2013

Closer to the Truth

Album Review

Closer to the Truth Review by Cher Fan Club

Closer to the Truth, Cher's 25th studio album, released on September 20, 2013, signifies a vibrant return to her dance-pop roots. The album is an eclectic mix of dance, house, and soft rock, with themes revolving around romance and empowerment. Cher collaborates with various artists and producers, offering a blend of uptempo tracks and emotional ballads. Despite mixed reviews, the album was a commercial success, debuting at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200.

Tracklist

Pick	#	Song	Writer(s)	Producer(s)
	1	“Woman’s World”	Matt Morris, Paul Oakenfold, Anthony "TC" Crawford, Joshua "J.D." Walker	Paul Oakenfold, Anthony "TC" Crawford, Joshua "J.D." Walker, Jeff Fenster
	2	“Take It Like a Man”	Cher, Tim Powell, Tebey Ottoh, Mary Leay	Mark Taylor, Tim Powell
	3	“My Love”	Dario Brigham-Bowes, Lorne Ashley Brigham-Bowes, Paul Barry, Greta Svabo Bech	Mark Taylor
❤️	4	“Dressed to Kill”	Cher, Mark Taylor, Samuel Preston	Mark Taylor
	5	“Red”	Laura Pergolizzi, Marc Nelkin, Carl Ryden	Josh Crosby, Joshua "J.D." Walker, Jeff Fenster
❤️	6	“Lovers Forever”	Cher, Shirley Eikhard	Mark Taylor
❤️	7	“I Walk Alone”	Alecia "Pink" Moore, Billy Mann, Niklas "Nikey" Olovson, Robin Lynch	Billy Mann, MachoPsycho (Niklas "Nikey" Olovson and Robin Lynch)
	8	“Sirens”	Mark Taylor, Patrick Mascall, Nell Bryden, JP Jones	Mark Taylor
	9	“Favorite Scars”	Wayne Anthony Hector, Tom Barnes, Peter Kelleher, Ben Kohn	TMS
❤️	10	“I Hope You Find It”	Steve Robson, Jeffrey Steele	Mark Taylor
	11	“Lie to Me”	Alecia "Pink" Moore, Billy Mann	Billy Mann
	12	“I Don’t Have to Sleep to Dream”*	Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, Bonnie McKee, Kelly Sheehan, Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, Chris Godbey	Timbaland, Jerome Harmon, Ivan Corraliza
	13	“Pride”*	Laura Pergolizzi, Marc Nelkin, Carl Ryden	Carl Ryden, Joshua "J.D." Walker, Jeff Fenster
❤️	14	“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me”*	Diane Warren	Matt Serletic
	15	“Will You Wait for Me”**	Billy Mann, Don Cook	Billy Mann

*US Bonus Tracks (International Standard Version); **Target and International Bonus Track

Singles

"Woman's World" (2013)

🥇 US Dance Club Play: #1 (1w)
🌟 US Dance Digital Sales: #7
🌟 VEN Pop Rock: #9
🚀 US Dance/Electronic Songs: #16
🚀 SWI: #26 (with "I Hope You Find It")
🚀 US AC: #28
🪁 AUT: #60
🪁 GER: #66
🪁 AUS: #77
🪁 BEL Wallonia: #88
🪁 ITA: #93
🪁 SCO: #93
🪁 VEN: #98
🫧 US: #125
🫧 BEL Flanders: #137
🫧 CIS Airplay: #140

📰 "Cher's 'Woman's World' Leaks, Angering Singer"—HUFFPOST news story by Treye Green (Oct 22, 2012): "A Michigan club got its hands on Cher's new single 'Woman's World,' and she isn't pleased. The singer tweeted that a DJ leaked an unfinished version of the lead single from her first album in 11 years. 'I'm upset about the leak,' she wrote. 'It's not the end of the world, but I don't understand how a club in Michigan played a minute of it. That's not my final mix.' She added that her record company delayed the single's release to January to allow more time to finish the track and shoot a video for the song as well."

📰 "Cher's 'Woman's World' Gets Early Release"—BILLBOARD news story by Keith Caulfield (Nov 22, 2012): "Superstar diva Cher gifted fans an early Thanksgiving surprise by debuting her new single 'Woman's World' last night. A full, unfinished version of the thumping dance track leaked earlier in the week, prompting Warner Bros. and Cher to rush out the final mix. 'We thought we had time,' Cher tweeted to a fan asking about a video, 'but "Woman's World" started popping all over the world!' According to Cher's since-deleted tweets, the single was to be sent to US radio on November 26, followed by an iTunes commercial release the next day. However, her publicist told BILLBOARD that information is incorrect. For now, the song is available only to stream online."

