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Cyndi Lauper And Other National Anthem Disasters

Posted 9/12/11 10:06 am EST by in Music, Sports


Cyndi Lauper

Singers be warned: There is one song you are not allowed to mess up – "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Before this weekend's U.S. Open women's semi-final match between Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki in New York, Cyndi Lauper was tasked with singing the National Anthem and she didn't exactly do it justice. Wearing a short Statue of Liberty dress, Lauper started into the song following a moment of silence for the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and flubbed the lyrics. Instead of singing, "O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming," Lauper sang, "O’er the ramparts, we watched as our flag was still streaming."

And people are not pleased about it. Twitter lit up soon afterward with none-too-kind comments for the eccentric singer, but she's far from the first to come under fire for botching "The Star-Spangled Banner." Read More...

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Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, Janet Jackson Celebrate Ladies Night On The Hot 100: Wake-Up Video

Posted 10/25/10 8:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


The record books established to track the Billboard Hot 100 are littered with female solo artists. Mariah Carey has the most number one singles of any solo artist in history (yes, even more than Elvis Presley) and Madonna isn't that far behind her. But it took a few decades before three female solo artists moved into the top three spots on the chart. On this day in 1986, that all changed, as Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," Tina Turner's "Typical Male" and Janet Jackson's "When I Think of You" occupied the first, second and third places (respectively) on the Billboard Hot 100.

Jackson's "When I Think of You" came from her third (and breakout) album, 1986's Control. Co-written with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jackson took R&B, disco influences, funk and traditional pop and infused it with the noise and energy of hip-hop (which was quickly making the transition from underground sensation to commercially viable pop property). "When I Think of You" was the third single following the hugely popular "What Have You Done For Me Lately" and "Nasty," both of which landed her in the top five on the Hot 100. "When I Think of You" was also Jackson's first chart-topper, having spent the previous two weeks in that spot.

"Typical Male" was the first single from Turner's 1986 album Break Every Rule, which was her follow-up to the massively successful Private Dancer. Though Break Every Rule was not as big a hit as its predecessor, it still spawned a handful of hits, including "Typical Male" and "What You Get Is What You See."

But the top of the chart on this day in '86 belonged to Lauper, whose "True Colors" (from her 1986 album of the same name) began a two week run in that spot. It was Lauper's second trip to the top of the Hot 100 (she had previously scored a number one with "Time After Time") and her fifth single in the top five.


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Happy Birthday, Cyndi Lauper!

Posted 6/22/10 12:00 pm EST by in Music


Today is a big day for Cyndi Lauper. Not only does her latest album Memphis Blues (a covers album featuring classic blues licks) hit stores today, but it also happens to be the day she turns 57 years old. It's her birthday, and there are any number of ways for her to celebrate.

Throughout her career, Lauper has proven herself to be incredibly versatile and adaptive. After spending her youth singing in clubs in New York City, Lauper scored a big splash with her 1983 album She's So Unusual. She presented a unique, impressive style, as she was performing bubbly pop songs while retaining a low-fi approach and a fashion sense that borrowed from the punk, glam and dance worlds. The single "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" made Lauper a household name, and the video (which co-starred professional wrestler Captain Lou Albano) was an early MTV staple. The hits from She's So Unusual kept coming, including the moving ballad "Time After Time" and the caustic "Money Changes Everything."

Lauper kept a high profile throughout the '80s, participating in a handful of events around professional wrestling, getting involved with the film "The Goonies" (which resulted in the classic tune "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough") and lending a hand to Live Aid. Her second album True Colors kept things going for her, as the title track became her second chart-topping single. She also remained an in-demand collaborator, dropping in on Billy Joel's "Code of Silence," the theme song to "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" and the film "Vibes," an off-beat comedy that also starred Jeff Goldblum.

She has continued to produce well-received albums and has stayed on the road for most of the last 15 years. Recently, she was one of the most entertaining cast members of "The Celebrity Apprentice" and teamed up with Lady Gaga for an anti-AIDS campaign with MAC Cosmetics (and like Gaga, Lauper is a defender of gay rights). Though she had many great songs, "She Bop" is probably the most eye-raising of her career, as it's probably the catchiest and most successful tune about self-pleasure in the history of radio pop.

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'The Celebrity Apprentice' Recap: Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Catch Up With Her

Posted 5/10/10 8:30 am EST by in Television


Cyndi Lauper, we miss you already. On Sunday night's (May 9) episode of "The Celebrity Apprentice," the wheels finally came off for the girl who just wants to have fun, and sadly, she was undone by the fact that she lacked boardroom savvy. In an absolutely interminable boardroom scene, Lauper went toe-to-toe-to-toe with Bret Michaels and Holly Robinson-Peete. As usual, Michaels played it cool (which ended up upsetting Donald Trump) while Robinson-Peete repeatedly threw Lauper under a bus. Lauper had been a thorn in Robinson-Peete's side for a long time, and apparently since Summer Sanders made her exit, things have been a little more intense (Holly even referred to Sanders as "my Cyndi whisperer" during the boardroom). Michaels waffled but ultimately said that he would fire Lauper, which spelled doom for her.

