Chappell Roan Lauds Cyndi Lauper at Rock Hall Induction for ‘Showing Us You Can Be Bold, Quirky, Loud, Glamorous and Have Any Hair Color You Want’

Before there was the self-proclaimed Midwest Princess, there was the queen of Queens in New York. They came together in a glittery cosmic convergence Saturday night at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony as Chappell Roan formally inducted Cyndi Lauper, giving an earnest speech that touched on her own adoration for the honoree as a teenager and ongoing respect for her as one of pop’s most longstanding allies to the LGBTQ community.

“Cyndi embodies every quality of an artist that I admire,” Roan said from the stage of L.A.’s Peacock Theatre. “She’s a born performer and a revolutionary songwriter, a forever fashion icon, and a fierce advocate and ally. And from the very beginning, she owned every ounce of who she was — the manic, panicked hair, all of those rad Fingerless gloves and those unbelievably layered, dynamic and one-of-a-kind vocals… Can I hear a little commotion for the vocals?”

Roan looked back to Lauper’s impact at the very start of her nascent career: “One of Cyndi’s most inspiring songs to me personally is ‘True Colors.’ When I was 14 years old, I performed ‘True Colors’ at a talent show in my hometown in Missouri. That was my first time ever winning a competition for singing, and that has been so important to me ever since. ‘True Colors’ has gone on to be an anthem synonymous with love and acceptance in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond — a message that still stands the test of time.”

Lauper was as truly colorful as ever in that particular regard when she sang “True Colors” as part of a multi-artist performance segment in her honor, pausing the song as a vertical rainbow/pride flag unfurled from the top of the stage behind her, in a striking and pointed camera angle.

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In her acceptance speech, Lauper thanked “my badass female band I always dreamed of having” — which, for this occasion, included guest drummer Gina Schock of the Go-Go’s — and then positioned herself as part of a middle generation in the history of women in rock.

“So now to make a long story short…” she quipped. “Oops, too late for that. But I just want to say that I know that I stand on the shoulders of the women in the industry that came before me, and my shoulders are broad enough to have the women that come after me stand on mine. And the other thing that I thought was really important, which is why I really came here tonight, is to tell you that the little kid in me still believes that rock ‘n’ roll can save the world.”

Roan began her speech by saying: “I think we can all agree the best art comes from the most authentic people. When artists stay true to themselves, even when some people say they’re too much, too loud, too eccentric, or all of the above, that honesty becomes their greatest strength.”

In an awkward but charming moment, Roan came within an inch of dropping an F-bomb on Disney+ as she realized she was losing her place. “I f…” She stopped herself, explaining, “I messed up so bad by refusing to get contacts. Holy cow.”

Quickly regaining her composure amid audience chuckles that will not be heard when an edited version airs on ABC New Year’s Day, Roan continued:

“It’s that courage that not only creates incredible art, it gives everyone who experiences it the permission to be themselves. It opens their hearts, it changes their mind, and that is its power. Tonight, we honor a woman who redefined what a pop star could look like, sound like, sing like and be. A music legend whose authenticity has inspired us for the last four decades with her four-octave range, the amazingly fabulous Cyndi Lauper.”

After extolling her heroine’s vocal prowess, Roan noted that “before the whole world knew that voice, Cyndi spent years singing in cover bands and working random jobs trying to find her way. And it wasn’t until her band Blue Angel that people in the business started to notice her. The band eventually broke up, but Cyndi finally got her much-deserved, well-earned, overdue break in 1983 when she released her debut solo album, ‘She’s So Unusual’,” which she said “marked a cultural shift and earned Cyndi the Grammy for best new artist… ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ was more than a hit. The song became a global feminist anthem, and the video a touchstone for her unmistakable style. ‘Time After Time’ is arguably one of the greatest love ballads to ever exist, and the naughty ‘She Bop’ and her iconic rendition of ‘All Through the Night’ further cemented Cyndi’s status as a global superstar.”

Continued Roan, “Over the time of her 12 album releases and more, Cyndi spread her magical musical wings that have her venturing outside of pop and into blues, country, jazz and even Broadway, for which she won a Tony. Some of her incredible accomplishments also happen outside of the studio. They happen when she advocates for gay rights before the U.S. Senate. They happen through her non-profit, True Colors United, fighting to the end — fighting to end homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth. And they happen when she paves the way for artists like me to freely express myself. Cyndi Lauper has shown us that you can be bold, quirky, loud, glamorous and have any hair color you want. She’s empowered generations, opening our hearts, our minds, and broadcasting the beautiful message that we have the power to be who we authentically are.”

Lauper started her own speech on a more irreverent note: “See what happens when you let the riff-raff in?”

Among those Lauper thanked were “my mom, who would’ve liked to be here because she wouldn’t have had to worry if I was gonna win or not,” and “all the record executives and producers that I worked with, and probably drove crazy — just ask them, some of them are sitting there right now — who had faith in me and created it with me.” Her kudos extended to “every band, including the cover band,” and her road crew and “the people that helped me string my dulcimer, which nobody was happy I was playing.”

She noted that, when she uses the R&R term for herself, she is thinking in terms of the same big tent that the Hall itself has used for years in bringing in acts from different genres under that attitudinal umbrella.

“Rock ‘n’ roll is a big, wonderful quilt of a lot of different styles of music. Thank goodness,” she said. “And all of that music has influenced me and my work, and without it, I don’t know what kind of music I’d be making. So I just want to say, now of all times, let’s come together again and do good in the world because it needs us…

“You know, I always was part of the rock ‘n’ roll community anyway. You just didn’t wanna talk to me because, you know, they thought I was a little crazy. I don’t know why. Anyway, all kidding aside, I love you. Thank you very much to the Rock Hall of Fame. I’m so happy you’re bringing women back in. There are a lot of us. And long live rock ‘n’ roll.”