✍🏻 "Cher Debuts 'Woman's World' for 'Everybody in the Club'"—HITFIX single review by Gregory Ellwood (Nov 22, 2012): "Do you 'Believe' this legend can rule the pop charts once more? Proving a dance diva's work is never done, Cher debuted her long awaited new single, the club-friendly 'Woman's World,' on her website. Her last release, a remix of the BURLESQUE soundtrack single 'You Haven't Seen the Last of Me,' hit No. 1 on the dance charts two years ago. Perhaps that spurred the 66-year-old diva back to the dance floor. As the title suggests, 'Woman's World' is a female empowerment anthem where Cher reflects she's been 'broken down and kicked around,' but proudly declares, 'I'm stronger/Strong enough to rise above.' The chorus centers on 'This is a woman's world,' while in the bridge Cher repeats the mantras: 'All the woman in the world stand up, come together now' and 'Everybody in the club stand up, come together now.' It's a catchy track that will please fans and likely get some gay club play, but is it truly another comeback? It's been 13 years since 'Believe' stunned the world by hitting No. 1. But she's been discounted before, and we're just thrilled she can still belt it out like the youngsters. Score: B+"

✍🏻 "Cher's 'Woman's World': Has She Still Got It?"—HUFFPOST single review by Sarah Dean (UK, Nov 22, 2012): "Cher has unveiled 'Woman's World,' the empowering first single from her upcoming 26th studio album, and it's another dance-floor anthem. Cher, who has been creating hits since the 1960s, tweeted: 'When I started singing it, I was thinking about strong famous women. Then I thought, f**k that, this is a woman's world! We are all strong—men too.' Her instantly recognisable voice is loud and clear, but does the electro music do enough to bring her sound into this decade?"

✍🏻 IDOLATOR single review by Robbie Daw (Nov 22, 2012): "Full of striking synths and a relentlessly slamming beat, 'Woman's World' is another song where Cher asserts her strong femininity. And, men, you don't want to f**k with this diva when she's power-twirling across the dance floor, mowing gents down left and right."

✍🏻 SO SO GAY single review by Young Tan (Nov 22, 2012): "Everyone please bow down for the return of the Almighty Cher, for she is back—and with a bang. The legend makes her comeback to the music scene with 'Woman's World,' a song Cher has often mentioned on Twitter (in between her mainly political rants). A heavy, uptempo dance track reminiscent of 'Believe' and 'Strong Enough,' 'Woman's World' is a loud, empowering feminist anthem. Its lyrics address the end of a broken relationship and how Cher is overcoming it, as she sings softly to the almost trance-like bass of the verses: 'I'm dancin' solo, in the dark on the club floor/I need to let it go/Shake it off, stop thinkin' 'bout you,' before belting her lungs out in the chorus as the beat thumps: 'Torn up, busted, taken apart/I've been broken down, left with a broken heart.' In the middle eight, Cher calls out to all the ladies—a typical move for a song like this—though most of those dancing will likely be her beloved gay men. Even in her mid-sixties, the seemingly ageless Cher not only still has the ability to pull off being relevant, but her unique, strong, enchantingly deep vocals are still in fine form, if too often underrated. 'Woman's World' is a club banger that holds its own alongside the younger generation while standing out as distinct. It's a hit Madonna probably wishes she had recorded, while simultaneously leaving those who Cher has inspired over the past four decades—and counting—in awe."

✍🏻 "Cher Returns to Music with 'Woman's World'"—DIVA DEVOTEE single review (Nov 25, 2012): "With the music scene so focused on dance right now, it was only a matter of time before the reemergence of the Grand Dame of Divas herself, Cher! Having reinvented herself as queen of the dance floor in the '90s with 'Believe,' Cher clearly feels it's time to reclaim it. Her new single 'Woman's World' is full of thumping beats, dark synths, and a Eurodance sound purer than the mutated, sweeter, pop-infused offspring dominating today's charts. Combined with empowered lyrics and a solid vocal, it's unsurprising we're onto a winner here—a slightly repetitive, chorus-heavy winner, but a winner no less. Roll on 2013: it could be the year of the Cher!"

🌐 "Cher Redefines Glamour with 'Woman's World' Cover Art"—IDOLATOR blog essay by Mike Wass (Jun 10, 2013): "The timeless entertainer's oft-delayed comeback is finally gaining real momentum with a live performance of future club classic 'Woman's World' scheduled for the season finale of THE VOICE. If that isn't enough to make you spin 'Song for the Lonely' on repeat, revisit BURLESQUE, and unsuccessfully attempt to decipher her Twitter feed for the 100th time, perhaps the just-unveiled 'Woman's World' cover will get you there. As expected, Cher raises the bar for elegance and glamour with an exquisite image, photoshopped to the brink of animation. The pop legend wears an understated—by her standards—headdress and coyly looks at the camera like the 18-year-old ingenue she still is at heart."

