Cheryl Lynn

Lynn is considered an influence on some of today's R&B female singers, including Mary J. Blige, who, along with Will Smith, covered Lynn's song ("Got to Be Real"), also for the soundtrack of the animated movie Shark Tale. Japanese popular music singer Kumi Koda covered the song for her July 2010 single album Gossip Candy as well.

On April 11, 2010, "Got to Be Real" charted for the first time in the UK, peaking at number 70.

During the new millennium Lynn toured Japan and did an occasional gig in the US, performing at charity events in her hometown of Los Angeles. In 2000 she worked with hip-hop musician Jay Supreme on his single "Your Love (Encore)", which was an update of her #1 1984 song "Encore." She performed on ABC's The Disco Ball...A 30-Year Celebration, broadcast during January 2003. In 2004 she recorded the song "Sweet Kind of Life," which was also written and produced by Jam & Lewis, for the soundtrack to Shark Tale. On September 19, 2005, Lynn's song "Got to Be Real" was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. On May 23, 2006 Collectables Record Label re-released her 1981 album In The Night and 1982's Instant Love, in twin CD package form. It was the first time ever that either album was released as a CD in the US.

Two years later she performed on HBO's Sinbad's Summer Soul Jam 4 (1998), hosted by comedian Sinbad.

She began the 1990s without a record contract. She did mostly session work for Richard Marx albums, Rush Street and Paid Vacation as well as Luther Vandross' Your Secret Love album. During 1995, after a six-year hiatus from recording her own material, Lynn teamed with producer/songwriter Teddy Riley (formerly of the new jack swing music group Guy), to record her ninth album, Good Time. It was released in Japan and the United Kingdom, and later in the United States as an imported CD. It featured the nightclub favorite single album "Guarantee for My Heart". In 1996, Sony Records/Legacy released Got to Be Real – The Best of Cheryl Lynn, which included Lynn's most successful recordings from her years with Columbia Records. This was followed soon by another compilation CD, The Real Thing, which featured other recordings from Lynn's first six albums.

In 1989, Lynn released the top 10 single "Every Time I Try To Say Goodbye", from her eighth album, Whatever It Takes.

Lynn also recorded soundtracks for a few feature films, including a song written by Michael Bolton entitled "At Last You're Mine" for the 1985 film Heavenly Bodies, and the track "Steppin' Into the Night" for the 1986 feature film Armed and Dangerous. The song and the film's soundtrack were produced by Maurice White.

In 1981 Ray Parker Jr. was called in to produced Lynn's third album, In The Night. It featured the major dance & R&B single, "Shake It Up, Tonight". The next year, Luther Vandross was asked to produce Lynn's fourth album, Instant Love. The second single from the album, "If This World Were Mine", a 1982 duet with Luther Vandross that was a cover version of a previous Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell song, has become a classic. For her fifth album, Preppie, Lynn produced most of the tracks, with the exception of the single "Encore" (#1 R&B), which was written and produced by the Minneapolis funk music duo, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It became Lynn's second #1 single.

Prior to her appearance in The Wiz, Lynn taped an episode of The Gong Show during early 1976. She scored a perfect 30 singing Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful"; a previous act (a singing juggler) had also scored 30, and in the audience applause tie-break the juggler was deemed the winner. After the episode was broadcast, during the fall of 1976, record industry executives were interested in contracting her.

Cheryl Lynn (born Lynda Cheryl Smith; March 11, 1957) is an American singer. She is best known for her songs during the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, including the 1978 R&B/disco song "Got to Be Real". Lynn's singing career began with her church choir when she was a girl. Her professional singing career started in 1976 when she obtained a job as a backing vocalist for the national touring company of the musical drama The Wiz. Eventually, she obtained the role of Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, during the six-month national tour.