Fans reel as pop icon Cyndi Lauper says goodbye

Music legend Cyndi Lauper has announced she’s ready to say farewell to her fans – and they’re struggling with the sad news.

Fans have been left reeling after music legend Cyndi Lauper made an unexpected announcement: Her upcoming US tour will also serve as a farewell.

Lauper, who turns 71 later this month, will embark upon a 23-date tour of the US and Canada in October, titled Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: The Farewell Tour.

One word in that title sent fans into a frenzy when it was announced on social media this week.

“Farewell tour? Nooo,” wrote one fan on Instagram.

“I’m so happy and so incredibly sad. I know you have worked your booty off since the very early 80s and you are due for a darn good rest but I just cannot imagine not seeing you all the time,” another said.

Time to say goodbye: At 70, Cyndi Lauper is ready to farewell her fans.

“I hate farewells and I am so thankful I grew up when your music was always on the radio!” said another.

Others used the opportunity to plead for Lauper to extend the farewell tour to more countries.

Several fans voiced their hope that Lauper’s use of the phrase “farewell tour” would be as elastic as that of fellow pop diva Cher, who embarked on a mammoth 326-date farewell tour from 2002 to 2005. She’s since performed two more world tours and two separate Las Vegas residences, totalling another 430 concerts.

Lauper's farewell tour so far only extends to North America.

Here in Australia, music legend John Farnham famously announced his own “farewell” tour titled The Last Time in 2002 when he was only in his early 50s. He’s since performed numerous concerts across Australia, including a 37-date national tour in 2009.

Lauper has not yet spoken publicly about what exactly this “farewell” means: Whether it will entail a retirement from touring or a retirement from the music business altogether.

Time to say goodbye: At 70, Cyndi Lauper is ready to farewell her fans.

The news comes as Lauper readies a career-spanning new documentary, Let The Canary Sing, which will debut in Australia on Paramount+ tomorrow.

The film is billed as a “nostalgic exploration of her life and career, with a boisterous narrative anchored by the inimitable Lauper herself.”

The singer has not released a new studio album since her blues covers collection Detours in 2016 but she’s stayed active as a touring artist, most recently visiting our shores in March last year as the support act for Rod Stewart.

Let’s hope Lauper does return down under for her farewell jaunt, as Australia’s always been one of her biggest markets: She scored an impressive 10 top 20 hits here in her 1980s heyday, including a number one with her inescapable debut solo single Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

Originally published as Fans reel as pop icon Cyndi Lauper says goodbye