🌐 "Cher Wows with Live Rendition of 'Woman's World' at THE VOICE"—DIVA DEVOTEE blog essay (Jun 19, 2013): "The Legend (with a capital letter!) that is Cher took to THE VOICE to spread the camp gospel to a new generation. Rejoice and receive it gratefully, young'uns! Rocking a hybrid wig and an outfit you won't find on your local high street, the diva had the crowd hyped with her new single, 'Woman's World.' Sure, there was a backing track, but her live vocals were pretty strong over the top, so all was okay! If I'm honest, I thought Cher couldn't sing live anymore, but she shut me up with this performance. Shame on me for doubting her! I already covered my thoughts on the single—it's good but not great. Still, it's almost unbelievable that its release marks her fifth decade in the industry! When will your fave boast such a feat!? NEVER—that's when! And she's still going strong. Whatever this member of the diva aristocracy is taking, I want some of it! I suspect she's made a deal with this lovely lady, but I can't yet confirm it..."

🌐 "If Cher's Not Your Spirit Animal, Then You Should Probably Leave"—MTV BUZZWORTHY blog essay by Jenna Hally Rubenstein (Jun 20, 2013): "We have literally zero words right now. Actually, fine, if we're being picky, we have five: 'HOLY CHEEKBONES AND ASSLESS CHAPS!' Not only is Cher back, but the eternal Goddess of Pop is 67 and can STILL get asses on the floor. How many, you ask? Oh, just ALL THE ASSES present at THE VOICE last Tuesday, when Cher performed her new single, 'Woman's World.' And now she's got my ass on the floor! Much like her previous records (i.e. 'Believe'), 'Woman's World' is a dance-heavy, meant-for-da-club record that features Cher's thick bass vocals as she sings about being a strong, powerful lady (clearly this song is autobiographical) who can't be torn down by any douched-out bros. PREACH!!! We should all aspire to be like Cher at 67. Also: Is she wearing a wig made of newspaper strips on the single cover? If yes, then we should aspire to be like Cher right NOW. For the rest of our lives. #Werque, lady. #NoRegrets."

🌐 "Cher Battles Hair and Apparent Memory Loss During Macy's 4th of July, Remains Flawless Nonetheless"—DIVA DEVOTEE blog essay (Jul 5, 2013): "Cher keeps up promo for 'Woman's World.' After a surprisingly strong showing on THE VOICE, the diva's next stop was the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks. Unfortunately, she didn't feel like singing live for that, instead doing a pretty poor job lipping to the song. Hey, at least she showed up! But you know what? I ain't even bothered! I'm still riding the 'Cher-can-still-sing-live' wave THE VOICE performance put me on! Besides, she had more pressing concerns that night—like remembering the words and keeping that darn hair out of her flawless face."

✍🏻 RENOWNED FOR SOUND single review by Brendon Veevers (Jul 30, 2013): "Being the only artist in history to have secured a No. 1 release in each of the past six decades, pop icon Cher makes a long-awaited return to conquer the charts for a seventh. As we hear on new dance-floor juggernaut 'Woman's World,' she has refined the art of hit-making into a skill that comes naturally for her. For 'Woman's World' it's all about having fun, letting your hair down, and painting the town red. Age is no limit to the diva who, at 67, still gives her younger peers a run for their money—and looks fantastic doing it. The song is a drag queen's delight, reigniting the Cher flame after her 12-year studio absence. It's dance-heavy and molded for the club scene with its energetic, techno-charged structure. Vocally, Cher once again outdoes herself, playing with the track's infectious rhythm, owning it and driving it through four minutes of powerhouse beats and girl power. Going by this beauty of a lead single and its potent club drenching, parent record CLOSER TO THE TRUTH is going to be a cracker of a release."

📈 BILLBOARD chart note by Keith Caulfield (Jul 6, 2013): "Cher returns to the BILLBOARD charts, entering at No. 16 on the Dance/Electronic Songs chat with 'Woman's World.' The tune's entrance is powered by 26,000 first-week downloads."

📰 "Cher Runs the 'World'"—BILLBOARD report by Keith Caulfield (Aug 10, 2013): "In Cher's latest No. 1 Dance Club Songs hit 'Woman's World,' she sings, 'I'm dancin' solo, in the dark, on the club floor.' Shortly after midnight on July 27, she was indeed on the club floor at Rasputin at the Robertson Nightclub in West Hollywood—but definitely not solo. 'You missed a good party,' Cher tells BILLBOARD of the event, staged to celebrate her new No. 1. The song's promotion to club DJs was led by Bobby Shaw Promotions and Citrusonic, which also handled the Rasputin event. 'Clubs are where Cher lives and breathes,' says Citrusonic owner Orlando Puerta. Cher calls the thumping 'Woman's World' one of those songs that 'sings itself,' noting it took about an hour to record her vocals."

