Believe, the biggest hit of Cher’s career, turns 25

1998 is a year to remember when we talk about the career of Cher. If at that time the singer and actress was already a well-known personality in the international media and collected hits such as “If I Could Turn Back Time”, from the album Heart as Stone (1989), or even “I Got You Babe“, from the time of the duo Sonny & Cher. The album was even dedicated to Sonny Bonothe singer’s ex-husband who passed away earlier that year.

Everything changes, however, with the launch of Believe (1998), the artist’s 22nd studio album, released by Warner. The previous album, It’s a Man’s World (1995), had not been a great success, but the project launched at the end of the 1998 decade gave a turn to his career. Cher.

With a technological footprint — with elements such as the use of Auto-Tune — the album can be classified as a work of Euro disco of the highest quality. Despite dividing critical opinions, the work was nominated for Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album. The work is also very far from everything that Cher had done so far.

Commercially, Believe it was an absolute success. Some of the work’s achievements were fourth position on the charts, certified quadruple platinum by Recording Industry Association of America due to sales in the United States, which totaled four million copies.

The album also ranked first in places such as Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, New Zealand, Portugal and Quebec, as well as appearing in the top ten in others, such as France, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. The album also resulted in the artist’s fourth world tour, called Do You Believe?.

Singles

The album had four singles, “All or Nothing” It is “Dov’è l’amore“, were the last to be released and, despite not having the same expression as the other songs on the album, they performed well.

“Strong Enough”, the second single from the album, was compared to “I Will Survive“, in Gloria Gaynor, as an empowering and overcoming song. With a danceable rhythm and flirting with disco music, the song is still one of the most listened to in his career. Cher.

The success of the track that opens — and gives its name — to the album was not enough, “Believe” became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with around 11 million copies, topping the charts in 21 countries. The song was written by Brian Higgins, Matthew Gray, Paul Barry, Steven Torch, Stuart McLennan It is Timothy Powellwith production of Brian Rawling It is Mark Taylor. Our partners at Rolling Stone USA they even named the song among the 500 best of all time.

Versions

Like any icon with a strong cultural impact Cher influenced several artists with “Believe,” which was a milestone in the singer’s own career. Here we list our favorite versions of the song.

OKAY KAYA
The singer and songwriter from New Jersey gave the hit a calmer look, with her characteristic hoarse voice. This is one of the artist’s most successful songs.

Apple Jelly
Nothing testifies to the success of an international song on Brazilian soil as well as having a version in forró rhythm. That’s what the band Apple Jelly did ingeniously by transforming the hit of Cher in the version called “Is There Life After Love?”.

Domain Band
Still in the forró vein, another band that brightened us up with a version of “Believe” was the Domainwhich on the album It’s More Mefrom 2005, presented the track called “Everything or nothing”.

Jade Baraldo
Brazilian singer and songwriter Jade Baraldo also recorded a version of the song. Its reinterpretation was part of the soap opera’s soundtrack The More Life, the Better! (2021).

Adam Lambert
The powerful vocals of Adam Lambert gave a special touch to the song immortalized by Cher. In a version that mixes doses of drama with an electronic beat in the chorus, it’s worth listening to what the artist did with the track.