| Believe | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 22, 1998 (1998-10-22) | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Eurodisco[1] | |||
| Length | 43:55 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| Cher chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Believe | ||||
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Believe is the twenty-second studioalbum by American singer and actressCher, released on October 22, 1998, byWEA andWarner Bros. Records. Following the commercial disappointment of her previous studio albumIt's a Man's World (1995), her record company encouraged her to record adance-oriented album, in order to move into a more mainstream sound. Cher started working on the album in the spring of 1998 with British producersMark Taylor andBrian Rawling at the Dreamhouse Studios in London. The album was dedicated to her former husbandSonny Bono, who had died earlier that year.
"Believe", along with "Strong Enough", represents a complete musical departure from her previous works, consisting ofEurodisco-oriented styles,[1] while its lyrical topics include freedom, individualism and relationships. The album features some of the new technology of the time, like the usage ofAuto-Tune, which would eventually become known as the "Cher effect".[2] Upon release, the album received mixed reviews frommusic critics, who commended Cher's vocal performance, while others criticized the high amount of Auto-Tune and its overall production. In 2000,Believe was nominated forGrammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album.
Commercially,Believe proved to be extremely successful, peaking at number four on theBillboard 200 and was certified quadruple platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of four million copies across the United States. The album topped the charts in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, New Zealand, Portugal, and Quebec, as well as in the top ten in France, Spain, United Kingdom, and several other international territories.
Four singles were released from the album. The first single, "Believe", becameone of the biggest-selling singles ever by topping the charts in a total of 21 countries and has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide.[3] "Strong Enough" was released as the second single from the album; it peaked at numbers 57 and 5 in the US and UK, respectively. "All or Nothing" and "Dov'è l'amore" were released as the third and fourth singles respectively, both becoming moderately successful. In support ofBelieve, Cher embarked on her fourth concert tour,Do You Believe?, which became one of the highest-grossing tours ever for a female artist at that time. In celebration of the album's twenty-fifth anniversary a deluxe edition was released on November 3, 2023.
After Cher's previous rock-inflected albumIt's a Man's World (1995) received a lukewarm response,Warner Music UK headRob Dickins suggested that Cher record a dance album to better connect with her gay audience. Initially, Cher expressed reluctance, stating that she no longer found dance music appealing, as she felt it lacked "real songs". However, interest in Cher's potential as a dance artist had already been growing. A remix of her 1996 single "One by One" by New York City DJJunior Vasquez had found success in the club scene and highlighted a demand for Cher in the genre.DMA magazine's Dean Ferguson observed that the remix left fans "starving for a dance mix from Cher", prompting Warner to push for a dance-oriented album.[4]
Around this time, Dickins came across songwriter Brian Higgins at Warner's London office and asked him to pitch songs for the project. Three days later, a tape with sixteen of Higgins's songs arrived. Reflecting on the demo, Dickins recalled, "The ninth song was 'Believe.' I thought: 'Cher could do this chorus, especially the lyrics, with her private life the way it is. She's gone through all these things.'" When Dickins asked the songwriter to complete "Believe", the result was a "terrible" song that still needed extensive work.[5]
Cher began working onBelieve in the summer of 1998 inLondon, meeting with producersMark Taylor andBrian Rawling, who had previously worked with Dickins; additional producers includedTodd Terry ("Taxi Taxi") andJunior Vasquez, who had originally worked on "Dov'è l'amore", but when he sent back his version from New York, it was rejected by Dickins, who decided instead to give the production of the track to Taylor and Rawling as well.[6] Cher also worked with long-time collaboratorDiane Warren (who wrote "Takin' Back My Heart") and covered two songs: "The Power" (Amy Grant) and "Love Is the Groove" (Betsy Cook). Furthermore, she decided to include a remix of her 1988 single "We All Sleep Alone" from her 1987Cher album.
The "Believe" single was originally written only by Brian Higgins, Matt Gray, Stuart McLennen and Tim Powell, and circulated at Warner Bros. as an unwanted demo for months. Mark Taylor said, "Everyone loved the chorus but not the rest of the song; As we were already writing other songs for Cher, Rob asked us if we could sort it out. Two of our writers, Steve Torch andPaul Barry, got involved and eventually came up with a complete song that Rob and Cher were happy with."[6]
Believe was first released in France on October 22, 1998, in the United Kingdom on October 26, 1998, and in the United States on November 10, 1998. The album was later released in Japan on December 23, 1998, with two additional Japan-only bonus tracks "Believe" (Club 69 Future Mix) and "Believe" (Xenomania Mix).
