2001

Living Proof

Album Review

Living Proof Review by Cher Fan Club

Living Proof, released on November 6, 2001, is Cher's 24th studio album. Following the success of Believe, this album continues her foray into dance-pop and disco styles. It received mixed reviews, with some critics noting its similarity to Believe, while others appreciated the energetic and catchy melodies. Despite not achieving the same level of success as its predecessor, it still resonated with audiences globally.

Tracklist

Pick	#	Song	Writer(s)	Producer(s)
	13	“The Look”**	Mark Taylor, Paul Barry	Mark Taylor
❤️	14	“You Take It All”***	Stuart McLennan, Nicholas Bracegirdle, Brian Higgins	Chicane, Brian Higgins

*US Standard Version; **Japanese Bonus Track; ***International Standard Version

Singles

"The Music's No Good Without You" (2001)

💡 Lead single from LIVING PROOF (2001)
📍 Released internationally; in the US, "Song for the Lonely" served as the lead single instead

🥇 EUR Airplay: #1 (5w)
🥇 EUR Radio Adds: #1 (2w)
🥇 UK Radio Adds: #1 (1w)
🥈 BEL Airplay: #2
🌟 ITA: #4
🌟 CAN: #5
🌟 ROU Airplay: #5
🌟 POL Airplay: #6
🌟 POR Sales: #6
🌟 RUS Airplay: #6
🌟 UK: #8
🌟 SPA: #8
🌟 SCO: #8
🚀 UK Club: #11
🚀 FIN Airplay: #12
🚀 SWE: #13
🚀 DNK: #14
🚀 UK Airplay: #17
🚀 FIN: #18
🚀 US Dance: #19
🚀 FIN Sales: #19
🚀 NOR: #20
🚀 EUR: #21
🚀 NLD: #21
🚀 SWI: #22
🚀 AUS: #23
🚀 AUT: #24
🚀 IRE: #25
🚀 GER: #27
🚀 BEL Flanders: #28
🚀 BEL Wallonia: #31
🪁 FRA: #45

💬 Nigel Dick, director of the music video, explaining the aesthetic reference point (2001): "Cher is the brokenhearted queen of some far-off galactic nation, clinging to a rock that spins through space in a GORMENGHAST-like outer space world. She is about the only other person I know who knows anything about GORMENGHAST, and that was my model for this video."

✍🏻 "No Good"—THE NORTHERN ECHO music video review by Hayley Gyllenspetz (UK, Nov 5, 2001): "Cher tries to emulate Stardust's classic 'Music Sounds Better with You' with 'The Music's No Good Without You,' but she doesn't pull it off. Lots of vocoder vocals and hunky dancers do not make a good song. She looks amazing, though."

✍🏻 THE PRESS review of the album LIVING PROOF by Ian Sime (UK, Nov 8, 2001): "Cher's 'The Music's No Good Without You' has the same hypnotic appeal of Kylie Minogue's latest single 'Can't Get You Out of My Head,' which is fabulous."

✍🏻 MUSIC GOES ON single review by Girish Gupta (UK, Nov 10, 2001): "'The Music's No Good Without You' is a common dance record with some ill-fitting vocals slapped over the top. There's not even much of Cher in the track. It seems that Cher's time is up; simply, the music's no good. [Score: 2/5]"

✍🏻 MUSIC WEEK single review by Paul Williams (UK, Nov 10, 2001): "This hi-NRG pop stormer is made by the same team that made 'Believe' a world-conquering beast. Very much in the same vein, but without the killer hook of 'Believe,' the track suffers from overuse of the vocoder."

✍🏻 THE GUARDIAN album review by John Aizlewood (UK, Nov 16, 2001): "The album comprises thumping hi-NRG beats and lyrics that are a variation of 'I Will Survive.' It's all delivered in deep dominatrix tones, except for 'The Music's No Good Without You,' where Cher ludicrously metamorphoses into Robbie Williams."

📈 Chart note by James Masterton (UK, Nov 17, 2001): "Three years after 'Believe' and two since 'Dov'è l'amore,' the most energetic old lady of pop is back. Fans of her last album's singles will find much to please them here: 'The Music's No Good Without You' uses the same pop-dance formula albeit with even more vocoder, if that's possible. It's still an incredibly good record, though inevitably less of a revelation than her 1998 stylistic shift. This single returns Cher to the top 10 for the first time since 'Strong Enough' peaked at No. 5 in March 1999."

