“My main concern was not making things clinical,” Cyndi Lauper says of her upcoming country album, Detour. “I wanted the beat to be dirty and sexy. It was supposed to be a mix of R&B and country.”

Lauper, a singer synonymous with Eighties pop, worked with producer Tony Brown (George Strait) to record the album in Nashville. She also enlisted some of the best voices in country and folk: Emmylou Harris sings on the title track; Jewel appears on “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart”; and Vince Gill turns up on Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn’s cheekily titled “You’re the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly.”

Willie Nelson also appears, joining with Lauper for a rendition of his own early Sixties hit “Night Life.” 

Lauper’s Detour will be released May 6th. She recently offered a sneak peek of the album during a Skyville Live performance in Nashville with Kelsea Ballerini and Ingrid Michaelson.