True Colors is the second studio album by American pop 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.
Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album earned Lauper several awards and accolades, including two nominations at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards. True Colors peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 chart. The album is Lauper's second best-selling release with around seven million copies worldwide.
Background and production
By the end of 1985, Lauper was established as one of the best-selling artists in the world. Her first studio album She's So Unusual (1983) was certified four times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and received a diamond certification in Canada for sales in excess of one million copies, making her the first singer to achieve such a feat at that time. According to Billboard magazine, the music industry was eyeing Lauper's next steps anxious to know if she could maintain the success of her debut.
In her autobiography A Memoir (2012), Lauper said that she had initially planned for Rick Chertoff, who had produced She's So Unusual, to produce what would become her second studio album; however, the experience with him was problematic and she changed her mind, and she likewise refused to produce the album with Rob Hyman since he was affiliated with Chertoff. True Colors was then produced by her and Lennie Petze, with Lauper also composing most of the songs on the album.
The title song, written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, has been covered by many other artists, and was used as the theme song for the 1988 Summer Olympics, the 2003 Rugby World Cup and for Kodak cameras and film.
In 2010, the song was also featured on the soundtrack of Sex and the City 2. True Colors was reissued in a Japanese exclusive limited edition box set 11-track digitally remastered CD album.
Critical reception
True Colors received favorable reviews from music critics. In the Chicago Tribune, Lynn Van Matre praised it as a "winning effort" with "plenty of fun", while Ian Cranna singled out Lauper's "outstanding, marvellous voice" for praise in Q, stating that "she breathes life into the songs, and slowly but surely the strengths of this LP begin to reveal themselves through the unorthodox structures and treatments." The Village Voices Robert Christgau was less impressed, commenting that the first side of the LP consists of "cheap sentiment" and is "disheartening" and that "the second isn't much more than a relief", before concluding, "girls just want to have money—and no fun changes everything." The magazine felt the album "boasted several hit singles", noting the album began "confidently" with "Change of Heart", had a "striking" cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On", with "good build up and atmosphere", and showcased "terrific vocal form" on the song "Boy Blue".
Commercial performance
In the United States, True Colors has been certified double platinum by the RIAA and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200. It topped the Australian chart for four weeks and, in Japan, outsold She's So Unusual, although that was not the case in most countries. The album produced the singles "True Colors" (No. 1 Billboard Hot 100), "Change of Heart" (No. 3), "What's Going On" (No. 12), and "Boy Blue" (No. 71). Each single had a music video although the video for "Boy Blue" was just a live performance from her Le Zénith concert in Paris, France. According to Lauper's official website, the album was certified 4× Platinum in Australia and Platinum in Italy. The album sold around 7 million copies worldwide.
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! scope="row" | Canadian Albums (The Record)
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! scope="row" | European Albums (Music & Media)
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! scope="row" | Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
| 14
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! scope="row" | French Albums (IFOP)
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! scope="row" | Icelandic Albums (Tónlist)
| 5
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! scope="row" | Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)
| 23
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! scope="row" | Japanese Albums (Music Labo)
| 2
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! scope="row" | South African Albums (RISA)
| 2
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! scope="row" | US Cash Box Top 200
| align="center" | 5
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Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1986 year-end chart performance for True Colors
! scope="col" | Chart (1986)
! scope="col" | Position
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! scope="row" | Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| 25
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! scope="row" | Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)
| 44
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! scope="row" | Japanese Albums (Oricon)
| 23
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1987 year-end chart performance for True Colors
! scope="col" | Chart (1987)
! scope="col" | Position
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! scope="row" | Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| 84
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! scope="row" | Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)
| 92
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! scope="row" | New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)
| 50
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! scope="row" | US Billboard 200
| 39
|}