To promote the album, Cher made a number of televised appearances and live performances of the album's singles. On October 17, 1998, she debuted "Believe" atHeaven nightclub in London, England and onThe National Lottery Show. "Believe" was also performed seven times onTop of the Pops and the1999 Brit Awards (February 16, 1999) in the UK,Kultnacht andTop of the Pops in Germany (1998),¿Qué apostamos? in Spain (November 6, 1998), theRosie O'Donnell Show (November 17), theLate Show with David Letterman (November 18), the26th Annual American Music Awards (January 11, 1999) in the United States and the1999 Sanremo Music Festival in Italy (February 23, 1999), among others. "Strong Enough" was sung for the first time onTop of the Pops (March 3, 1999) in the UK, at theEcho Music Prize (March 4) in Germany andTapis Rougue (March 13, 1999) in France. "Believe" and "Strong Enough" were also sung at the1999 World Music Awards inMonte Carlo on May 5, 1999. "All or Nothing" was sung onTop of the Pops (June 11, 1999) while "Dov'è l'Amore" onThe National Lottery Show in the UK.
Cher performed "Believe", "The Power", "All or Nothing", "Strong Enough", "Dov'è l'Amore" and "Love Is the Groove" on theDo You Believe? (tour), her fourth concert tour, which promotedBelieve. It started on June 16, 1999, and was Cher's first tour in seven years. The tour received positive reviews,[7] was a commercial success and was sold out in every American city it was booked in,[citation needed] amassing a global audience of more than 1.5 million.[8] Its companion television special,Cher: Live in Concert – From the MGM Grand in Las Vegas (1999), was the highest rated original HBO program in 1998–99,[citation needed] registering a 9.0 rating among adults 18 to 49 and a 13.0 rating in the HBO universe of about 33 million homes.[9] Its parentLive in Concert VHS/DVD was released in all regions in December 1999.
"Believe" was released as the leadsingle from the album on October 19, 1998. It peaked at number one in more than 20 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, where it became Cher's first single to debut at number one and spent seven weeks at the summit at the end of 1998, becoming the biggest-selling single by a female artist in UK history, selling over 1.84 million copies in the country.[11][12] It also topped the United States'Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks,[13] selling over 1.8 million units in the country as of December 1999,[14] and earned Cher a place in theGuinness Book of World Records as the oldest female solo artist to top the chart.[15] It remains the Cher's most successful single to date,[citation needed] and one of thebest-selling singles of all time, with sales of over 10 million copies worldwide.[16][17] "Believe" received critical acclaim, and has an electronic vocal effect proposed by Cher, and was the first commercial recording to featureAuto-Tune—anaudio processor originally intended to disguise or correctoff-key inaccuracies in vocal music recordings—as a deliberate creative effect; after the success of the song, the technique became known as the "Cher effect"[10] and has since been widely used in popular music.[18]
The album's second single, "Strong Enough", was released on February 19, 1999. It peaked at number one in Hungary and attained a top ten position in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.[19] Due to a "loss" ofradio airplay and promotion, the song had a modest success in the United States, peaking at number fifty-seven on theBillboard Hot 100, while reaching the number one on theHot Dance Club Play chart for one week.[20]
"All or Nothing" was released on June 7, 1999, as the third single outside the United States. It peaked inside the top five in Finland, Hungary and the Czech Republic; the song had a moderate success on the charts elsewhere, peaking at number twelve on theUK Singles Chart, while reaching number fourteen in Denmark. "Dov'è l'amore" was released as the album's fourth and final single on October 25, 1999. It became a top-ten hit in Finland, Greece, Italy and Spain. Along with its predecessor, the song was released in the United States as amaxi single, but failed to reach the Hot 100. "All or Nothing" and "Dov'è l'amore" peaked separately on the Hot Dance Club Play at number one and number five respectively.[20]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [21] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[22] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s |  [23] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [24] |
