Cyndi Lauper documentary ‘Let The Canary Sing’ is in the works

Cyndi Lauper is set to be the subject of an upcoming documentary called Let The Canary Sing.

According to a press release, the film will cover the singer’s rise from her childhood in Queens, New York to the top of the pop charts in the 1980s and beyond. It’s directed by Alison Ellwood, who helmed 2020’s The Go-Go’s.

A release date is not yet confirmed, but the documentary is said to be currently in production via Sony Music Entertainment’s Premium Content Division.

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“Like many people, I assumed when Cyndi Lauper burst onto the music scene in the early ’80s, that she was another young star experiencing a meteoric rise to fame and success thanks to MTV,” Ellwood said in a statement.

“Her music videos were wild and colourful, her songs like ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ [1983] were infectious. But as it turns out, her story is one of hard knocks, hard work and dogged determination.”

Cyndi Lauper NYE 2020
Cyndi Lauper performing live from Times Square during New Year’s Eve celebrations on December 31, 2020 in New York City. CREDIT: Gary Hershorn-Pool/Getty Image

She continued: “Cyndi wanted her voice not just to be listened to, but a voice to be heard. The documentary will be a full portrait of Cyndi Lauper – her ‘True Colors’ shining through.”

In 2014, Lauper’s party classic ‘Girls…’ featured in NME‘s list of ’35 amazing Number Two singles that were scandalously beaten to the top spot’.

Her signature hit reached Number Two in both the US, where it was beaten to the top spot by Van Halen’s ‘Jump’, and in the UK, where it lost out to UB40’s ‘Red Red Wine’.

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Additionally, Lauper bagged a top 10 single in the UK with ‘Time After Time’ (Number Three) and ‘I Drove All Night’ (Number Seven). She’s also had two UK top 10 albums: ‘A Night To Remember’ and ‘Twelve Deadly Cyns…And Then Some’ (via the Official Chart Company).

Cyndi Lauper is an active advocate for LGBTQIA+ causes, having founded the True Colors United non-profit organisation in 2008. Back in 2019, she received a UN award in recognition of her longstanding fight for human rights.