🌐 "Cher Debuts 'Woman's World' Video on Hateful and Misogynistic DAILY MAIL. Why?"—DIVA DEVOTEE op-ed (Aug 21, 2013): "Can someone explain why Queen of Camp Cher made the 'Woman's World' music video exclusive to the often hateful-to-all-minorities (and females) DAILY MAIL website? Could it be the rag offered up the raw material for the opening wig in return for the exclusive? Or was Cher being knowingly ironic, debuting a song with a positive message on a site that often spreads negativity? I'd like to think there's a better reason than just exposure or cash. Aside from that conundrum, prepare for a bevy of female beauties of all shapes, colors, and ages getting down to the track. It does feel a little late—since the single officially dropped two months ago—but it'll be great to see Cher back on music television regardless."

✍🏻 SLANT MAGAZINE review of the album CLOSER TO THE TRUTH by Sal Cinquemani (Sept 19, 2013): "LIVING PROOF, the follow-up to BELIEVE, played as a sort of pisstake of the 'Cher effect.' CLOSER TO THE TRUTH likewise avoids tweaking the template, and the result is a collection of dance songs that sound incredibly dated—particularly the lead single, 'Woman's World,' produced by Paul Oakenfold, who apparently hasn't updated his gear since the turn of the millennium."

✍🏻 BOSTON GLOBE album review by Michael Andor Brodeur (Sept 24, 2013): "Rest easy knowing Cher's 'Goddess of Pop' sash remains in little danger of undue snatching; at 67, she sounds more convincing than J-Lo or Madonna reporting from 'the club' on album opener 'Woman's World.'"

✍🏻 IDOLATOR album review by John Hamilton (Sept 24, 2013): "Announcing her return like a fluorescent cannon ball, the album's opening track is the omnipresent gay anthem 'Woman's World,' Cher's most recent stab at dance-floor obliteration. As much as this song dabbles in disco-diva cliche, something about it just works. Cher sells the hell out of the song's 'torn up, busted, taken apart' lyrical conceit, and her performance makes this one of the year's best singles, not to mention a hell of a way to kick off her new material."

✍🏻 "The Honest Truth About Cher's CLOSER TO THE TRUTH"—PHILADELPHIA album review by Michael Callahan (Sept 24, 2013): "'Woman's World' is a good foreshadowing of the album's entire content: loud, brash, and, frankly, dull. We've heard this all before: in 'Song for the Lonely,' in 'Strong Enough,' in 'If I Could Turn Back Time.' They've all begun to blend together. In fairness, at age 67 (!) Cher is in fine husky-voiced mettle here; she sounds fucking amazing. 'Woman's World' will no doubt become a staple of sloppy bachelorette parties."

✍🏻 DUKE CHRONICLE album review by Elizabeth Djinis (Sept 26, 2013): "The lyrical meanings are relatively arbitrary; to some extent, they are simply words set to a beat. In the chorus of 'Woman's World,' Cher sings repeatedly that 'this is a woman's world.' What that means for her and any female listeners is unclear; given the electronic, fast-paced nature of the song, it seems to mean that we should dance the night away because, after all, this is a woman's world and we might as well."

✍🏻 SPUTNIKMUSIC album review (Oct 2, 2013): "'Woman's World' is a typical Cher affair, with disappointingly voice-altered verses but a shining chorus. Using her trademark wail, she carries the song through thundering dance beats and synthesizer pops. It's a fun woman-empowerment anthem that blows Beyoncé's 'Run the World (Girls)' away, but still feels lacking—specifically a segue between the awkward verses and chorus."

✍🏻 TALKHOUSE album review by Drew Daniel (Oct 4, 2013): "'Woman's World' is a great big anthem about recovering from pain, holding your head up, feeling solidarity with other women and everyone 'in the club,' and turning hurt into courage through collective empowerment. If my précis sounds glib, it's because the slogans really are that basic. I must admit she sounds ferocious and sincere, and lest you doubt her clubbing bona fides, recall that Cher was making jams with Giorgio Moroder in 1980 when the members of Daft Punk were six years old. The song's sentiments are admirable, and I tried to like it—tried, that is, to bracket my dislike of its cookie-cutter, Rihanna-wannabe production in favor of its right-on message of self-respect. Against the backdrop of a patriarchal culture, feminist demagoguery can still be liberatory, but sometimes we have to admit bad music is bad and stop making excuses. But that's the problem: bad for what? Bad for whom? And do bad synths even matter when the subject is Cher, singing this powerfully at 67? Her refusal to perform at the Russian Olympics is admirable, and far more important than my grousing about derivative keyboard stabs. Watching the racially diverse cascade of different kinds of women in the 'Woman's World' video—butch lesbians, elderly white ladies, a person with Down syndrome—all united in the task of shimmying to Cher, my lingering dislike of those shitty keyboard sounds made me feel like an audio Scrooge. As I confronted my own irritation, I began to wonder if the prison of taste isn't an immune disorder of its own—a psychic allergy by which we limit our capacity to imaginatively inhabit other locations in social space."

