1998

Believe

Album Review

Believe Review by Cher Fan Club

Believe, released on October 22, 1998, is Cher's 22nd studio album. It marked a significant shift in her musical style, embracing Euro disco and dance-pop. The album is notable for its use of Auto-Tune, particularly in the title track, which became a worldwide hit and led to the effect being known as "the Cher effect." Believe reached commercial success, topping charts globally and earning critical acclaim for its innovative sound and Cher's vocal performance.

Tracklist

Pick	#	Song	Writer(s)	Producer(s)
❤️	1	“Believe”	Cher, Brian Higgins, Stuart McLennen, Paul Barry, Steven Torch, Matthew Gray, Timothy Powell	Mark Taylor, Brian Rawling
	2	“The Power”	Tommy Simms, Judson Spence	Junior Vasquez
❤️	3	“Runaway”	Mark Taylor, Paul Barry	Mark Taylor, Brian Rawling
❤️	4	“All or Nothing”	Mark Taylor, Paul Barry	Mark Taylor, Brian Rawling
❤️	5	“Strong Enough”	Mark Taylor, Paul Barry	Mark Taylor, Brian Rawling
❤️	6	“Dov’è L’amore”	Mark Taylor, Paul Barry	Mark Taylor, Brian Rawling
	7	“Takin’ Back My Heart”	Diane Warren	Mark Taylor, Brian Rawling
❤️	8	“Taxi Taxi”	Todd Terry, Mark Jordan	Todd Terry
	9	“Love is the Groove”	Betsy Cook, Bruce Woolley	Todd Terry
	10	“We All Sleep Alone”*	Desmond Child, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora	Todd Terry

*Todd Terry Mix

Singles

"Believe" (1998)

🥇 US: #1 (4w)
🥇 UK: #1 (7w)
🥇 Europe: #1 (14w)
🥇 ESP: #1 (8w)
🥇 NOR: #1 (6w)
🥇 AUS: #1 (5w)
🥇 CAN QC: #1 (5w)
🥇 CAN: #1 (3w)
🥇 BEL Wallonia: #1 (3w)
🥇 NLD: #1 (2w)
🥇 BEL Flanders: #1 (1w)
🥇 FRA: #1 (1w)
🥇 FIN: #1
🥇 FIN Airplay: #1
🥇 GER: #1
🥇 HUN: #1
🥇 IRE: #1
🥇 NZ: #1
🥇 US Dance (Sales): #1 (21w)
🥇 US Dance (Club Play): #1 (5w)
🥇 Europe Airplay: #1 (5w)
🚀 US AC: #3
🚀 FIN Sales: #6

💎 FRA (SNEP): Diamond
💿💿💿💿💿 UK (BPI): 5× Platinum
💿💿💿 AUS (ARIA): 3× Platinum
💿💿💿 BEL (BRMA): 3× Platinum
💿💿📀 GER (BVMI): 5× Gold *
💿💿 NOR (IFPI): 2× Platinum
💿💿 NZ (RMNZ): 2× Platinum
💿 US (RIAA): Platinum
💿 NLD (NVPI): Platinum

* In Germany, 2× Gold = 1× Platinum.

🏆 Best-Selling Single of 1998 in the UK
🏆 Best-Selling Single of 1999 in the US
🏆 Best-Selling Single by a Female Artist of All Time in the UK
🏆 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording (2000)
🏅 Grammy Award for Record of the Year (2000)—Nominated
🏆 #8 on BBC's "The World's Top Ten," the only American entry (2003)
🏆 #338 on ROLLING STONE's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" (2021)
🏆 #159 on BILLBOARD's "500 Best Pop Songs" (2023)

With its futuristic use of Auto-Tune and Cher's commanding vocal, "Believe" redefined what pop could sound like at the dawn of a new era. Initially polarizing, the vocal effect became a landmark production choice, later dubbed the "Cher effect." The single not only revitalized her career but also established her as a multigenerational icon, scoring one of the biggest comebacks in music history.

✍🏻 ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (Apr 23, 1999): "At 52, Cher has never been better—or at least bigger—thanks to a neo-disco smash called 'Believe.' The most successful song she's ever released (No. 1 in 23 countries around the world, the single—and its like-titled album—has been hovering at the top of BILLBOARD's charts for three months), it's not only provided her stalled career with a powerful jump start but driven her to an entirely new generation of fans. (That would be the generation that hadn't yet been born when 'I Got You Babe' ruled the charts in 1965.) All in all, it's been the most dramatic comeback Hollywood has seen since, oh, say, the last time Cher raised her career from the dead. "

✍🏻 PITCHFORK (2022): "Coming from Cher—a confident, charismatic, and massively talented woman who'd been subjected to frequent public ridicule over her personal life—'Believe' took on an extra survivalist edge."

⭐"Strong Enough" (1999)

🥇 HUN: #1
🥇 US Dance (Club Play): #1 (1w)
🥇 FIN Airplay: #1
🚀 BEL (Promuvi): #2
🚀 FIN: #2
🚀 Europe: #3
🚀 FRA: #3
🚀 GER: #3
🚀 US Dance (Sales): #3
🚀 AUT: #4
🚀 ESP: #4
🚀 UK Chart-Track: #4
🚀 BEL Wallonia: #4
🚀 UK: #5
🚀 BEL Flanders: #6
🚀 NZ: #6
🚀 FIN Sales: #7
🚀 CAN QC: #9
🚀 ITA: #10
🌟 AUS: #11
🌟 IRE: #11
🌟 NLD: #11
🌟 CAN: #16
🌟 NOR: #16
🌟 US AC: #29
🌟 US Top 40 Tracks: #34
US: #57

💿 BEL (BRMA): Platinum
📀 UK (BPI): Gold
📀 AUS (ARIA): Gold
📀 FRA (SNEP): Gold
📀 GER (BVMI): Gold

✍🏻 BILLBOARD review by Chuck Taylor (May 22, 1999): "The follow-up to the biggest hit in Cher's 32-year career picks up right where 'Believe' left off. The retro-disco 'Strong Enough' is irresistibly catchy, jubilant as a prayer revival, and an ideal partner as kids prepare to buddy up with radio as school finishes up. Everything about this anthemic track is obvious from the first listen: Cher is again in peak form, set in front of a string-laden, thump-happy beat that will have folks tapping toes and snapping fingers from Maine to Minnesota. Europe has already embraced this without a blink; any other outcome here would be lunacy. No doubt, this is the biggest no-brainer hit we've heard this year. From the deservedly double-platinum album BELIEVE."