Lauper joins ABBA Voyage creator
Legendary pop singer Cyndi Lauper, who rose to fame in the 1980s with hits such as “Time After Time” and “Girls Just
Want To Have Fun,” has entered a partnership with the Swedish masterminds behind the immersive virtual concert ABBA Voyage.
The partnership announced Thursday by the Pophouse Entertainment Group co-founded by ABBA singer Björn Ulvaeus, involves the acquisition of a majority share of the award-winning singersongwriter’s music. The aim is to develop new ways to bring Lauper’s music to fans and younger audiences through new performances and live experiences.
Lauper said she agreed to the sale, for an undisclosed amount, when it became apparent the Swedish company wasn’t just in it for the money. “Most suits, when you tell them an idea, their eyes glaze over, they just want your greatest hits,” Lauper said recently. “But these guys are a multimedia company, they’re not looking to just buy my catalog, they want to make something new.”
Four decades after her breakthrough solo album, Lauper is still brimming with ideas and the energy to bring them to stage.
Lauper, 70, said she’s not aiming to replicate the glittery supernova brought to stage in ABBA Voyage, but rather an “immersive theater piece” that transports audiences to the New York she grew up in.
“It’s about where I came from and the three women that were very influential in my life, my mom, my grandmother and my aunt,” she said.
Charlamagne Tha God releasing new book:
Charlamagne
Tha God’s next book is an ode to hard truths and getting to the point.
Black Privilege Publishing, a Simon & Schuster imprint founded by Charlamagne Tha God, announced Thursday that “Get Honest Or Die Lying: Why Small Talk Sucks” will come out May 21.
The author will take on “politics, the patriarchy, fatherhood, money, fame, social media” and reveal “more about himself than ever before.” His previous books include “Black Privilege” and “Shook One.”
Williams inducted into honorary society:
After composing some of the most famous soundtracks in history, Oscar winner John Williams has been welcomed into a more rarefied institution: the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
The academy said Thursday that Williams
was among 19 inductees voted into the honorary society for musicians, authors, artists and architects founded in 1898, with members over time ranging from Mark Twain and Toni Morrison to Leonard Bernstein and Alice Neel. Others elected this year include another prominent film composer, Terence Blanchard, the Grammywinning jazz musician who has scored many Spike Lee films; prizewinning novelist Alice Mcdermott; and multimedia artist Matthew Barney.
March 1 birthdays: Singer Roger Daltrey is 80. Singer Janis Oliver is 70. Director Ron Howard is 70. Actor Catherine Bach is 70. Actor Tim Daly is 68. Actor Russell Wong is 61. Actor Javier Bardem is 55. Actor Mark-paul Gosselaar is 50. Actor Jensen Ackles is 46. Actor Lupita Nyong’o is 41. Singer Kesha is 37. Singer Justin Bieber is 30.