✍🏻 POPMATTERS album review by Kevin Catchpole (Oct 9, 2013): "Truly it is a 'Woman's World,' a mid-tempo dance opener not as spunky as 'Believe' or 'Song for the Lonely' but gleaming with today's EDM polish, fused with Cher's unmistakable style. She again shows a canny ability to take what she knows about music and update it for the sounds of the moment—made more impressive by how far into her career she's still doing it. Not every pop titan using this approach has stayed as savvy with age (see: Madonna's trying-too-hard MDNA)."

✍🏻 THE GUARDIAN album review by Caroline Sullivan (Oct 10, 2013): "There's a reason 'Woman's World' reached No. 1 on the US dance charts: it's classic diva territory, combining empowerment sentiments, wonderfully kitschy techno, and Cher's most commanding performance."

✍🏻 MUSICOMH album review by Philip Matusavage (UK, Oct 14, 2013): "Cher's music has tended to be undemanding (and frequently hugely enjoyable) kitsch, revealing nothing of the artist and relying on her unmistakeable voice and sassy, straight-talking persona for much of its appeal. Most listeners may know little about what makes the 67-year-old tick, but they also don't care—the illusions are part of the charm. No one, then, expects anything from Cher other than enjoyable music. Yet it's still disappointing when CLOSER TO THE TRUTH kicks off with the generic EDM of 'Woman's World,' a song which suggests producer Paul Oakenfold hasn't heard any music since 1999. Indeed, it could have been lifted from either of Cher's dance albums of the period, rehashing as it does a recipe which had already become stale by the time of her 'retirement' from music."

✍🏻 NOTAS MUSICAIS album review by Mauro Ferreira (Brazil, Dec 23, 2013): "Cher dives onto the pop dance floor with the flag of female self-sufficiency held high, a strength that bends but never breaks under romantic disappointments with the male electorate. That resilience—the impulse to dodge heartbreak and step back onto the floor in sync with the electronic pulse—is the core of opening track 'Woman's World.'"

✍🏻 THE WASHINGTON POST concert review by Dave McKenna (Apr 6, 2014): "For the industrial dance number 'Woman's World,' Cher appeared tied to a tall pillar, wearing a headdress shaped like a pastel peacock. Like other tracks from CLOSER TO THE TRUTH, the production overwhelmed her singing, but from floor to rafters, folks were so happy just to share a room with Cher they made the arena almost bounce to the heavy electronic beat."

💬 "Cher's 50 Years on the BILLBOARD Charts"—BILLBOARD interview with Cher by Keith Caulfield (Aug 7, 2015): "I didn't realize I hadn't done anything in so long. Was it 11 years? I don't know. I hadn't thought about recording again until one of my managers finally said, 'You should really do that.' So I got into the studio. The first song I did for CLOSER TO THE TRUTH was 'Woman's World.' Warner Bros. wasn't excited, truthfully, but they gave me the shot, so I have to give them credit. When I did that and everyone heard it, they thought, 'OK, maybe she still has it.'"

"I Hope You Find It" (2013)

🪄 Originally recorded by Miley Cyrus

🌟 UK Physical Singles: #6
🚀 US AC: #17
🚀 UK Airplay: #20
🚀 SCO: #22
🚀 UK: #25
🚀 SWI: #26 (with "Woman's World")
🚀 IRE: #39
🪁 AUT: #43
🪁 GER: #49

✍🏻 MUUMUSE review of the album CLOSER TO THE TRUTH by Bradley Stern (Aug 2, 2013): "'I Hope You Find It' is a devastating post-breakup coming-to-terms that underscores why Cher's the original #GrownWoman."

✍🏻 "A Powerhouse Renaissance for the Goddess of Pop"—SO SO GAY album review by Ed Brody (UK, Sept 23, 2013): "'I Hope You Find It' is a powerful, emotive ballad that flexes the oft-overlooked soulful register of Cher's husky contralto."

📰 "Cher Tells the Truth"—BILLBOARD feature by Keith Caulfield (Sept 24, 2013): "For the album's second single, 'I Hope You Find It,' Cher turns in a 'country-esque' version of a semi-obscure Miley Cyrus song. 'Love songs are usually about "I'm looking for love" or "I've lost love,"' Cher says, contrasting that with the lyrical content of 'I Hope You Find It.' 'They're usually not "I found love, I lost love, and now I hope you find love with someone else." Usually we're not that charitable.'"

✍🏻 IDOLATOR album review by John Hamilton (Sept 24, 2013): "Cher's take on Miley Cyrus' 'I Hope You Find It' brings an appropriate world-weariness to the song."

✍🏻 PHILADELPHIA album review by Michael Callahan (Sept 24, 2013): "'I Hope You Find It' has the feel of a song that starts over the closing credits of a movie, and Cher's too-rarely-heard falsetto pierces right to the heart."