✍🏻 EDMONTON JOURNAL album review by Sandra Sperounes (Canada, Dec 8, 2001): "Cher tries to add to her club cred by rejigging anthems such as Stardust's 'Music Sounds Better with You' into 'The Music's No Good Without You.' Not only is the title awkward, the lyrics seem a wee bit silly for a 55-year-old singer: 'You were the freakiest thing on show/Dazzle in the crystal ball, they all loved to watch it glow.' Mindless—and forgettable—stuff."

📰 "Cher Offers LIVING PROOF"—BILLBOARD feature by Larry Flick (Jan 12, 2002): "LIVING PROOF sees the artist continuing to experiment with the studio technology that made 'Believe' an innovative, trend-setting recording. The disco-laced 'The Music's No Good Without You,' which has already scored with pop listeners and club punters as a European single, is drenched in hypnotic synth lines and computer-savvy vocal effects. 'I love the idea of combining technology with organic, traditional instruments,' Cher says."

✍🏻 SLANT MAGAZINE album review by Sal Cinquemani (Jan 21, 2002): "Cher's voice is virtually unrecognizable on the international hit 'The Music's No Good Without You,' a French techno thumper that would have made a brave lead single here in the US as well."

✍🏻 POPMATTERS album review by Tony Peregrin (Feb 25, 2002): "In 'The Music's No Good Without You,' Cher's voice is manipulated to such an extent she sounds like the embodiment of a haunted extra-terrestrial, whatever that is."

✍🏻 "CD of the Week: Cher Delivers LIVING PROOF of Artificial Life"—THE OREGONIAN album review by Scott D. Lewis (Jul 29, 2002): "When the techno bug bites too hard and cheesy electronic bleeps, zaps, and bleats run amok, the overcrowding is distracting and compromises the album's dance appeal. While the music's overtly synthetic nature can be tough to stomach in large doses, it's not nearly as troubling as what happens to Cher's voice. Suspicions run high when her usually husky roar gets forced through electronic equipment and she comes out sounding like a hypnotized robot. Robot Cher appears during 'The Music's No Good Without You,' and she misses the mark of ambient yet danceable, Euro-flavored electronica."

✍🏻 ALLMUSIC album review by Kerry L. Smith (2002): "The lingering sense of loss and longing echoing through on tracks like 'The Music's No Good Without You' suggest that maybe Cher isn't the only one left still waiting for something truly magical to happen on this record."

✍🏻 "Cher's LIVING PROOF Turns 20"—THE 97 retrospective album review by Andrew Martone (Feb 26, 2022): "The music video for 'The Music's No Good Without You' shows Cher commanding a crystal city (that also doubles as a disco), which protrudes from a space rock floating through deep space. It's out there in more ways than one and feels camp as fuck, qualifying it to be quintessential Cher. The vocal dials up the Auto-Tune even higher than 'Believe,' in an era where Auto-Tune was still mainly for pitch correction, not transformation. Coupled with the trance-inspired beat, it's an intriguing way to kick off the album and engrosses the listener."

