| Dancing Queen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 28, 2018 (2018-09-28) | |||
| Recorded | October 2017 – August 2018 | |||
| Studio | ||||
| Genre | Dance-pop[1] | |||
| Length | 40:05 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Cher chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Dancing Queen | ||||
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Dancing Queen is the twenty-sixth studio album by American singerCher, released byWarner Bros. Records on September 28, 2018. It was Cher's first album in five years, followingCloser to the Truth (2013). The album contains cover versions of songs recorded by Swedish pop groupABBA, with the title referencing their 1976 song "Dancing Queen". The album follows Cher's appearance in the 2018 musical filmMamma Mia! Here We Go Again, based on the music of ABBA.[2][3]
The album was a critical and commercial success, debuting at number three on the USBillboard 200 with first-week sales of 153,000album-equivalent units, becoming Cher's highest debut sales week for an album in the United States. The album also peaked within the top ten of charts in another 18 countries, with nine of those being top five entries. As of March 2019,Dancing Queen has been certified gold byMusic Canada and silver byBPI.
To promote the album, Cher embarked on theHere We Go Again Tour, which began on September 21, 2018. It also marked her first worldwide tour sinceLiving Proof: The Farewell Tour, which had ended in 2005.
After previously appearing inMamma Mia! Here We Go Again, for which she recorded "Fernando" and "Super Trouper", Cher was inspired to do an ABBA cover album.
While recording, Cher hinted on herTwitter account that she might be releasing an ABBA cover album. On July 16, 2018, it was officially revealed in an interview withThe Today Show that the album would consist of ABBA covers. She further stated:
"After filmingMamma Mia! Here We Go Again, I was reminded again of what great and timeless songs they wrote and started thinking, 'Why not do an album of their music?' The songs were harder to sing than I imagined but I'm so happy with how the music came out. I'm really excited for people to hear it. It's a perfect time." —Cher
Cher also said that "[she has] always liked ABBA and saw the originalMamma Mia! musical on Broadway three times".
In addition to that, Cher was asked about what people can expect from the album. She replied with saying, "It's not what you think of when you think 'ABBA', because [she] did it in a different way."
On August 9, 2018, it was announced that the album would be released on September 28, 2018.[4]
On August 8, 2018, Cher released a teaser of the album's first single "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" on her Twitter account.[5] The song was released the following day.[6] People who pre-ordered the album oniTunes immediately received a digital copy of the single. The song peaked at number four on theHot Dance Club Songschart. An extended version of "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was released on September 14, 2018.[7]
The second single, "SOS" was released on August 23, 2018.[8] It peaked at number 56 on the Scottish singles chart.[9] A music video for the song was released on September 18, 2018.[10]
Cher performed "SOS" atThe Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2018.[11] On September 18, 2019, Cher performed "Waterloo" at theseason 14 finale ofAmerica's Got Talent, to promote the album and her Here We Go Again Tour.[12]
A world tour, titled the Here We Go Again Tour, in support ofDancing Queen, began on September 21, 2018, inAuckland, New Zealand. It was officially announced on May 7, 2018.[13][14] "Fernando", "Waterloo", and "SOS" were the only songs off the album Cher performed, however.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 6.9/10[15] |
| Metacritic | 79/100[16] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| attitude |  [17] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[18] |
| Gay Star News |  [19] |
| Gay Times | [20] |
| Newsday | [21] |
| NME | [22] |
| Rolling Stone | [23] |
| The Guardian | [24] |
| The Telegraph | [25] |
| Idolator | [26] |