📰 "Cher's New Single Is a Miley Cyrus Cover"—HUFFPOST news story (Sept 25, 2013): "Cher's emotional number 'I Hope You Find It' is a cover of a song originally recorded by Miley Cyrus for her 2010 movie THE LAST SONG. The choice is interesting, as Cher recently had some harsh words for the 20-year-old after her headline-making VMAs performance, which she called 'so bad.' 'I'm not old-fashioned,' Cher told USA TODAY. 'She could have come out naked, and if she'd just rocked the house, I would have said, "You go, girl." It just wasn't done well. She can't dance, her body looked like hell, the song wasn't great, one cheek was hanging out. And, chick, don't stick out your tongue if it's coated.' Cher later backtracked on Twitter, admitting she was 'a little ashamed' and should've kept her 'big opinionated mouth shut.'"

✍🏻 SPUTNIKMUSIC album review (Oct 2, 2013): "Midway through the album, things take a dramatic turn with a series of ballads that are pretty hit-or-miss—never bad, just uninteresting. The best is 'I Hope You Find It,' originally recorded by a young, pre-twerking Miley Cyrus. Cyrus' notoriously weak voice made it a bore, but Cher's version is packed with emotion, calling back to her '70s glory days with hits like 'Half-Breed' and 'Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves'—a refreshing change from the danceable Cher everyone's been sensitized to."

✍🏻 TALKHOUSE album review by Drew Daniel (Oct 4, 2013): "The ballads are stronger, better suited to Cher's voice, and more compelling as performances. The full-on displays of lung power and sheer Cher-itude in treacly numbers like 'I Hope You Find It' are a welcome relief from the tepid dance-floor exertions, spiked with lyrical darkness and self-reflection that add emotional grounding. That said, I don't particularly want to hear these songs ever again—which is not Cher's problem; they hit their targets, even if they're not ones I care to see hit."

✍🏻 THE GUARDIAN album review by Caroline Sullivan (UK, Oct 10, 2013): "Did she really need to cover the Miley Cyrus ballad-warbler 'I Hope You Find It'? Then again, she's Cher, and what producer would be brave enough to say no?"

✍🏻 MUSICOMH album review by Philip Matusavage (UK, Oct 14, 2013): "A closing streak of songs returning Cher to her ballad-belting glory days provide palpable relief. 'I Hope You Find It' invokes the Diane Warren-penned Cher classics of old and soars effortlessly compared to the laborious grunting that precedes it."

📈 Chart note by James Masterton (UK, Oct 26, 2013): "1960s veteran Cher did some high-profile promotional work last week, most notably a starring role on the first X FACTOR results show of the 2013 series. The performance lifts her new single 'I Hope You Find It' to No. 25, her first top-40 hit since 'The Music's No Good Without You' in 2001."

📈 MUSIC WEEK chart note by Alan Jones (UK, Oct 26, 2013): "At 67, Cher becomes the oldest female solo artist to have a hit single in the UK, with 'I Hope You Find It' debuting at No. 25 (11,824 sales)."

✍🏻 NOTAS MUSICAIS album review by Mauro Ferreira (Brazil, Dec 23, 2013): "Within the ballad territory, the standout is 'I Hope You Find It', a song with seductive architecture."

✍🏻 THE GLOBE AND MAIL concert review by Brad Wheeler (Canada, Apr 8, 2014): "Unfortunately, after a charismatic and warm main set, the encore ballad 'I Hope You Find It' was a bum-note ending. Cher performed it dressed as a sort of religious icon, floating above the crowd in a papalish carrier. She had blessed her fans with her presence, but this was far too much symbolism. Perhaps her pedestal status had gone to her headdress."

"Take It Like a Man" (2013)

🥈 US Dance Club Play: #2
🌟 US Dance Sales: #9
🚀 US Dance/Electronic Songs: #23
🪁 UK Physical Singles: #48

✍🏻 MUUMUSE review of the album CLOSER TO THE TRUTH by Bradley Stern (Aug 2, 2013): "The dance tracks are all fierce, stomping club-pop anthems with equally fierce names. The most instant highlight, though, is 'Take It Like a Man,' which—as I breathlessly tweeted during the listening party—is clearly a new gay anthem from the get-go. (Then again, you probably could have assumed as much from the title alone.) It's a very big, anthemic call-to-arms for the dance floor, a la 'Song for the Lonely'—except rather than being a dedication to the lonely, it's about those who, err... take it."

✍🏻 "A Powerhouse Renaissance for the Goddess of Pop"—SO SO GAY album review by Ed Brody (UK, Sept 23, 2013): "The vocoder is still very much in play, never more so than on 'Take It Like a Man.' It's so preposterously hi-NRG with Eurodance beats that it's like going ten rounds with Mike Tyson whilst high on poppers. While the Auto-Tune again submerges Cher's vocals, the producers here use the effect to embrace and enhance rather than overwhelm her. Cher's soaring, bulldozer voice totally dominates the frenetic beats."

