefit-concert-1388266563721
And read more about the experiences that led her to be an advocate for LGBTQ homeless youth in this week’s New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/12/10/cyndi-laupers-mission-to-help-homeless-teens