According toMetacritic, which calculated a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 from 10music critics, the album received "generally favorable reviews".[16]Gay Star News gave the album a positive review, saying: "If she'd approached this collection of ABBA re-recordings with the seriousness of, say,George Michael on the excellentSongs from the Last Century, she'd have been in big trouble. Instead,Dancing Queen is about fun, entertainment, dizzy abandonment. She knows how to please a crowd, while also acknowledging the desires of her die-hard fans."[19] Marc Snetiker fromEntertainment Weekly gave the album a favorable review, calling it Cher's "most significant release since 1998’sBelieve" and saying that "the album ender, 'One of Us,' is frankly one of Cher’s best recordings in years."[18]
Nick Levine fromGay Times praised Cher's vocals, calling them "glorious [...] – still rich and wonderfully androgynous-sounding" and pointing out that they "drive each song from beginning to end."[20]Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos commented that "the 72-year-old makes ABBA songs not only sound like they should’ve been written for her in the first place but like they firmly belong in 2018".[23] AtIdolator, Mike Wass felt that "every track exudes the glitter, fun and nostalgia of a bygone era" and that "Dancing Queen, while disappointingly brief, covers all bases from dreamydisco moments and emotional ballads."[26]
In a positive review forThe Guardian, it was noted that "occasionally Cher uses her trademarkAuto-Tune like a crutch [...] but mostly it acts as a kind of interstellar portal that elevates Abba from the dancefloor to the cosmos."[24] In a review forThe Times,Will Hodgkinson was less positive; he stated that the album delivered "exactly the results you would expect" and that "There's nothing to dislike, but also nothing to recommend beyond this being a fun, tacky choice for theChristmas party."[27]
Rolling Stone placedDancing Queen on fifth place of all pop albums released in 2018, as well as placing Cher's version of "The Name of the Game" as the 22nd best song of the year.[28][29] The album's music video of "SOS" was ranked as the 18th best music video of 2018 byPaper.[30]
| Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper | Paper's Top 20 Music Videos of 2018 | 18 [B] | |
| Rolling Stone | The 20 Best Pop Albums of 2018 | 5 | |
| Rolling Stone | Rob Sheffield's Top 25 Songs of 2018 | 22 [A] |
[A] for "The Name of the Game"
[B] for "SOS"
In the US, the album debuted at number three on theBillboard 200 with first-week sales of 153,000album-equivalent units, becoming Cher's highest debut sales for an album in the United States. It also ties the record for Cher's highest-charting solo album on that chart, which she first reached when her albumCloser to the Truth also debuted and peaked at number three. It went on to spend 8 weeks in the chart.[32]
The album also debuted at number two in Canada, Cher's highest peak for a studio album there since 1998'sBelieve.Dancing Queen went on to be certified gold byMusic Canada for sales of over 40,000 copies.
In the UK the album debuted at number two as well, giving Cher her highest-charting studio album there since 1991'sLove Hurts, with 22,677 units.[33][34] The album was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling over 60,000 copies[35] and landed at number 91 on the year end chart for 2018. As of October 2023,Dancing Queen had to-date consumption of over 92,000 units in the UK.[36] In Ireland, the album gave Cher her first top ten album in 20 years when it debuted at number ten.[37]
In Australia the album debuted at number two, making it Cher's highest-charting studio album there sinceHeart of Stone topped the chart in 1989.[38]
The album also reached the top five inHungary, peaking at number five, as well as placing 61st in the country's year-end chart.[39]
All tracks are written byBenny Andersson,Björn Ulvaeus, andStig Anderson and produced byMark Taylor (tracks 1–7 and 9–10) and Benny Andersson (track 8), except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dancing Queen" | 3:42 | |
| 2. | "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" |
| 4:11 |
| 3. | "The Name of the Game" | 4:48 | |
| 4. | "SOS" | 3:22 | |
| 5. | "Waterloo" | 2:52 | |
| 6. | "Mamma Mia" | 3:34 | |
| 7. | "Chiquitita" |
| 5:14 |
| 8. | "Fernando" | Andersson, Taylor[a] | 3:57 |
| 9. | "The Winner Takes It All" |
| 4:32 |
| 10. | "One of Us" |
| 3:53 |
| Total length: | 40:05 | ||
Notes
Credits forDancing Queen adapted fromAllMusic.[1]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[72] | Gold | 40,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[73] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
| United States | — | 150,000[74] |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Studio albums | |
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| Related articles | |
| Related individuals | |