What was the vague challenge this week? The two teams had to design apartments, and some lizard-like guy judged their opulence. Honestly, these things are impossible to follow. However, it did give the viewing audience the rare opportunity to take a sneak peek into Trump's own apartment, which is as gaudy and absurd as you would imagine (and clearly designed by a set dresser from "Dallas" in 1983). Highlights were few and far between, though Sharon Osbourne suddenly decided that she cared about the game again and played extremely sharply (though calling the prop house to find out everything the other team had collected was both savvy and sort of cheating).

Back in the boardroom, Michaels stepped aside while Robinson-Peete and Lauper argued over who messed up worse. And while Bret's side-stepping got Trump hot under the collar, Cyndi ultimately slipped up and told the board that it was Holly who suggested that Lauper's room be painted red. Since Cyndi's "artistic vision" was her only asset (to offset her prickly personality), that spelled the end for her (but not before she called Robinson-Peete a "beeyotch" — which actually demanded a subtitle). Bret tried to make nice on the way out, but Lauper made a dramatic exit and declared the show "like high school."

We're getting down to the nitty-gritty, as there will be three firings in next week's episode to decide the final two, who will go head-to-head in the finale in two weeks.

Were you sad to see Cyndi Lauper go? Is there any doubt that Bret Michaels and Sharon Osbourne will square off in the finals? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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'The Celebrity Apprentice' Recap: Goldberg Slammed By Cyndi Lauper

Posted 4/19/10 10:00 am EST by in Television


The absurdity on "The Celebrity Apprentice" usually don't start until an hour or so into the show (and generally in the last 10 minutes or so), but Sunday night's (April 18) episode kicked off with an awesomely ridiculous sequence that saw the remaining contestants meeting Donald Trump at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex in New York City. Hopefully the Hall of Fame didn't invest too much in this tourism plug, because that particular branch of the world's most irrelevant museum closed back in January due to total apathy. In a pretty priceless moment, Trump suggested that Bret Michaels and Cyndi Lauper would both get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex some day, provided that they did well on "The Celebrity Apprentice." If there was ever a metaphor for the ridiculousness of this show — that winners could possibly get into a subset of a hall of fame that doesn't even exist any more — it was this one.

But the Annex was merely a backdrop for one of the lamest challenges in the history of reality shows. Each team had to prepare a country music star for an interview with People magazine. That's it. That was the whole shebang. Knowing that was the case, it's almost better that Sharon Osbourne's health mostly prevented her from participating in the task, as she has been making sure husband Ozzy is coherent enough for interviews for the better part of her life.

So Lauper took control of the female team, started a feud with former ally Maria Kanellis and airbrushed the heck out of their wannabe country star. On the men's side, Michaels kept worrying about his daughter's diabetes and Goldberg yelled at some guy that he needed to smile more. Honestly, it was all very confusing, and the fact that Trump kept ranting about how much he wanted to wear a bandana (if he were "in that business") didn't help matters.

In the end, Goldberg was fired for reasons that are not interesting but also irrelevant. That leaves only two connections to professional wrestling left. The bizarre two hours ended with special guest Trace Adkins second-guessing Trump's decision, which has to be a first. More celebrities keep disappearing, though apparently the way to win this show (as Osbourne is clearly doing) is to just not show up most of the time. Another great business lesson from the mind of Donald Trump.

What did you think of Goldberg's elimination? Who would you have fired? Let us know in the comments!

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'The Celebrity Apprentice' Recap: Who Is Selita Ebanks?

Posted 4/12/10 10:30 am EST by in Television


Last week, we suggested that Rod Blagojevich's exit from "The Celebrity Apprentice" would make it a far less watchable show and would probably cost the NBC reality program some viewers. But it apparently cost them some contestants as well, as everybody was shorthanded this week. With the male team already decimated by multiple firings, they lost Michael Johnson for a decent portion of the episode (he had some sort of family issue). On the female side, Cyndi Lauper ducked out to hang out with the president (though she came back later), and Sharon Osbourne called in sick for the duration of the show. With so many people essentially out of commission, it was up to the rest of the contestants to pick up the slack.

