Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” always hits hard, but Boyce Avenue’s acoustic version really drives home the emotions of the song in a special way. Frontman Alejandro Manzano joined his voice with featured vocalist Rachel Grae for the 8.3 million view cover, and when you hear their harmonies in the chorus, you might just melt. Manzano shines in the opening verse with a sweet low-register vocal as he provides a deft acoustic guitar accompaniment.
Grae then takes the lead vocal for the chorus, while Manzano provides a harmony, and their voices together are just heavenly. You can tell the band really thought of everything because the string section that comes in after the first chorus might just have you tearing up a little, especially once the instrumental section enters after the two-minute mark. The Music Man always has time for ‘80s classics, and these two talented singers sure did justice to Lauper’s hit here.
Boyce Avenue uploaded the “True Colors” cover to YouTube on November 27, 2022, which marked Grae’s third appearance as a featured artist on the channel. Listeners gave plenty of praise and added comments such as “Cindy must be proud. This is a classic of all times and you’ve rediscovered it without taking credit from what she did, but honoring it” and “Her voice really compliments his. Love how she naturally takes second harmony and it suits SO WELL!”
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Manzano and Grae sure have great chemistry, as all three of their duets on the Boyce Avenue channel hit more than a million views. Their debut duet on the channel was their cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” This cover has a more dramatic tone than the chill vibe on “True Colors,” and finds the two singers hitting more of the top of their range, which The Music Man def have time for.
“True Colors” was penned by American songsmiths Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. Steinberg wrote the first draft of the song about his mother, and Kelly subsequently contributed to the first verse. Cyndi Lauper, who co-produced “True Colors” with Lennie Petze, released it as the lead single from her second studio album of the same name on August 15, 1986. Steinberg and Kelly initially penned “True Colors” as a gospel piano ballad. Steinberg commented on the development of the song to Songfacts, saying, “Cyndi completely dismantled that sort of traditional arrangement and came up with something that was breathtaking and stark.”