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She's So Unusual by  ReleasedOctober 14, 1983RecordedMay - August 1983Studio
(, )   Length38:42 William Wittman  chronologyShe's So Unusual
(1983)
(1986) from She's So Unusual ""
Released: September 6, 1983 ""
Released: January 27, 1984 ""
Released: July 2, 1984 ""
Released: September 3, 1984 ""
Released: December 22, 1984 ""
Released: January 31, 1985

She's So Unusual is the debut  by American singer and songwriter , released on October 14, 1983, by . The album was re-released in 2014 to commemorate its 30th anniversary, and was called She's So Unusual: A 30th Anniversary Celebration. The re-release contains demos and remixes of previously released material, as well as new artwork.

In 1978, Lauper formed the band . The band soon signed a recording contract with ; however, their debut album, , was a commercial failure. The band parted ways after firing their manager, who sued Lauper for $80,000 and forced her into bankruptcy. Lauper went on to sing in many New York night clubs, and caught the eye of David Wolf, who became her manager and subsequently got her signed to .

Six singles were released from the album, with "" becoming a worldwide hit and her first song to chart on the . "" became her first number-one hit on the chart and experienced similar success worldwide. Lauper found success with the next two singles as well, with both "" and "" peaking in the top five. This makes Lauper the first female singer to have four top five singles on the Hot 100 from one album. She's So Unusual was promoted by the  throughout 1983 and 1984.

The album is primarily -based, with many of the songs being influenced by  and . Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from music critics, who noted Lauper's unique vocals. Lauper earned several awards and accolades for the album, including two  at the , one of which was for . She's So Unusual peaked at number four on the  chart and stayed in the chart's top forty for 65 weeks. It has sold over 6 million copies in the United States and 16 million copies worldwide. This makes it Lauper's best-selling album to date and one of the best-selling albums of the . The album ranked at #487 on 's list of  in 2003 and again in 2012. It also ranked at #41 on 's list of Women Who Rock: The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2012. In 2019, the album was selected by the  for preservation in the  for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Background

In 1978, Lauper met saxophone player  and formed the band . They recorded a demo tape of original music.  heard the tape and liked Lauper's voice. He bought out Blue Angel's contract for $5,000 and became their manager.

Lauper received many offers to go solo, but rebuffed any offer that didn't include the rest of the band. Blue Angel was eventually signed by  and released a self-titled album on the label in 1980. Despite critical acclaim, the album was a commercial failure. The members of Blue Angel also had a falling-out with Massarsky and fired him as their manager. He later filed an $80,000 suit against them, which forced Lauper into bankruptcy.

After Blue Angel broke up, Lauper spent time working in retail stores and singing in local clubs. In 1981, while singing in a local New York bar, Lauper met David Wolff, who took over as her manager. With his help, Lauper signed with , a subsidiary of , in the spring of 1983 and soon began recording her debut album.

Artwork

The front cover of She's So Unusual was photographed on Henderson Walk in ,  in the summer of 1983 by . Lauper is depicted wearing a vintage red prom-style dress that she purchased at the vintage clothing shop where she used to work, Screaming Mimi's. She is also seen holding a bouquet of flowers which were purchased from a vendor on the boardwalk at the time of the shoot. Lauper has heavy costume jewelry on her ears, arms, neck and her right ankle. She is barefoot, with the exception of the  stockings, and her red high-heels appear to have been taken off in front of her as they lay on their sides at the bottom of the photo. The cover shot was captured in front of the , The World In Wax Musee. It can be seen behind Lauper that the museum had been closed for some time and at the time of closure was featuring a wax statue of Puerto Rican baseball great . The wooden  above the doorway with the two blue panels read the name of the museum. The first panel read "The World" and second panel read "In Wax". This was airbrushed out of the photograph for unknown reasons.

The cover won  the  in 1985.

Singles

The lead single from the album was "", released on September 6, 1983. This single achieved massive success in the United States with its music video playing in heavy rotation on several stations, and eventually peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It received Platinum certification from the  for sales of 2,000,000 copies. The single was a success internationally, reaching the top ten in 19 countries and number one in 10 countries, including; , , , , ,  and . "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" received nominations at the  for  and , and won Best Female Video at the , among several nominations.

"" was the second single released from the album, and was released in April 1984. It repeated the success of the previous single and spent two consecutive weeks at number one on the Hot 100, becoming Lauper's first number one hit on the  and eventually spending a total of 20 weeks on the chart and receiving Gold certification from the RIAA for 1,000,000 copies sold. Like the previous single, "Time After Time" was an international success and reached the top ten in 15 countries. The song received a Grammy nomination for .