Unfortunately, nobody really did, as even the people who remained on the show were distracted. Bret Michaels was worried about the possibility of his daughter having diabetes (Michaels himself suffers from the disease; he's playing in the name of a diabetes research charity) and Goldberg seemed to be asleep for most of the episode (wearing such dark sunglasses allows him to get away with that). In fact, with all the personal issues at the forefront, the challenge itself seemed like an afterthought. The two teams had to create ads for Right Guard. The men won, mostly because they invited basketball great Scottie Pippen to wear a cape (and because the women made an ad that made absolutely no sense, even in the context of viral videos).

When it finally came time to fire somebody, Trump went out of his way to say that he wouldn't fire Lauper specifically because she missed so much of the challenge (even though she arguably mucked up the works towards the end with her suggestions). Selita Ebanks — a model who most people probably didn't even realize was on this show — got the boot in a pretty low-key boardroom ceremony.

But of course the highlight of the night goes to Bret Michaels. We always knew he was a poet (just check out the lyrics to "Unskinny Bop"), but we were not aware that he was a Shakespeare-esque inventor of new words. When the executives from Right Guard reacted coldly to their advertisement, Michaels said they had looks of "stoicness and confusion — stofusion." The fact that "stoicness" is not actually a word is one thing, but making it a part of a ridiculous portmanteau takes actual genius. Kudos, Mr. Michaels. You've won the hearts of millions all over again, and you're probably going to win "The Celebrity Apprentice" while you do it.

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'The Celebrity Apprentice' Recap: Rod Blagojevich Fired (Again), Bret Michaels Lives On

Posted 4/5/10 8:00 am EST by in Television


Rod Blagojevich may be a terrible statesman, but he certainly has delivered heaping buckets full of entertainment during his stint on "The Celebrity Apprentice." Sadly, his reign of goofball incompetence has come to a close, as Donal Trump dismissed the former governor in one of the stranger boardrooms in the history of the series.

This week, the two teams were tasked with creating an interactive display plugging the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the new theme park attraction at Universal Studios that opens in June. Team RockSolid was basically hosed from jump street, as Blago seemed confused during the initial executive meeting, couldn't clearly express what he wanted and spent most of the time looking wide-eyed and mispronouncing "Harry Potter" terminology.

The entire finished product was basically left up to Poison frontman Bret Michaels, who Trump desperately wanted to fire. He kept asking Blagojevich if he was sure he didn't want to bring the "Rock of Love" host into the boardroom with him. Then he asked him again. In a last-ditch effort to keep the kooky governor on the show, he even tried to convince Michaels to fall on his own sword. None of this worked, so Trump couldn't do anything but send Blagojevich into the good night. It's easy to understand why Trump wanted to keep Blagojevich around a little while longer (when you think about it, most of the promos for this season have revolved around his idiocy), but why was Trump so hellbent on getting rid of the "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" singer? Was it because Michaels hit on Erin Burnett while she was checking on the progress of the team? Isn't that something that everybody expects at this point?

It's hard to blame Trump for wanting to keep Blagojevich around, as his antics were entertaining enough to keep Sunday night's (April 4) episode afloat. The only other highlight was the growing rift on the female team between people who think Cyndi Lauper is awesome (Sharon Osbourne, Maria Kanellis) and those who find her annoying (everybody else). Osbourne made a great point, though: The ladies' team is pretty boring even with Lauper — without her, they'd be unbearable.

Oh, and Goldberg dressed up as a tree. Hard to argue with that.

What did you think of Donald Trump wanting to fire Bret Michaels? Who do you think is going to win? Let us know in the comments!

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'The Celebrity Apprentice' Recap: Darryl Strawberry Fires Himself

Posted 3/29/10 9:00 am EST by in Television


Back when the cast members were revealed, the stars participating in "The Celebrity Apprentice" seemed custom-built for easy story lines. It was obvious that eventually Bret Michaels (he of hair metal fame) would eventually go toe-to-toe with Sharon Osbourne (she of real metal fame). And why wouldn't former wrestling star Goldberg challenge former WWE vixen Maria Kanellis?

Still, it took the show three episodes before we got a pair of people from the same universe, as Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson took the reins for RockSolid while Olympic swimmer Summer Sanders got behind the wheel for Tenacity. Each have gold medals in their respective trophy cases, but which one was able to spearhead a better advertorial campaign for the identity theft protection systems Norton and LifeLock?

Though the women had issues with their presentation (Sanders apparently doesn't use Powerpoint very often), the suits in charge of deciding the winner handed the duke to the ladies. That meant a second straight trip to the boardroom for the men, who clashed over content choices and Rod Blagojevich's inability to use a computer (if this show has proven anything, it's that there is nothing that Blago can't fail at). Though Johnson seemed destined to get the chop, Darryl Strawberry stepped up and quit, which robbed the viewing audience of Donald Trump's catchphrase for a week.

