One of Lauper's most successful singles, "She Bop" peaked within the top ten of the USBillboard Hot 100, reaching number three in September 1984. The track peaked within the top ten of Australia and New Zealand, reached the top twenty of theEuropean Hot 100 Singles chart, and topped theIsraeli Singles Chart. Due to a lack of promotion, the track stalled at number 46 in the United Kingdom. The music video for the track, which utilized animated segments and multiple visual effects, would receive a nomination at the1985 MTV Video Music Awards forBest Female Video. Lauper would re-record a quieter version of the song for her 2005 studio albumThe Body Acoustic.[1]
The track is an ode tomasturbation.[6] It was included on theParents Music Resource Center's "Filthy Fifteen" list in 1984 due to it being considered "profane or sexually explicit";[6] this led to the creation of theParental Advisory sticker. Lauper has stated that finding a copy of gay men's magazineBlueboy lying around in the recording studio provided the impetus for writing "She Bop".[7] The magazine is mentioned in the first verse.[8]
Cash Box said that "with characteristic zaniness, Lauper takes abe-bopback beat and sparks it with an inspired vocal that pops and chirps with rhythmic intensity."[9]
Billboard described "She Bop" as "Yet another radically different style from the not-so-daffy new star" and "hard rock bordering on metal, with a nonsense chorus to lighten the tone".[10] The remix byArthur Baker on the12-inch single was described byBillboard as a "radical" rework which was "full of new, rhythmic crosscurrents".[11]
"She Bop" was released on July 2, 1984. It debuted on theBillboard Hot 100 at No. 52 in the issue dated July 21, 1984,[12] and spent a total of 18 weeks on the chart, reaching a peak position of No. 3 in the issue dated September 8, 1984.[13] It was the third single from Lauper's debut album to make the top 10 of the Hot 100.[14] With "She Bop", Lauper became the first female artist to reach the top 3 of theBillboard Hot 100 with her first three chart entries, and her albumShe's So Unusual became the fourth debut album, and first by a female artist, to achieve three Top-10 hits (followingIntroducing... The Beatles,Lionel Richie andKissing to Be Clever byCulture Club).[15]
The single also reached number 10 on theHot Dance/Club Play Songs chart the week of September 15, 1984,[16] and placed at 34 on theBillboard year-end chart of 1984.[17] On April 17, 1989, the song was certifiedgold by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for the shipment of half a million copies across the United States.[18]
"She Bop" peaked at numbers 16 and 24 on the Hot 100 Sales and Airplay charts respectively, although this was on the inaugural published chart, which was long after the song had peaked on the Hot 100.[19]
The accompanyingmusic video for "She Bop" was directed by Edd Griles.[20] Mark Marek designed the characters in the animated sections of this music video, which were produced and directed by Jerry Lieberman, of NYC's Jerry Lieberman Productions,[21] and the cover of the US 12" version.[22]Wendi Richter,Lou Albano, andGary Howard Klar appear in the video, with Richter lip-synching the first line of the song.
The video expands upon the references to masturbation in the song's lyrics, although not overtly.[23] Among the images presented are an upright bottle shooting mayonnaise into the air, a sign at a gas station that displays 'GIT OFF HERE', gas pumps (labelled 'good x', 'better xx', 'nirvana xxx', 'single', and 'multiple'), a large sign that reads "Self Service", a dance sequence where Lauper portrays a blind person with a cane, and that same person winning a game of "Masterbingo"– both a reference to the myth that masturbation causes blindness.[23] Most of the more blatant references appear during the animated instrumental sequence, although subtle images are seen throughout the live action scenes.
British music magazineMelody Maker complimented the video, noting that it worked well because "Lauper has a certainBoop-cheeked charm" and also because of the "superb bits of animation" used in it.[25]
Howie Beno and Cruella DeVille recorded a version of the song for the 1999 movieJawbreaker.
Hong Kong singerAaron Kwok recorded a Cantonese and a Mandarin version of the song, both called "絕對美麗".
Greek bandMatisse covered the song for their 2007 album,Toys Up.
Chilean hard rock band Betty Black Boots covers this song in their presentations in the Chilean rock scene.
In July 2008,J-pop singerNana Kitade covered "She Bop" for the albumWe Love Cyndi – Tribute to Cyndi Lauper; another version of the cover was featured on her 2009 albumBondage.
South Korean pop singerWax covered the song. Her version of it is called "Oppa", which means "Brother".
^Kent, David (1993).Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 173.ISBN0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed byARIA between 1983 and June 19, 1988.
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