Lauper will show her 'Blues' colors in the Hamptons

Cyndi Lauper believes there are no accidents.

"Your journey is your journey," she says, in the distinctive Brooklyn accent that is missing for much of her new album "Memphis Blues" (Mercer Street / Downtown). "Everything works out the way it's supposed to."

That goes for Lauper's career - which now also extends to TV, as she works on a new reality show with Mark Burnett, and Broadway, where she's working on songs for the musical "Kinky Boots" - and it goes for her album, which was initially meant to follow 2003's collection of pop standards, "At Last," and her current tour.

You went to Sweden to be part of the dance music scene for your last album. How was working in Memphis?

You know me, I like to live it. . . . It picked up the spirit of things. In blues, it's about the spirit. When Allen Toussaint came and he played the descending line of "Shattered Dreams," it felt like I fell into a dream. Everything was right in that moment. What I was trying to do is have us discover the song together and record it in that moment and I got it. . . . The moment of discovery is crucial. You don't want to be so rehearsed that it becomes lifeless.

SEE PHOTOSHangin' in the Hamptons: July 2010

You worked with some other amazing people on this.

Ann Peebles and I were singing into the same mic. How crazy is that? . . . Jonny Lang is so good it's ridiculous. . . . And I'm still working with fabulous players on this tour.

How do you find yourself in a song like "Crossroads" or "Down So Low" that so many people have done before you?

It starts with the story. I chose these songs because of the time we're living in. The recent news feels like the blues. I keep saying that because it's true. I chose songs that were uplifting, because the best part of the blues is uplifting. These songs have humor to them. And you know when you're in it and everything seems dark, you need to start laughing. That's the best way to be.

WHO Cyndi Lauper

WHEN | WHERE 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center

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