📰 "Cher Tells the Truth"—BILLBOARD feature by Keith Caulfield (Sept 24, 2013): "CLOSER TO THE TRUTH wouldn't be a Cher album without vocoder-like effects on her vocals. On the set's second track, 'Take It Like a Man,' she Cherbotically harmonizes with Scissor Sisters' front man Jake Shears. 'What we did with his voice is so strange,' Cher told BILLBOARD in an earlier interview in August, 'but I know he's gonna love it.' The diva says she loves Shears, and that 'Take It Like a Man' is one of her 'favorite tracks.' Cher says the song is 'very double-entendre,' adding that 'it's a beautiful, great dance song that's crazy, raucous, and rocks out.' Sample lyric: 'So when the lights go dark/I wanna know you understand/That if you want my heart/You gotta take it like a man.'"

✍🏻 BOSTON GLOBE album review by Michael Andor Brodeur (Sept 24, 2013): "The album is smartly frontloaded with glossy South Beach bangers, including the fiery, heavenly heave of 'Take It Like a Man'—CLOSER TO THE TRUTH's essential cut."

✍🏻 IDOLATOR album review by John Hamilton (Sept 24, 2013): "Following hot on the heels of 'Woman's World' comes the equally frenetic but far more interesting 'Take It Like a Man.' This twirler allegedly features backing vocals from Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears, but who can tell? When Cher's going at full power, lesser entities just kind of melt in the shadows. That said, it definitely features an appearance from one of her most iconic former collaborators: Auto-Tune! The swoopy sound effect that made her 'Believe' single a worldwide smash never really went away, but here it's so prominent that when Cher's voice starts pitching and pouncing all over the place, you'll swear it's 1999 all over again—and that's a good thing."

✍🏻 PHILADELPHIA album review by Michael Callahan (Sept 24, 2013): "The grooving 'Take It Like a Man' is an overt wink to the gay boys who have kept Cher afloat for decades, even if the whole song sounds like she's trapped in that plexiglass booth she stood in for the 'Believe' video."

✍🏻 DUKE CHRONICLE album review by Elizabeth Djinis (Sept 26, 2013): "'Take it Like a Man' is a catchy, heavily auto-tuned piece perfectly suited for a dance floor or a girls' night out."

✍🏻 POPMATTERS album review by Kevin Catchpole (Oct 9, 2013): "The stomping, layered 'Take It Like a Man' joins a first half of solid made-for-the-club cuts, but here she uses, and perhaps abuses, the Antares vocal manipulation that she used so cannily on 'Believe.' On that track, it was deftly slipped in, and just a mild embellishment to add a little variety. More than that, it was done by a (even then) veteran performer who the listening public knew wasn't using it to hide an inability to sing. Here, it just feels overdone, distracting from what is at its core a solid, disco-ball spinner done Cher style."

✍🏻 THE GUARDIAN album review by Caroline Sullivan (UK, Oct 10, 2013): "Cher can blast like nobody else: Jake Shears and P!nk are credited as backing vocalists on the campstravaganza 'Take it Like a Man' and 'I Walk Alone' respectively, but they're inaudible against Cher's Auto-Tuned foghorn."

✍🏻 MUSICOMH album review by Philip Matusavage (UK, Oct 14, 2013): "Part of the Earth-shattering success of 'Believe' lay in its brave novelty, but by the dying moments of exhausting second track 'Take It Like a Man,' a wannabe gay anthem replete with dead-on-arrival innuendo and copious use of vocoder, any hopes of CLOSER TO THE TRUTH employing a similarly revitalising daring are dashed.

📰 "Cher Wants You to 'Take It Like a Man' with the Help of NSFW Underwear Models"—HUFFPOST news story by James Nichols (Nov 21, 2013): "Cher posted a remix of her stellar 'Take It Like a Man' on Facebook yesterday—and it's too steamy not to share. Featuring sexy Andrew Christian underwear models, the video's soundtrack is a remixed version of the third single from CLOSER TO THE TRUTH. It appeared on her page with the tagline 'some friends made me a present for "Take It Like a Man."' When remixing a gay icon's latest single, you need to be careful—but this 7th Heaven remix (and its clip, dubbed the gayest music video ever?) does it justice."

✍🏻 THE GLOBE AND MAIL concert review by Brad Wheeler (Canada, Apr 8, 2014): "The show's centrepiece was the upbeat 'Take It Like a Man,' a number which featured a giant gilded horse and a gold-plated, Beyoncé-bewigged diva."

"Sirens" (2013)

🪄 Originally recorded by Nell Bryden
💡 From the album CLOSER TO THE TRUTH (2013)
💡 Also included on the charity compilation SONGS FOR THE PHILIPPINES (2013), with proceeds benefiting the Philippine Red Cross in support of Typhoon Haiyan survivors
📍 Released as a promotional single in the UK only

🌐 IDOLATOR blog essay by Mike Wass (Sept 17, 2013): "Expect beautiful ballad 'Sirens' to soundtrack gay weddings from now until eternity."