Tenacity remains in tact but no less embattled, as Cyndi Lauper continues to be a divisive presence (the women seem to be split evenly between people who love Lauper and those who think she is a nuisance). Meanwhile, the guys have kept the drama to a relative minimum (for a supposed group of high-powered alpha males, they're a pretty passive bunch). Next week's episode will somehow involve "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" at Universal Studios. Perhaps somebody will cast a spell to make the show shorter?

Who would have been fired from "The Celebrity Apprentice" had Darryl Strawberry not quit? Let us know in the comments!

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'The Celebrity Apprentice' Recap: Sinbad Is No Good

Posted 3/22/10 8:01 am EST by in Television


First of all, let's get one thing out there: As entertaining as "The Celebrity Apprentice" is (and make no mistake, it's wildly entertaining), two hours is just too long for a reality show. While the actual challenges do get plenty of time to unfold, there is way too much padding on the front and back ends of that show. Of course, that's not a problem if you're fast-forwarding through the boring parts, but the live experience leaves a little to be desired.

That being said, Sunday night's (March 21) episode of "The Celebrity Apprentice" was pretty fantastic. This time around, the two teams were charged with stirring up excitement for Kodak, which was re-launching a slogan. The teams had to create "an experience," which is one of those marketing-speak terms that makes perfect sense to everybody except those who are actually supposed to execute it. Each team (with the men lead by Sinbad and the women headed by former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis) created a space that allowed people to get their pictures taken with various stars and have some sort of Kodak experience. Both teams set up fake wrestling rings (that's what you get when you've got two pro wrestling personalities involved), while the men relied on the stardom of Darryl Strawberry and Bret Michaels and the women stuck to everybody's fascination with Cyndi Lauper for success.

In the end, the women took the victory (even though they had trouble keeping the lights on in their space, couldn't organize their photos and gave away cupcakes that Sharon Osbourne coughed all over), which put the men in a position to send somebody home. Sinbad took the heat in a pretty anti-climatic boardroom conversation. Donald Trump seemed to get a great deal of pleasure out of saying, "Sinbad, you're fired" (a phrase the comedian has probably heard a lot in his career).

The two teams are now even, and while the men have shown the first cracks in their facade, the women appear to be coming apart at the seems (with Lauper making the most waves). Sinbad will be missed, but at least we still have Goldberg.

Who do you think should have won Sunday night's "Celebrity Apprentice" challenge? Were you totally put off by Sharon Osbourne's coughing? Isn't Goldberg awesome? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

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'The Celebrity Apprentice' Recap: Bret Michaels And Cyndi Lauper Square Off In A Diner War

Posted 3/15/10 7:15 am EST by in Music


Usually when a reality show adds the word "celebrity" to its title, it's a sure sign of two things: That the quality of the show will take a dip and that you will question the validity of the "celebrity" tag when it comes to 90 percent of the cast. But in the case of "The Celebrity Apprentice," the show actually got better once famous people got involved (and handed all their winnings over to charity), and the actual stars in this season's group of combatants have real resumés (or at least most of them do).

On Sunday night's (March 14) season premiere, host Donald Trump introduced the universe to the new group of wannabe businessfolk, 14 stars who were split up into two teams by gender and given the task of running a diner for three hours. The two teams — "Tenacity," the batch of women, and "Rock Solid," the group of men — were lead by pop icon and professional wrestling enthusiast Cyndi Lauper and Poison frontman Bret Michaels.

Unfortunately, the actual challenges are usually the most boring parts of "The Celebrity Apprentice," as the teams of stars usually just spend time calling in favors from other famous friends (Sunday night's episode featured an Al Roker cameo, who shelled out a hundred bucks to eat a sandwich at the male team's restaurant). But there were some wildly entertaining moments, mostly care of Lauper, who sang her way through serving meals, openly bashed Trump during interview segments and had crazy hair throughout the night.

Even though the women got a $10,000 bonus from Joan Rivers, they still came up short, and the victory went to the men. When it came time to fire somebody, team leader Lauper was called into Trump's boardroom along with comedian Carol Leifer (who was relatively invisible throughout the episode). Even though Lauper spent the whole episode burying the host of the show, he still dismissed Leifer.

So far, it's off to a good start, as a handful of rivalries already look to be mounting on the women's side (especially between Sharon Osbourne and ... just about everybody), and some of the men already look like early favorites (including former baseball great Darryl Strawberry, comedian Sinbad and actor and former pro wrestler Bill Goldberg). But with so many music greats, it will be interesting to see whether or not somebody from that world will join former winners Piers Morgan and Joan Rivers in the pantheon of "The Celebrity Apprentice" champions.

What do you think? Did Donald Trump fire the right person? Is Bret Michaels the early frontrunner? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

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