I was saved by art: Cyndi Lauper

Singer Cyndi Lauper says she was once told by her teachers that she would either be a famous artist, or dead.

At Russell Simmons's annual Rush HeARTS education luncheon, Lauper, 62, said she failed in school but it was art which saved her, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"I, myself, was challenged a lot in high school. I was actually voted most likely to fail. I failed a bunch, too, but art saved me, and teachers, a few real brave teachers who saw this pathway and said, 'Well, either you're going to be a famous Greenwich Village artist or dead', and I thought, 'Well, I should do the art.'"

Meanwhile, the singer has set her sights on releasing a country album.

"I don't know if you listen to country music but I want to work with Seymour Stein - he was the co-founder of Sire Records - and I've always wanted to work with him. So I figure while I've still got teeth in my mouth let me go work with him!

"I want to record all those songs I used to sing my guts out in my apartment to," she told Bang Showbiz.