Usher debuts at No. 1; Cyndi Lauper bops back onto the charts

Believe it or not, it will be 25 years ago this December that Cyndi Lauper burst onto the pop scene with the aptly titled “She’s So Unusual.” This week she’s back on the album charts with her 10th studio collection, “Bring Ya to the Brink,” which finds her once again playing the saucy music chameleon.

“Brink” was recorded overseas with European dance heroes such as Basement Jaxx, Dragonette and Kleerup. The singer said it was yet another stamp in her career passport.

“I was giggling to myself one day on the way to Kent, England, to write with Digital Dog,” the 54-year-old said. “I was thinking how the English not only drive on the other side of the road, but they sing on the other side of the beat.”

Lauper is on the True Colors Tour, which also features the B-52s and Regina Spektor and lands at the Greek Theatre on June 28. Lauper’s album debuted Wednesday at No. 41 (12,000 copies sold) on the latest Nielsen SoundScan chart.

Usher’s “Here I Stand” debuted at No. 1 with 433,000 copies sold, the second strongest single-week total of 2008, trailing only Mariah Carey’s “E=MC2” and its mark of 463,000 copies.

There are only two other debuts in the Top 40, and both involve the venerable Al Green. His album “Lay It Down” opens at No. 9 (34,000 copies sold), and he has a duet with Joss Stone on the soundtrack to “Sex and the City” at No. 2 (66,000 copies).

geoff.boucher@latimes.com