Upon release, the album received mixed responses from international music critics.AllMusic's Michael Gallucci calledBelieve Cher's "latest playground move" and said that she "merely moves through the beat factory with one drab vocal range into one endless, and personality-free, thump session" and "determinedly, if not wholeheartedly, clinging to the tail end of it". In his review he gave the album two-and-a-half out of five stars.[1] The major criticism was the strong use of Auto-Tune which changed Cher's voice. Beth Johnson ofEntertainment Weekly gave it a B− rating, stating, "Believe is erratic (and sometimes cheesy) as hell, but you gotta love how her Cher-ness shines."[22] Music critic Robert Christgau ranked the album as a choice cut, which means that the reviewer believes there is a good track, in this case, "Believe", on an album that is "not particularly good."[25]
In the United States,Believe debuted at number 139 on theBillboard 200 albums chart on the issue dated November 28, 1998.[26] The album had a slow and steady climb, and peaked at number four on the issue dated May 8, 1999,[27] becoming Cher's highest-peaking solo album up to that point; it also became her second solo Top 10 album, and third overall. The album spent a total of 76 weeks on the chart. On December 23, 1999, the album was certifiedfour times platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of four million units. According to Nielsen SoundScan,Believe had sold 3.6 million copies in the United States as of August 2015.[28] It remains Cher's best-selling album in the United States. In Canada, the album peaked at number one on theCanadian Albums Chart on the issue dated January 25, 1999,[29] where it remained for one week. The album was present for a total of 26 weeks on the chart and was later certified six times platinum by theCanadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for shipment of 600,000 copies. The album also achieved commercial success in Oceania, peaking at number one on the albums chart in New Zealand and number thirteen in Australia. It was certified double platinum byAustralian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and two times platinum byRecording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for shipments of 140,000 and 30,000 copies respectively.
In the United Kingdom,Believe debuted at number eight on theUK Albums Chart, becoming her fifth consecutive album to peak inside the Top 10 in the country; it eventually peaked at number seven on the issue dated March 20, 1999. It was certified double platinum by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipment of 600.000 copies. In France, the album peaked the albums chart at number five, staying for forty-seven weeks in the chart. It was certified platinum by theSyndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) for shipments of 500,000 copies. Actual sales of the album in France stand at 555,300 copies. In Germany, the album reached number one on theMedia Control Charts and remained there for four weeks. It remains Cher's best-selling album in Germany with two times platinum certification fromBundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for shipment of one million copies. Due to its commercial success in European countries, the album ultimately topped theEuropean Top 100 Albums chart for eight consecutive weeks and was certified four times platinum by theInternational Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for sales of four million copies, becoming thebest selling album in Europe of the year.Believe achieved similar success in the rest of world, topping the official charts of Austria, Denmark, Greece and Portugal and went on to be certified gold or platinum in 39 countries around the world.[citation needed] In total,Believe has sold over 11 million copies worldwide and became Cher's best-selling album.[3]
At the42nd Annual Grammy Awards,Believe received one award out of three nominations. The album was nominated forBest Pop Album, while the title track wonBest Dance Recording and was nominated forRecord of the Year.[30] The song gave Cher her first Grammy of her career. "Believe" was also nominated for Best Dance Video and Best Editing at the1999 MTV Video Music Awards. At the 1999Billboard Music Awards Cher was nominated Top Female Artist and Female Hot 100 Artist of the Year, while "Believe" won the Hot 100 Single of the Year; its music video was nominated Best Dance Clip at the 1999 Billboard Music Video Awards.[31]
Believe also gave Cher several trophies from various international award shows—including anAnděl Awards for Best Foreign Female Singer inCzech Republic, aDanish Grammy Awards for Best International Hit ("Believe") fromIFPI Denmark,[32] a Midem's Dance d'Or for Best International Single ("Believe") inFrance, anECHO Award for International Female Artist inGermany,[33] aHungarian Award for Foreign Pop Album of the Year,[34]an Hit Award nomination for International Artist of the Year inNorway, two Premios Amigo for Best International Female Solo Artist and Best International Album inSpain,[35] aMnet Asian Music Awards, otherwise abbreviated as MAMA for Best International Artist inSouth Korea and a Music Control Airplay Awards (MCAW) as the Most Played International Artist inSweden, among others."Believe" also won three BritishIvor Novello Awards for International Hit of the Year, Best Song Musically and Lyrically and Best Selling UK Single. At the 14th annualInternational Dance Music Awards, Cher won Best Hi NRG 12-inch and Best Pop 12-inch Dance Record for "Believe".[36]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Believe" |