✍🏻 CAN'T STOP THE POP retrospective single review by Craig Herman (UK, Nov 6, 2023): "In some respects, particularly at the time, 'The Music's No Good Without You' felt like it had to be LIVING PROOF's lead single. This is a big statement of a song that takes the production elements now synonymous with Cher—namely Auto-Tune—and amplifies them. The voice is still distinguishable hers, but it's now drowned in distortion and manipulation, which feels like the next logical, perhaps inevitable, step in making the 'Believe' formula sound bigger and bolder. With that came a risk that 'The Music's No Good Without You' would be seen as style over substance, which some critics did. But the effects aren't superfluous; they give the song an ethereal quality that is engrossing and hauntingly evocative; without them, it just wouldn't be the same.
✍🏻 "The production complements—and emphasises—the aura of fantastical other-worldliness painted by the lyrics. Unsurprisingly, given its title, 'The Music's No Good Without You' is drenched in melancholy. Even with her voice distorted and surrounded by whirring, zapping noises, there's a beautiful sadness in Cher's delivery—'I agonise 'til you come back/And we'll dance that close again/I miss you, boy'—that remains profoundly human. The song's emotional core creates moments of drama: before the final chorus, a breakdown—'Because my world stopped spinning/Nothing I can do/So I pray that a DJ lifts my heart'—consumes her filtered vocals until they become an electronic wail, evoking a sense of turmoiled pain no other means could recreate. Similarly, an aching mournfulness underpins the chorus—'The music's no good without you, baby/The music's no good at all/Come back to me'—with its hypnotic, shimmering synths. The real gut-punch comes in the spoken outro: 'I know you don't need me anymore/And it's no good dwelling in the past/I have to live each day/Like it was my last,' as the pulsing instrumental fades into eternal nothingness.
✍🏻 "Given 'The Music's No Good Without You' shared some of the same co-writers as 'Believe,' it's little coincidence that Nigel Dick, who directed that video, returned for this single. The concept is so tied to the song that it's difficult to discern whether the sense of unearthliness it exudes influenced—or was influenced by—the visuals being set in outer space. Cher is presented in a celestial palace, watching sombrely from her throne as dancers perform a tightly choreographed routine. The cool blue lighting perfectly mirrors the song's underlying loneliness. Throughout, Cher is handed scrolled parchment, which she signs nonchalantly. After conjuring a (very early-2000s-looking) hologram of a man, she writes one last letter, seals it in a bottle, and sends it down a chute. The final shot pans across space, where hundreds of similar bottles are floating, yet to reach their intended recipient, if indeed they ever will. It's an effective, slightly heartbreaking image of Cher unwilling to let go, her hope now spanning the vastness of space.
✍🏻 "It feels almost impossible to gauge what the commercial expectation should have been for 'The Music's No Good Without You.' A No. 8 peak might seem underwhelming given the post-BELIEVE interest and heavy promotion. Yet Cher was in uncharted territory, becoming the first female solo artist to score a top-10 hit in five different decades. It's such a rare feat that trying to place an arbitrary benchmark on what constitutes a good peak position and sales in those circumstances is essentially a moot point. Realistically, a commercial comedown from BELIEVE had to happen, regardless of quality."

"Song for the Lonely" (2002)

💡 Lead single from the 2002 American edition of LIVING PROOF
📍 Released commercially only in the US

🥇 US Dance Sales (BB): #1 (12w)
🥇 US Dance Club Play (BB): #1 (1w)
🥇 US AC Radio Adds (R&R): #1 (1w)
🥉 US Radio Adds (R&R): #3
🌟 EUR Radio Adds: #5
🌟 US Sales (BB): #7
🚀 US AC (BB): #11
🚀 POL Airplay: #11
🚀 CZE Airplay: #13
🚀 SCA Airplay: #14
🚀 US AC Airplay (R&R): #15
🚀 ITA Airplay: #16
🚀 CAN: #18
🚀 UK Club: #24
🚀 US Adult Pop Airplay (BB): #31
🚀 US Airplay (BB): #38
🚀 ROU Airplay: #39
🪁 US Billboard: #85

🏅 MUSIC WEEK's Pop Club Record of the Year in the UK (2002)
🏅 Apple's "Commercial Songs: 50 Songs That Sell" (2005)

✍🏻 MUSIC WEEK review of the album LIVING PROOF (UK, Nov 10, 2001): "'Song for the Lonely' could well be this album's 'Believe.'"

✍🏻 THE GUARDIAN album review by John Aizlewood (UK, Nov 16, 2001): "Cher's monotone voice—she seems uncomprehending of what she's singing—is ideal for earth-quaking anthems such as the splendid 'Song For the Lonely.'"

📰 BILLBOARD column by Michael Paoletta ("Beat Box," Dec 22, 2001): "The anthemic 'Song for the Lonely' is scheduled to be the first US and second international single from Cher's upcoming album LIVING PROOF. Never has a dance-pop song been so timely—and timeless."

🎬 Director Stu Maschwitz's music video concept (Dec 2001): "Cher emerges from around a corner and on 'This is a song' she's powering down the street. Dressed in jeans, she doesn't match the period yet somehow fits with the people in top hats and tailcoats. They wave and acknowledge her as she marches; some fall in step behind. Behind her, the New York skyline literally builds itself—not quite time-lapse, but before our eyes the 1890 World Building rises brick by brick, as if by magic. Then the Manhattan Life and Park Row buildings follow, carrying us to the turn of the century. These structures seem to grow out of the very power of the people on the streets below—and in fact, they do."

