Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” gets a dancefloor makeover thanks to some thunder from down under, Billboard can exclusively reveal.
Producer and DJ CYRIL joins forces with Tones And I for a new twist on the tear-jerking ’80s classic, which arrives today (Oct. 23) via Spinnin’ Records.
The update preserves Lauper’s original vocals and opening strums, and allows them to breathe over CYRIL’s dreamy sonic creations, throbbing beats and, yes, the ticking of time. Tones jumps in with the chorus in view, and everything comes together like clockwork.
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Like so many good things, the project came together by a stroke of serendipity.
“The first time I actually met Tones, she came to my show,” Lauper explains, “but I kinda feel like I met Tones before because I started to listen to her music, and then I was like, ‘Okay, I gotta meet her.’ And then we met and was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, we should do stuff together.’”
They did just that. Tones mentioned that she and CYRIL were working on a dance version of “Time After Time.” Cyndi gave it a spin, and she gave it her blessing.
“The first time I connected with ‘Time after Time’ was probably growing up with my dad, we shared a lot of the same likes in music, which really, I think, just came from him,” Tones recalls. “But Cyndi and I actually sang it together on stage in 2025. It was a really special moment for me, Cyndi’s such an icon and has become like a mentor to me.”
Tones (real name: Toni Watson) introduced herself to the music world with 2019’s “Dance Monkey,” a track that led the charts in more than 30 countries, including the United Kingdom and her homeland, Australia, where its 24 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 is an all-time record. The former busker also boasts two ARIA No. 1 albums and five ARIA Awards.
Based in Darwin in Australia’s top end, CYRIL (real name: Cyril Riley) had a breakout year in 2024 when he dominated Spotify’s Australian Music Global Impact List, a ranking of Australian exports on the streaming platform. CYRIL landed three tracks in the top 30, including the top spot with his remix of Disturbed’s “The Sound Of Silence.” The rising electronic music star also crashed charts in 2023 with “Stumblin’ In,” a tune thick with good vibes that interpolates the Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman song from the late ‘70s, co-written and produced by another Australian, Mike Chapman.
Lauper, of course, needs no introduction. She’s a Grammy, Emmy and Tony winner, needing just an Oscar to complete the EGOT, and boasts more than 50 million records sold. Her 1983 debut album She’s So Unusual scooped the Grammy for best new artist, and houses some of the era’s timeless songs including “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “Time After Time,” which logged two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first of her two leaders.
“I think that ‘Time After Time’ is really special to me because I really felt a hand on my shoulder when I started to finish the lyrics,” Lauper recounts. “I don’t know whose hand that was, but, you know. I think just to write is special and important to me. You know, it’s how it comes together and how you can figure it out that makes it – the art.”
Pre-save “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper, CYRIL, and Tones And I here.