| 3:59 | |
| 2. | "The Power" |
| 3:56 | |
| 3. | "Runaway" |
|
| 4:46 |
| 4. | "All or Nothing" |
|
| 3:58 |
| 5. | "Strong Enough" |
|
| 3:43 |
| 6. | "Dov'è l'amore" |
|
| 4:17 |
| 7. | "Takin' Back My Heart" |
| 4:32 | |
| 8. | "Taxi Taxi" |
|
| 5:04 |
| 9. | "Love Is the Groove" |
|
| 4:29 |
| 10. | "We All Sleep Alone" | Terry | 5:11 | |
| Total length: | 43:55 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Believe" (Club 69 future mix) |
| Peter Rauhofer | 9:18 |
| 12. | "Believe" (Xenomania mix) |
| Xenomania | 4:22 |
| Total length: | 57:40 | |||
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Believe" (Almighty definitive mix) | Almighty | 7:36 |
| 2. | "Believe" (Club 69 future anthem mix) | Rauhofer | 9:25 |
| 3. | "Believe" (Phat 'n' Phunky club mix) | Phat 'n' Phunky | 7:44 |
| 4. | "Strong Enough" (Club 69 phunk mix) | Rauhofer | 8:33 |
| 5. | "Strong Enough" (male version) |
| 3:32 |
| 6. | "Strong Enough" (Pumpin' Dolls radio edit) | Pumpin' Dolls | 3:47 |
| 7. | "All or Nothing" (Almighty radio edit) | Almighty | 3:37 |
| 8. | "All or Nothing" (Metro mix) | Walter Turbitt | 3:58 |
| 9. | "All or Nothing" (Danny Tenaglia inchermental) | Danny Tenaglia | 7:41 |
| 10. | "Dov'è l'amore" (Emilio Estefan Jr. extended mix) |
| 5:39 |
| 11. | "Dov'è l'amore" (Tony Moran's anthem 7" mix) | Tony Moran | 3:31 |
| 12. | "Dov'è l'amore" (Tee's radio one instrumental) | Terry | 3:19 |
| 13. | "Dov'è l'amore" (Ray Roc's latin soul instrumental) | Ray Roc | 9:07 |
Notes
Weekly charts[edit]
| Monthly charts[edit]
Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina (CAPIF)[100] | Platinum | 60,000^ |
| Australia (ARIA)[101] | 2× Platinum | 140,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[102] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Belgium (BRMA)[103] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[104] | Gold | |
| Canada (Music Canada)[105] | 6× Platinum | 600,000^ |
| Chile[106] | Gold | |
| Columbia[107] | Gold | |
| Czech Republic[108] | Gold | |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[109] | 7× Platinum | 140,000‡ |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[110] | Gold | 32,682[110] |
| France (SNEP)[111] | Platinum | 300,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[112] | 2× Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
| Greece (IFPI Greece)[113] | Gold | |
| Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[114] | Gold | |
| Hungary (MAHASZ)[115] | Platinum | |
| Indonesia[116] | Platinum | |
| Ireland (IRMA)[117] | 3× Platinum | |
| Israel[118] | Gold | |
| Italy (FIMI)[119] | 3× Platinum | 300,000* |
| Japan (RIAJ)[120] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| Malaysia[118] | Gold | |
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[121] | 2× Gold | 200,000^ |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[122] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[123] | 2× Platinum | 30,000^ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[124] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Poland (ZPAV)[125] | Platinum | 100,000* |
| Portugal (AFP)[126] | 2× Platinum | |
| Singapore (RIAS)[127] | Gold | |
| South Africa (RISA)[128] | 2× Platinum | |
| South Korea | — | 16,527[129] |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[130] | 4× Platinum | 400,000^ |
| Sweden (GLF)[131] | 3× Platinum | 240,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[132] | 2× Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Taiwan (RIT)[133] | Gold | |
| Thailand[134] | Gold | |
| Turkey (Mü-Yap)[135] | 3× Platinum | |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[137] | 2× Platinum | 700,000[136] |
| United States (RIAA)[138] | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000^ |
| Summaries | ||
| Europe (IFPI)[139] | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000* |
| Worldwide | — | 11,000,000[3] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Edition | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France[140] | October 22, 1998 | Standard | WEA | |
| United Kingdom[141] | October 26, 1998 | |||
| Germany[142] | November 2, 1998 | |||
| Canada[143] | November 3, 1998 | |||
| United States[144] | November 10, 1998 |
| Warner Bros. | |
| Japan[145] | December 23, 1998 |
|
| WEA |
| United States | November 3, 2023 | Deluxe edition | Warner |
In the manual accompanying Auto-Tune's fifth-release version, the zero speed setting is described as 'the Cher Effect.'
rolling stone cher album guide.
Album sales figures provided by RIM chart for week ending April 7
