"True Colors" | ||||
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Single by Cyndi Lauper | ||||
from the album True Colors | ||||
B-side | "Heading for the Moon" | |||
Released | August 15, 1986 [1] | |||
Genre | Synth-rock [2] | |||
Length | 3:46 | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Cyndi Lauper singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"True Colors" on YouTube |
"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 studio album of the same name (1986). [3] Released in mid-1986, the song spent two weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, being Lauper's second and last single to occupy the top of the chart. It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
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. [4] 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." [3] Other songs they wrote for Lauper include "I Drove All Night" and "Unconditional Love".
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.
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. [5] Di Cross of Record Mirror was strongly critical of "True Colors", stating that Lauper "does nothing to restore her flagging credibility rating with a dire, slushy attempt at an emotional ballad, the mixture curdled further by some appalling little girl vocals, complete with whispering asides and chest beating passion play". [6]
"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. In Mexico's Notitas Musicales (Hit Parade) "True Colors" stayed several months on the Top 10, reaching #5 on January 15, 1987.
The single has become a popular anthem 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. [7] Years later, Lauper co-founded the True Colors Fund, [8] a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating LGBT youth homelessness. 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. [9]
"True Colors" was also featured in a 1999 promo for PBS Kids, a children's programming brand of the American public television network PBS. [10]
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.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [41] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [42] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI) [43] Since 2009 | Gold | 50,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [44] 2006 release | Gold | 400,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [45] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
"True Colors" | ||||
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Single by Phil Collins | ||||
from the album ...Hits | ||||
B-side | "In the Air Tonight" | |||
Released | 26 October 1998 | |||
Studio | Brandon's Way (Los Angeles) | |||
Length | 4:34 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Babyface | |||
Phil Collins singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Phil Collins - True Colors (Official Music Video)" on YouTube |
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.
UK CD1 and cassette single [46] [47]
UK CD2 [48]
European CD single [49]
Australian CD single [50]
Credits are adapted from the UK CD1 liner notes. [46]
Studio
Personnel
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | September 22, 1998 | Contemporary hit radio |
| [69] |
Japan | October 5, 1998 | CD | WEA | [70] |
United Kingdom | October 26, 1998 |
|
| [71] |
"True Colours" | ||||
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Single by Kasey Chambers | ||||
B-side |
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Released | April 14, 2003 [72] | |||
Label | EMI Music | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Nash Chambers | |||
Kasey Chambers singles chronology | ||||
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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 2024, it is Chambers' second-highest-charting single in Australia, after "Not Pretty Enough".
Australian CD single [73]
Chart (2003) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [74] | 4 |
Chart (2003) | Position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [75] | 76 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [76] | Gold | 35,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
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, [77] number 38 in Canada [78] [79] 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. [80] The project was inspired by the increase in teen bullying and cyberbullying, especially the Amanda Todd case, [81] with proceeds being donated to Kids Help Phone, a Canadian counseling service for children and youth. [81] 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 [82] the week it was released.
In 2016, Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick covered the song for the DreamWorks Animation movie Trolls . Their version was certified platinum in Brazil. [83]
For BBC Children in Need in 2019, 1,399 children sang the song in unison from nine towns across the UK. [84] The performance on the telethon started in the studio and as all the choirs sang it cut between them giving them about 20-25 seconds on air, all in real time as they sang. The choirs sang from: Elstree at Elstree Studios the studio just outside of London where the main telethon was held, [84] Hartlepool at The Town Hall Theatre, [84] Belfast at W5, [84] Maidstone at Allington Castle, [84] The Wirral at the Lady Lever Art Gallery, [84] Cardiff at The Broadcasting House, [84] Mountsorrel at The Mountsorrel Memorial Centre, [84] Larkhill at St Michael's CE Primary School, [84] Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay [84] [85] [86]
"She Bop" is a song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released as the third single from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). It reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 1984. Worldwide, the song is her third most commercially successful single after "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "Time After Time", and also reached number 46 on the UK Singles Chart and number six on the ARIA Singles Chart. "She Bop" was Lauper's third consecutive top 5 on the Hot 100. She recorded a quieter version of the song for her 2005 album The Body Acoustic.
True Colors is the second studio album by American singer Cyndi Lauper, released on September 15, 1986, by Portrait Records. The album spawned several commercially successful singles as "True Colors", "Change of Heart", and "What's Going On" reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, with the first two charting within the top five. The album was produced by Lauper herself together with Lennie Petze.
"I Drove All Night" is a song written and composed by American songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and originally intended for Roy Orbison. Orbison recorded the song in 1987, the year before his death, but his version was not released until 1992. Cyndi Lauper recorded the song and released it as a single for her A Night to Remember album. Her version became a top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1989 and was also her final top 40 hit on the American pop charts. Lauper still regularly performs the song in her live concerts. The song has also been covered by Canadian singer Celine Dion, whose version topped the Canadian Singles Chart and reached number 7 on the US Adult Contemporary chart in 2003.
"Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper for her 1988 film Vibes. It was written by Richard Orange, formerly of the band Zuider Zee. The track saw the light of day on an official CD, as of 2003, with the release of the 3-CD compilation, The Great Cyndi Lauper. It can be found on the following albums: Best Movie Album in the World...Ever! (3 CDs), True Colors: The Best of Cyndi Lauper (2 CDs), 36 All-time Favorites (3 CDs), Monster Hits 1988/Hits of 1988 and Cyndi Lauper Japanese Singles Collection Greatest Hits (audio track on CD and music video on DVD).