The third single from the album was "", released on July 2, 1984. This single reached number three on the Hot 100, becoming her third consecutive top five hit, and spent a total of 18 weeks on the chart. With sales of over 1,000,000 copies, the song was certified Gold by the RIAA. The single proved to be another international success for Lauper, reaching the top ten in 8 countries. "She Bop" was controversial upon release and placed at number 15 on the  "Filthy Fifteen".

"" was single number four, released in September 1984. Like Lauper's previous three singles, "All Through The Night" reached the top five of the Hot 100 with a peak of number five. It was written by, and originally recorded by , who provided backup vocals as well. The song was a moderate international success, reaching the top ten in 6 countries, and received Gold certification in .

Single number five was "", released in December 1984. It was a moderate success and reached number #27 on the Hot 100, Lauper's first single to not reach the top ten. It also did moderately well in Australia, reaching #19 on its chart.

The sixth and final single from the album was a cover of the  song, "", released on January 31, 1985 in Canada and Japan only. It achieved little success, reaching number #62 on the .

Reception Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingA7/109/10(favourable)

She's So Unusual peaked at number four on the  chart, due to the success of the album's first single on U.S. radio and intense display of its music video on . In the weeks following, the album's sales remained stable thanks to the following four singles and Lauper's world tour and appearances on popular television and radio programs. Overall the album stayed 77 weeks on the Billboard 200. The album became one of the bestselling albums of 1984. It has since sold over 6 million copies in the United States, where it was certified six times platinum by the , which lists it as one of the Best Selling Albums of All Time. She's So Unusual has sold over 16 million copies worldwide. At least until 1986, the album was the second best-selling album in  by a female artist during the decade, behind 's , selling more than 900,000 copies.

She's So Unusual was voted the eleventh best album of the year in 's annual  critics poll for 1984. In a retrospective review for , music critic  called the album a "giddy mix of self-confidence, effervescent popcraft, unabashed sentimentality, subversiveness, and clever humor". Sal Cinquemani of  called it "a pop classic".  said that, with "some fine tunes" and the CD reissue's three bonus tracks, the album "certainly bears another listen."

Accolades

She's So Unusual and its singles earned Lauper six  nominations, including  and ultimately winning the awards for  and . "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" was nominated for  and , and "Time After Time" was nominated for . Lauper earned ten  nominations. "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" received six nominations including , and won for . "Time After Time" received three nominations and "She Bop" received one nomination. In 2002, the album was ranked number 41 on  magazine's list of 50 Essential "Women In Rock" Albums. In 2012,  magazine ranked the album #487 on its list of , calling it "razor-sharp dance pop". In 2012,  listed the album at #22 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s" saying "An absolutely peerless collection of profound pop jewels".

YearNominee / workAwardResult""NominatedNominatedWonNominatedNominatedNominated""MTV Video Music Award for Best New ArtistNominatedMTV Video Music Award for Best Female VideoNominatedNominated1985Cyndi LauperWonShe's So UnusualWonNominated"Girls Just Want To Have Fun"NominatedNominated"Time After Time"Nominated""MTV Video Music Award for Best Female VideoNominated
Track listing Side oneNo.TitleWriter(s)PublisherLength1.""Gray Matter Music/ATV Music Corp.5:062.""Heroic Music3:583."", Ecnirp Music5:064.""Cyndi Lauper, Dub Notes, Rella Music4:01Side twoNo.TitleWriter(s)PublisherLength1."" Lauper Stephen Broughton Lunt Rellla Music Co., Noyb Music Co., Wall to Wall Music Co. & Hobbler Music3:472.""Funzalo Music/Juters Music Co.4:333."Witness"Lauper, Turalaura Music and Turi Music3:404."I'll Kiss You"Lauper, ShearRellla Music Co., Funzalo Music / Juters Music Co.4:125."" Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. Inc0:456."Yeah Yeah"Hasse Huss, Stainless Music Corp.3:18Bonus tracks (2000 reissue)No.TitleNotesLength11."Money Changes Everything (Live)"Recorded 1984, Irvine Meadows, Irvine, CA; previously unreleased edit (original recording from Portrait promotional 12-inch (AS 1961)4:3612."She Bop (Live)"Recorded 1984, Irvine Meadows, Irvine, CA; previously unreleased5:2013."All Through the Night (Live)"Recorded 1984, Irvine Meadows, Irvine, CA; previously unreleased4:4814."Money Changes Everything" (Live at  07) (Japan remaster exclusive bonus track) 　5:10