The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2025 is gearing up for rock music’s biggest honor at the induction ceremony next month. With grunge legends and long-time Rock Hall snub Soundgarden finally getting their fill, as well as newly-eligible garage rock powerhouse The White Stripes, this year’s class is absolutely stacked with talent.
In recent years, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame has started expanding to include a broader variety of genres in their induction classes. Namely, some of the most influential rap and pop artists have been slowly making their way into the Hall of Fame, with A Tribe Called Quest receiving their honor in 2024, and Missy Elliott in 2023.
This year is no different, with ’80s pop legend Cyndi Lauper’s inclusion in the Class of 2025. While her music is categorized as predominantly pop, there’s no question that she has always had the look of a rock star. Now, 42 years after the release of her first album, She’s So UnusualLauper is receiving the honor that perfectly complements her rock star look.
The ’80s Icon Was Breaking Records From The Moment She Debuted
Cyndi Lauper released her debut studio album, She’s So Unusualin 1983, and four US singles peaked in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first-ever debut by a woman to achieve such a feat. Among those singles were “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time,” which received Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, respectively.
The album itself was nominated for Album of the Year, and while it didn’t win, it did earn Lauper her first Grammy for Best New Artist. The album went seven-times platinum and made Lauper a worldwide sensation well before her sophomore album, which three years later, didn’t sell nearly as many copies as her debut, but still went double platinum in the US.
The title track and lead single from that second album, True Colorsnot only topped the Billboard Hot 100, it also made Lauper an icon within the LGBTQ+ community, solidifying a loyal subset of her fanbase at a time when that community still wasn’t very widely accepted.
Whether Lauper truly qualifies as a rock artist may still be a bit of a point of contention in some circles, but her overall success and the impact her career has had on countless female and LGTBQ+ artists in the decades since her debut is undeniable. Her induction into the rock hall, whether it makes complete sense or not, is most definitely earned.
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