"If I Could Turn Back Time" (1989)
๐ก Previously unreleased B-side: "Some Guys"
๐ฅ AUS: #1 (7w)
๐ฅ CAN AC: #1 (4w)
๐ฅ US AC (BB): #1 (1w)
๐ฅ CAN: #2
๐ฅ US Radio Adds (BB): #2
๐ฅ NZ: #3
๐ฅ US Billboard: #3
๐ฅ US Cash Box: #3
๐ NLD: #4
๐ LUX: #5
๐ UK: #6
๐ BEL Flanders: #6
๐ IRE: #6
๐ NLD: #6
๐ CAN Quebec: #8
๐ SWE: #11
๐ AUT: #14
๐ GER: #16
๐ ITA: #25
๐ CAN Digital Sales (2021): #28
๐ฟ๐ฟ AUS (ARIA): 2ร Platinum
๐ฟ๐ฟ NZ (RMNZ): 2ร Platinum
๐ฟ UK (BPI): Platinum
๐ US (RIAA): Gold
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#49 on VH1's "100 Greatest Videos of All Time" (2001)
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Robert Dimery's "10,001 Songs You Must Download Before You Die" (UK, 2013)
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#440 on Max's "Top 1,000 Greatest Songs of All Time" (Australia, 2019)
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#30 on ROLLING STONE's "30 Sexiest Music Videos of All Time" (2021)
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#386 on BILLBOARD's "500 Best Pop Songs" (2023)
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#43 on BILLBOARD's "100 Greatest LGBTQ+ Anthems of All Time" (2025)
โ๐ป CASH BOX review by Oscar Wednesday (Jul 1, 1989): "This is la Cher at her very best, a fantasy come true for those of us who dreamed of the day when the former Mrs. Bono/Allman would collaborate with songwriter/philosopher Diane Warren. (Remember 'We Built This City on Rock & Roll'?) Warren also co-produced this anthemic power ballad, which explains the sheer arena energy Cher evokes with her frighteningly sincere vocals. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that this is easily Cher's most hard-hitting number since 'Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves.'"
โ๐ป MUSIC & MEDIA review (Europe, Sept 16, 1989): "A well-produced FM sing-along that is already a hit in the US."
๐ฐ "Diane Warren Reveals Cher's Reaction to 'If I Could Turn Back Time': 'F*** You, Bitch!'"โTHE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER story by Merle Ginsberg (Jul 21, 2014): "Although it seemed like most audience members at Cher's July 7 Staples Center show on her Dressed to Kill Tour were singing along, one, Diane Warren, actually wrote many of the hits. Before 'Just Like Jesse James,' Warren heard Cher give her usual disclaimer of never really liking it. 'But she's got the wrong song!' says Warren. 'The song she really hated was "If I Could Turn Back Time," but I held her leg down during a session and said, "You have to record it!"' Cher's response, according to Warren? 'F*** you, bitch! You're hurting my leg! OK, I'll try it.' Once Cher sang it, 'She gave me this look like, "You were right."' Meanwhile, 'If you look at Cher's song history, she's not always the best judge of her own material. I mean, she hated "I Got You Babe."'
๐ฐ PEOPLE interview with songwriter Diane Warren (Jul 22, 1991): "Of course, [Warren] is willing to fight for [her songs]. When Cher initially turned down 'If I Could Turn Back Time,' Warren responded in the tradition of all great songwriters. 'I got on my knees and pleaded,' she says. 'I told her I wasn't going to leave the room until she said yes, and finally, just to get rid of me, she did.'"
โ๐ป "30 Sexiest Music Videos of All Time"โROLLING STONE (Maura Johnston, Jun 19, 2021): "The leave-little-to-the-imagination fishnet bodysuit Cher wore in her 1989 video for 'If I Could Turn Back Time' was definitely not military regulation, but that didn't stop the shape-shifting pop icon and her director Marty Callner from shooting the clip on the USS Missouri, where she was surrounded by thrilled crew members. The Navy, however, was officially less amused, and 'moral outrage' ensued once the clip saw air. 'The Navy worked closely with the producer to ensure the video would be in good taste,' Lieutenant Commander James Edward Dooley wrote in a statement that came out after the video's launch. 'However, changes during the final stages of production, including Cher's revealing costume, were unanticipated, and led to overtones that we had sought to avoid during our pre-production planning.'"
โ๐ป "The 500 Best Pop Songs"โBILLBOARD (Oct 19, 2023): "'If I Could Turn Back Time' was the peak of Cher's second (third?) career act, with her long-time rock aspirations largely realized via a Diane Warren-penned power ballad with as much firepower as the USS Missouri. The clip provided Cher's first major MTV moment, as she delighted a ship full of sailors with her performance and her infamous leather-thonged outfit. The Missouri's liaison to the shoot insisted Cher change her wardrobe, but director Marty Callner says that he called the guy's bluff: 'Finally I said, "You go tell her she can't wear it."' Plenty of '80s hits packed a key change for their final chorus, but only 'Turn Back Time' whipped one out in the middle of the chorus, a delightfully unexpected final round of fireworks."