"What's Going On" is a song by American singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye, released in 1971 on the Motown subsidiary Tamla. It is the opening track of Gaye's studio album of the same name. Originally inspired by a police brutality incident witnessed by Renaldo "Obie" Benson, the song was composed by Benson, Al Cleveland, and Gaye and produced by Gaye himself. The song marked Gaye's departure from the Motown Sound towards more personal material. Later topping the Hot Soul Singles chart for five weeks and crossing over to number two on the Billboard Hot 100, it would sell over two million copies, becoming Gaye's second-most successful Motown song to date. It was ranked at number 4 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of all Time in 2004 and 2010.
"Time After Time" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). It was released as the album's second single in March 1984, by Epic and Portrait Records. Written by Lauper and Rob Hyman, who also provided backing vocals, the song was produced by Rick Chertoff. It was written in the album's final stages, after "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "She Bop" and "All Through the Night" had been written or recorded. The writing began with the title, which Lauper had seen in TV Guide, referring to the 1979 film Time After Time.
"Money Changes Everything" is a song by American rock band the Brains from their eponymous debut studio album (1980). Originally released in 1978, the song was reissued as the lead single from the album in 1980, by Mercury Records. Frontman Tom Gray is credited as the sole writer of the song, while production was collectively helmed by the Brains and Bruce Baxter. The song was popularized in 1984 by Cyndi Lauper, who released a cover version of the song as a single from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983).
Hits is the first greatest hits album by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released on 5 October 1998 in the United Kingdom, and one day later in the United States. The collection included fourteen top 40 hits, including seven American number one songs, spanning from the albums Face Value (1981) through Dance into the Light (1996). One new Collins recording, a cover of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors", also appeared on the collection and was a popular song on adult contemporary stations. Hits was also the first Phil Collins album to include four songs originally recorded for motion pictures as well as his popular duet with Philip Bailey, "Easy Lover".
"Change of Heart" is a song by American singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released on November 11, 1986 as the second single from her second album, True Colors (1986). It went gold in the US, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by singer-songwriter Essra Mohawk. Popular remixes by Shep Pettibone were also released. A music video was produced for the song, filmed in Trafalgar Square in London. It features Lauper and her tour band performing the song in front of a large group of people. The Bangles sang background vocals on the original recording. A live version of the song was released on Lauper's live album/DVD, To Memphis, with Love.
"Typical Male" is a song recorded by American singer Tina Turner. It was written by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle and produced by the former for Turner's studio album Break Every Rule (1986).
American singer Cyndi Lauper has released eleven studio albums, six compilation albums, five video albums and fifty-three singles. Worldwide, Lauper has sold approximately 50 million albums, singles and DVDs. According to RIAA, She has sold 9.5 million certified albums in the United States with She's so Unusual being her biggest seller.
"Walk On By" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for singer Dionne Warwick in 1963. Warwick's recording of the song peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Cash Box Rhythm and Blues Chart In June 1964 and was nominated for a 1965 Grammy Award for the Best Rhythm and Blues Recording.
"Don't Lose My Number" is a song by the English singer Phil Collins from his third solo studio album No Jacket Required. The single was not released in the UK, though it peaked at No. 4 in the US in September 1985. The B-side, "We Said Hello Goodbye" was released as a bonus track on the CD for No Jacket Required. In Australia, the single was released with the title "(Billy) Don't Lose My Number".
"Hold on My Heart" is a song by English rock band Genesis from their 14th studio album, We Can't Dance (1991). The ballad was released as the album's third single on 6 April 1992. The song reached number one on the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, the RPM Adult Contemporary chart, and the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, as well as number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the band's home country, the song peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart.
"All Through the Night" is a song written and recorded by Jules Shear for his 1983 album Watch Dog. It was produced by Todd Rundgren.
"When You Were Mine" is a song written and released by Prince on his 1980 album, Dirty Mind. Though not released as a single, the song received a promotional 12" release. "When You Were Mine" was later the B-side for Prince's "Controversy" single in 1981.
"I Love You Always Forever" is the debut single by British singer Donna Lewis from her debut album, Now in a Minute (1996). Written by Lewis and produced by Lewis and Kevin Killen, it was released as the album's lead single in the United States on 16 April 1996 and in the United Kingdom on 26 August 1996. The song is inspired by H. E. Bates' novel Love for Lydia, from which the chorus is taken.
"Wishing I Was There" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia, released on 25 May 1998 as the third single from her debut album, Left of the Middle (1997). The track was produced by Phil Thornalley and was co-written by Imbruglia, Thornalley and Colin Campsie. The single reached number five in Canada, Hungary, and Iceland, became a top-20 hit in the United Kingdom, and entered the top 30 in Imbruglia's native Australia.
"Stuck with You" is a song by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, written by guitarist Chris Hayes and lead singer Huey Lewis. Released in 1986, it was the first single from the band's fourth album, Fore!. The song spent three weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's second number-one hit on the chart. Internationally, the song became the band's second top-20 hit in the United Kingdom, reaching number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, and peaked within the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Iceland, South Africa, and New Zealand.
"I Wish It Would Rain Down" is a song by English musician Phil Collins from his fourth solo studio album, ...But Seriously (1989). The song was a chart success in early 1990, peaking at No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles chart; in the latter country, it was the most successful song of 1990. Collins felt that it was as close as he had ever got, at the time, to writing a blues song.
Lauper took their demo...and turned it into a whisper-to-howl synth-rocker.
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