True Colors (Cyndi Lauper song)

"True Colors" is a song written by American songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. It was both the title track and the first single released from American singer Cyndi Lauper's second album (1986).[2] Released in mid-1986, the song would become a hit for Lauper, spending two weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming her last single to occupy the top of the chart. It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

"True Colors"
Single by Cyndi Lauper
from the album True Colors
B-side"Heading for the Moon"
ReleasedAugust 28, 1986
RecordedMarch 3, 1986
GenreSynth-rock[1]
Length3:46
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Cyndi Lauper
  • Lennie Petze
Cyndi Lauper singles chronology
"The Goonies 'R' Good Enough"
(1985)		 "True Colors"
(1986)		 "Change of Heart"
(1986)
Music video
"True Colors" on YouTube

Composition

Billy Steinberg originally wrote "True Colors" about his own mother. Tom Kelly altered the first verse and the duo originally submitted the song to Anne Murray, who passed on recording it, and then to Cyndi Lauper.[3] Their demo was in the form of a piano-based gospel ballad like "Bridge over Troubled Water". Steinberg told Songfacts that "Cyndi completely dismantled that sort of traditional arrangement and came up with something that was breathtaking and stark."[2] Other songs they wrote for Lauper include "I Drove All Night" and "Unconditional Love".

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song, which received heavy rotation on MTV, was directed by American choreographer Patricia Birch. In the video, Lauper sings on a dark soundstage, sitting beside a drum and holding a black flower. A young girl who explores a beach takes the flower and ends up seeing two women, one light-skinned and one dark-skinned, drinking tea on a boat. Lauper appears on the beach in an elaborate jeweled headdress with a shell in her hand. She is then seen lying on a white sheet, which a long haired man (David Wolff) proceeds to pull. They eventually share a kiss. Lauper is then seen walking on the beach with a skirt made of newspaper while she walks past a class of schoolchildren. At the end of the video, she leans over a pool of water, in a scene reminiscent of the album photo cover. The video ends as it began, only now, Lauper is beating on the drum four times, in time with the music.

Critical reception

Jerry Smith of the Music Week magazine deemed that "Lauper's fragile little girl voice" perfectly matches with this "effective ballad with its sympathetic, sparse accompaniment", but also added that this "downbeat style" was unlikely to make the song memorable.[4]

Chart performance

"True Colors" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 25, 1986. It also peaked at number three in Australia and New Zealand, and number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.

Legacy

"True Colors" also became a standard in the gay community. In various interviews, Lauper elaborated that the song had resonated with her because of the recent death of her friend, Gregory Natal, from HIV/AIDS.[5] Years later, Lauper co-founded the True Colors Fund,[6] a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating LGBT youth homelessness.

The single was also featured in a 1999 promo for PBS Kids.[7]

On December 13, 2022, Lauper performed the song at the ceremony where U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law.[8]

Tours

Lauper embarked on a True Colors Tour in 2007 with several other acts, including Eddie Money, Deborah Harry and Erasure. The tour was for the Human Rights Campaign to promote LGBT rights in the US and beyond. A second True Colors Tour occurred in 2008.

Track listings
  • 7-inch single
  1. "True Colors" – 3:45
  2. "Heading for the Moon" – 3:17
  • European 12-inch single
  1. "True Colors" – 3:45
  2. "Heading for the Moon" – 3:17
  3. "Money Changes Everything" (Live) – 6:04

Personnel

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[36] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[37]
2006 release 		Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[38] Platinum 1,000,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Phil Collins version
"True Colors"
Single by Phil Collins
from the album ...Hits
B-side
ReleasedOctober 26, 1998 (1998-10-26)
StudioBrandon's Way (Los Angeles)
Length4:34
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Babyface
Phil Collins singles chronology
"The Same Moon"
(1997)		 "True Colors"
(1998)		 "You'll Be in My Heart"
(1999)

In 1998, the song was recorded by English musician Phil Collins for his first greatest hits album, ...Hits (1998). R&B singer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds produced and provided backing vocals. The track peaked at number 12 on the U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, number two on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and number 26 on the UK Singles Chart. It additionally reached the top 40 in Austria, Canada, France, Germany, and Hungary.

In 2004, a live rehearsal version was released on Collins' Love Songs: A Compilation... Old and New album.

Track listings

UK CD1 and cassette single[39][40]

  1. "True Colors" – 4:33
  2. "I Missed Again" – 3:41
  3. "In the Air Tonight" – 7:32

UK CD2[41]

  1. "True Colors" – 4:33
  2. "Don't Lose My Number" – 4:47
  3. "Take Me Home" – 5:51

European CD single[42]

  1. "True Colors" – 4:33
  2. "In the Air Tonight" – 7:32

Australian CD single[43]

  1. "True Colors" – 4:33
  2. "In the Air Tonight" – 7:32
  3. "Don't Lose My Number" – 4:47
  4. "I Missed Again" – 3:41

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the UK CD1 liner notes.[39]

Studio

  • Recorded and mixed at Brandon's Way Recording (Los Angeles)

Personnel

Charts

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States September 22, 1998 Contemporary hit radio
[61]
Japan October 5, 1998 CD WEA [62]
United Kingdom October 26, 1998
  • CD
  • cassette
[63]

Kasey Chambers version
"True Colours"
Single by Kasey Chambers
B-side
  • "If I Could" (live)
  • "Lonely"
ReleasedApril 14, 2003 (2003-04-14)[64]
LabelEMI Music
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Nash Chambers
Kasey Chambers singles chronology
"If I Were You"
(2002)		 "True Colours"
(2003)		 "Hollywood"
(2004)

In 2003, Australian singer-songwriter Kasey Chambers' recording of "True Colors" became the theme song for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The song peaked at number four, was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and went on to be the 76th best-selling single in Australia that year. As of 2023, it is Chambers' second-highest-charting single in Australia, after "Not Pretty Enough".

Track listing

Australian CD single[65]

  1. "True Colours"
  2. "If I Could" (live)
  3. "Lonely"

Weekly charts
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[66] 4

Year-end charts
Chart (2003) Position
Australia (ARIA)[67] 76

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[68] Gold 35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Other versions

In 2001, Sarina Paris recorded the song and it was included on her self-titled debut album. Released on May 22, the album was composed of songs co-written by Paris, with the exception of this cover. The album reached number 167 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S.

In 2009, Jenna Ushkowitz performed it on the television program Glee, and this version was included on the compilation album Glee: The Music, Volume 2, released on December 4, 2009. The single charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and reached number 15 in Ireland, number 35 in the United Kingdom,[69] number 38 in Canada[70][71] and number 47 in Australia.

In 2012, Artists Against Bullying (often styled as "Artists Against"), an agglomeration of seven Canadian musicians, re-recorded the song and released it during Bullying Awareness Week.[72] The project was inspired by the increase in teen bullying and cyberbullying, especially the Amanda Todd case,[73] with proceeds being donated to Kids Help Phone, a Canadian counseling service for children and youth.[73] The artists involved in the recording were Lights, Pierre Bouvier (from Simple Plan), Jacob Hoggard (from Hedley), Fefe Dobson, Kardinal Offishall, Alyssa Reid and Walk Off the Earth. The song entered the Canadian Singles Top 100 chart at number 10[74] the week it was released.

In 2016, Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick covered the song for the Dreamworks Animation movie Trolls.

In 2023, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem covered the song for the second episode of the Disney+ series The Muppets Mayhem and its corresponding soundtrack.

References
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