"True Colors" is a song by Russian-German

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

producer

Zedd Anton Zaslavski (; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a German record producer and DJ. His stage name, Zedd, was derived from ''zed'', the Z#Name and pronunciation, English pronunciation, barring American English, for ...

. The original version of the song featured vocals by Tim James and was included on Zedd's second studio album of the same name (2015).

Grey remix

On March 8, 2016, DJ duo

Grey Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

released their official remix of "True Colors".

Zedd and Kesha version

The official single is a new version of the track with vocals provided by the American singer

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round". Kesha's music and ima ...

and was released as the album's fourth single on April 29, 2016. The song appeared in ''

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''.

Background

"True Colors" was Kesha's first music release in over three years, as she had been locked in a

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with her producer

Dr. Luke Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He began his professional music career as the Saturday Night Live ...

, after ten years of alleged abuse. Along with support from other famous celebrities, Zedd offered to produce a song with her. She first performed the song as a guest during Zedd's set at

Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...

2016. In late April, both Kesha and Zedd posted photos to their social media accounts confirming they were recording together.

Composition

"True Colors" is a mid-tempo

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

in the key of

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 126

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feel. It follows a chord progression of Dm-C-Gm-Dm. Kesha's vocals span from A₃ (F₃ in backing vocals) to D₅ (F₅ in backing vocals). The track opens and closes with a muted keyboard melody before gradually building to a climax of rollicking drums and bells, a departure from Kesha's previous "party anthem" singles. According to a ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' reviewer, it is "a moody, gothic electro ballad."

Reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' editor Brittany Spanos called it a "triumphant return" for Kesha. Comparing it to the album version, she stated "the style is more grandiose" in Kesha's take. Agreeing with the latter, Nigel M. Smith from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' wrote "Kesha's audible rage lends the track a fire that was missing in its earlier incarnation." Lars Brandle of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' wrote the song "is a powerful, moody tune and, lyrically, Kesha is in a fighting frame." August Brown in ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' noted "At Coachella, her surprise appearance had the gravity of something more than just another pop-star cameo. This recorded version is a welcome reminder of Kesha's considerable vocal talent." Lucas Villa of ''

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'' praised Zedd's direction, writing, "Under Dr. Luke, her vocals were mostly processed to hell but with Zedd, Kesha beautifully bellows the song's powerful message." Despite minimal promotion from radio or a major record label, the song sold 52,000 copies in its first week.

Charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2015 songs 2016 singles Zedd songs Kesha songs Interscope Records singles Kemosabe Records singles RCA Records singles Songs written by Tim James (musician) Songs written by Antonina Armato Songs written by Zedd Songs written by Kesha Pop ballads 2010s ballads