Believe (Cher album)

Believe
Believe
Studio album by Cher
Released	October 22, 1998
Recorded	1998
Studio	Dreamhouse, London; Soundworks, New York City;
Genre	Eurodisco
Length	43:55
Label	WEA; Warner Bros.;
Producer	Mark Taylor; Brian Rawling; Junior Vasquez; Todd Terry;
Cher chronology
Singles from Believe
	"Believe"; Released: October 19, 1998; "Strong Enough"; Released: February 19, 1999; "All or Nothing"; Released: June 7, 1999; "Dov'è l'amore"; Released: October 25, 1999;

Believe is the twenty-second studio album by American singer and actress Cher, released on October 22, 1998, by WEA and Warner Bros. Records. Following the commercial disappointment of her previous studio album It's a Man's World (1995), her record company encouraged her to record a dance-oriented album, in order to move into a more mainstream sound. Cher started working on the album in the spring of 1998 with British producers Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling at the Dreamhouse Studios in London. The album was dedicated to her former husband Sonny Bono, who had died earlier that year.

Believe represents a complete musical departure from her previous works, consisting of Eurodisco-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 of Auto-Tune, which would eventually become known as the "Cher effect".^[2] Upon release, the album received mixed reviews from music 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 for Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album.

Commercially, Believe proved to be extremely successful, peaking at number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording 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", became one 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 of Believe, 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.

^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Gallucci was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (June 9, 2008). "The Gerbil's Revenge". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 30, 2012. In the manual accompanying Auto-Tune's fifth-release version, the zero speed setting is described as 'the Cher Effect.'
^ Newman, Melinda (10 June 2023). "Cher on Making Her First Holiday Record: 'I Had No Intention of Doing a Christmas Album' (Exclusive)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 June 2024.

[Gallucci-1] Cite error: The named reference Gallucci was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[2] Frere-Jones, Sasha (June 9, 2008). "The Gerbil's Revenge". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 30, 2012. In the manual accompanying Auto-Tune's fifth-release version, the zero speed setting is described as 'the Cher Effect.'

[wwsales-3] Newman, Melinda (10 June 2023). "Cher on Making Her First Holiday Record: 'I Had No Intention of Doing a Christmas Album' (Exclusive)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 June 2024.

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