✍🏻 "A Powerhouse Renaissance for the Goddess of Pop"—SO SO GAY review of the album CLOSER TO THE TRUTH by Ed Brody (UK, Sept 23, 2013): "Standout track 'Sirens' breaks the beat entirely and washes over you like a saccharine tsunami. A huge, broad ballad, an ode to the events of 9/11—'From the sound of sirens/The city will rise ... Love will survive.' It is a delicate song and a welcome reprieve following such a plethora of hardened dance tracks, and it harks back to Cher's early-'90s days as a rock power-balladeer."

✍🏻 IDOLATOR album review by John Hamilton (Sept 24, 2013): "Nell Bryden's 'Sirens' sounds tailor-made for Cher's signature pipes."

✍🏻 PHILADELPHIA album review by Michael Callahan (Sept 24, 2013): "'Sirens' finds Cher's voice at its gentle, haunting, vulnerable best—a chill-inducing throwback to 'Geronimo's Cadillac' (1975) and 'Heart of Stone' (1989), two other plaintive, affecting songs overlooked in the Cher canon."

✍🏻 POPMATTERS album review by Kevin Catchpole (Oct 9, 2013): "The final four tracks serve as a fine after-party to the sped-up furor of the first seven, opening strongly with the almost U2-aping 'Sirens' and its echoed guitar and layered harmonies. More than a few critiques suggest this album would have been better as a front-to-back stack of disco burners. This ignores that while Cher does these well, she's capable of more than churning out club fillers."

✍🏻 MUSICOMH album review by Philip Matusavage (UK, Oct 14, 2013): "The 9/11-inspired lyrics of 'Sirens' are the most accomplished (and moving) here."

"I Walk Alone" (2014)

🥈 US Dance: #2
🪁 UK Airplay: #51

The promotional video for "I Walk Alone," released in November 2013 by the Cher Fan Club, stitched together an animated chronology of Cher's life and career—from early childhood photos to her most recent triumphs. It drew more than six million views on YouTube before being moved to CherFlix, a surge of attention that spoke less to marketing mechanics than to the sheer gravitational pull Cher's story still has.

✍🏻 MUUMUSE album review by by Bradley Stern (Aug 2, 2013): "'I Walk Alone' has a defiant chorus that sort of reminded me of Geri Halliwell's 'Bag It Up.' Lots o' sass."

✍🏻 SLANT MAGAZINE album review by Sal Cinquemani (Sept 19, 2013): "The banjo-infused stomper 'I Walk Alone' feels somewhat modern, but with EDM all the rage now, CLOSER TO THE TRUTH is largely a wasted opportunity to once again update the icon's sound."

📰 "Cher Tells the Truth"—BILLBOARD feature by Keith Caulfield (Sept 24, 2013): "P!nk co-wrote the banjitar-enhanced 'I Walk Alone,' and also provides backing vocals on the cut. A lyric in the song proved to be so powerful, it became the title of the album. In it, Cher sings 'There's a gypsy in me that keeps on roaming/And there's an anger as I get closer to the truth.' When asked about P!nk, Cher remarked about her fellow diva's no-nonsense, what-you-see-is-what-you-get attitude. 'I admire anybody for standing up for what they believe. Having beliefs—especially if other people don't agree with you—is difficult in this day and age.'"

✍🏻 IDOLATOR album review by John Hamilton (Sept 24, 2013): "Centerpiece stomper 'I Walk Alone'—from which the album gets its title—showcases a depth that has always made the best of Cher's work so compelling. Without losing energy or the beat, Cher asserts herself as a thinking independent, and experienced character who hasn't been beaten down by an all-too-cruel world."

✍🏻 ALLMUSIC album review by Tim Sendra (Sept 28, 2013): "A campy, banjo-led romp that sounds like someone tried to fuse Mumford & Sons with the Scissor Sisters."

✍🏻 THE GUARDIAN album review by Caroline Sullivan (UK, Oct 10, 2013): "Cher can blast like nobody else: Jake Shears and P!nk are credited as backing vocalists on 'Take it Like a Man' and 'I Walk Alone' respectively, but they're inaudible against Cher's Auto-Tuned foghorn."

📰 BILLBOARD news story by Keith Caulfield (Mar 14, 2014): "Cher's heading back to the club with her latest single, 'I Walk Alone,' and BILLBOARD has the premiere of its first official remix, by superstar DJ Tracy Young. Young's Ferosh Reconstruction remix, a thumping transformation of the original, will be serviced to dance clubs and DJs next week, along with mixes by other producers. 'I was instantly excited to start this project for three reasons,' Young tells BILLBOARD. 'One, stating the obvious, working with Cher again. Secondly, I relate to this song lyrically because it echoes where I am in my life. Lastly, it was so refreshing because I felt this song is in a perfect tempo, and it's also one of my favorites on the album.'"

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