Cyndi Lauper joins the YouTube one billion views club

‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ indeed: Cyndi Lauper has joined the YouTube one billion views club with her classic 1983 debut single.

‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’, taken from the artist’s debut album, She’s So Unusual, is her first video to hit the huge milestone. The clip first aired on YouTube 13 years ago.

“A lot of people don’t realise this, but ‘Girls’ is really a political song,” Lauper explained in a statement about the track. The original version was written by Robert Hazard but it became a feminist anthem after being covered by Lauper.

“When I got my feminist hands on it, I knew I wanted to make it into an anthem for all women. Sonically, I wanted the song to be uplifting and joyful. When it came time to make the video, it was really important to me to make sure we included women from every walk of life. I wanted every little girl watching the video to have the joyful experience of seeing herself on that screen. I wanted us to be a community.”

The End Griles-directed music video became a favourite during the early MTV days. Lauper’s own mum played the matriarch in it, while her dad portrayed the professional wrestler/manager Captain Lou Albano.

“Years later, at the Women’s March, I saw that community in action. I saw all types of women and girls carrying signs saying ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun-damental Rights,'” Lauper added. “And now, here we are at a billion views. Back when we made the video, there was no YouTube, so when you think about it, it’s really extraordinary — the reach that this song has. The longevity. That people still purposely seek this video out and press play. Wow. I’m really grateful. Thank you.”

‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ has already been a part of music history: Lauper was the first woman in history to have four top five singles from a debut album, thanks to ‘Time After Time’, ‘She Bop’, All Through the Night, and Girls Just Want to Have Fun’.