Cyndi Lauper Says Label Wanted Her to Be Barbra Streisand, Pitted Her Against Madonna: 'What the Hell Is That About?'

In an interview with 'The Guardian', the pop star opened up about often clashing with music executives

Cyndi Lauper dealt with a lot of comparisons to other pop stars at the start of her career.

In an interview with The Guardian released Tuesday, June 25, the "True Colors" artist, 71, opened up about how the record label she signed to with Blue Angel wanted to position her as a solo artist.

According to Lauper, they wanted her to be like Barbra Streisand.

“Look, you already had a Streisand,” she told the publication.

The label also pitted Lauper against Madonna, who had released her 1983 debut album in the months prior.

“As if you could only have one woman who is successful. What the hell is that about?” the "Time After Time" musician said. “That woman’s been entertaining us for years. She’s made great pop songs. I want to be competitive, but not pitted against another woman. I’m not into that."

Related: Cyndi Lauper Announces Massive Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour — See the Dates!

Also in the interview, Lauper opened up about her struggled with other music industry execs and if she believed her career would have been easier had she appeased them more.

“Yes, I probably would have, but I wouldn’t be who I am," she said. "I don’t know what that path would have been."

Lauper continued: "It might have been easier for a while, but I wanted to learn. And, honestly, I just always wanted to be a great artist."

In some ways, the "Frozen" hitmaker, 65, and the actress/activist were often compared.

In February, Lionel Richie opened up about choosing Lauper over Madonna for the 1985 hit "We Are the World."

"It's probably one of the most interesting questions in the world because we had only a half a line to sing. Let me say this now, a half a line. So we had to have voices that people knew right away," he said during an appearance on on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

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Related: Lionel Richie Expresses Regret over Not Including Madonna in 'We Are the World' Lineup

Richie, 75, continued: "And so, for whatever reason, and by the way, we didn't know whether Cyndi was coming. Because after the show I said to Cyndi, 'Are you coming?' And she said, 'I spoke to my boyfriend and he says he doesn't say it's a hit.' And I said, 'Don't miss this session,' and she showed up and killed it."

When asked by host Jimmy Kimmel if he had made a "mistake" in not including Madonna, the "Stuck on You" artist admitted he did.

"I'm gonna say this now on national and international television — you're right," Richie said.

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