📰 "Cher Offers LIVING PROOF"—BILLBOARD feature by Larry Flick (Jan 12, 2002): "When Cher entered a London studio to record 'Song for the Lonely' last summer, she had no idea the tune would resonate as intensely as it does during these days of political unrest. 'At the time, we still lived in a world of innocence, and all I knew was that this was perhaps one of the best songs I've ever had the opportunity to sing,' she says of the guitar-laden dance-pop anthem. 'Since the world has changed so dramatically, the lyrics have a different weight. They're heavier, yet comforting at the same time. I've had people tell me the song helped them cope. What a humbling compliment.' Cher is not fond of her own voice, but agrees 'Song for the Lonely' shows her in top form. 'When I first started to sing that song, I felt like I was taking off on a rocketship. It just soars. Just when you don't think it can reach any higher, either musically or emotionally, it goes a little further.'
📰 "Cher dedicated 'Song for the Lonely' to 'the courageous people of New York' following the September 11 attacks. The dedication has fueled early radio and retail interest. 'Obviously, we're not exploiting that as a selling point, but it has undeniably drawn the interest,' notes John Boulos, senior VP of promotion at Warner Bros. 'We simply feel we have an incredible song by a truly legendary artist. That's a potent combination.' Still, the single's timing is likely to strike a chord with the public. 'That goes without saying,' says James Lonten, manager of a Borders Books & Music in New York. 'We play the track in-store, and it literally stops people dead in their tracks. It's an instantly affecting, highly emotional song.'
📰 New York's WKTU and WLTW started playing 'Song for the Lonely' a month before its official shipment to radio. Such early support, however, is not making Boulos overconfident. 'We're actually going out more aggressively on this single than we did with "Believe,"' he says. '"Believe" gave us a lot to live up to. People will expect a duplication of that song, or they'll argue that "Believe" was a fluke. We're prepared for that. But once people hear this song, we have no doubt they'll agree it's truly great music.' The music video for 'Song for the Lonely' is an epic, high-tech affair that pays homage to New York, spanning 75 years of the city's history. 'It's an extraordinary piece of work,' Warner Bros. president Jeff Ayeroff notes. 'We couldn't just do a simple video. After all, we're dealing with an Academy Award-winning actress. It had to be extra-special.'"

📰 "On the Record with KKLI's Kevin Callahan"—RADIO & RECORDS report (Jan 11, 2002): "The most recent thing that I like is Cher's 'Song for the Lonely.' It has tempo, is from an artist with instant name recognition, and reminds me of 'Believe.'"

📈 GAVIN chart note by Mike Kinosian (Jan 18, 2002): "It's only 2002's fifth chart week, but Cher could stay in the year's Most Added top 10 at Adult Contemporary with 52 spins for 'Song for the Lonely.'"

✍🏻 BILLBOARD single review by Chuck Taylor (Jan 19, 2002): "Anyone who thought 'Believe' was merely a stroke of good fortune on Cher's mile-long scorecard will be singing a different tune after one spin of the life-affirming 'Song for the Lonely.' This track is so good, in fact, that it's up for debate as to whether it actually tops that previous winner, the No. 1 song on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in 1999. Again, dance wizards Mark Taylor and Paul Barry are at the controls, giving the song a frenetic, knee-bobbing urgency that will wash the gray out of any winter day. Thankfully, the guys go light on the vocoder this time, allowing Cher's campy but signature exaggerated enunciation to foster a grin with the opening notes, until the chorus, one of the catchiest to ring over the airwaves since 'MmmBop,' explodes into a rhythmic tantrum. Boy, is 'Song for the Lonely' ever an elixir for whatever ails you, a joyous romp with such mass appeal that its destination at the top of the charts seems a given. Her European launch single, 'The Music's No Good Without You,' proved that the appetite for this enduring artist is ravenous, and this song, which will be launched simultaneously worldwide, is quite simply irresistible."

✍🏻 SLANT MAGAZINE album review by Sal Cinquemani (Jan 21, 2002): "While the album's vocals are ripe with Auto-Tune effects, the inspirational first single 'Song for the Lonely' wisely abandons such (otherwise welcomed) electronic shenanigans for a pure and impassioned performance."

📰 RADIO & RECORDS column by Reneé Bell ("On the Rise," Feb 1, 2002): "'Song for the Lonely' was not what I anticipated after taking my first glance at the title. OK, so I was expecting something slow and boring, a somber joint for degenerating hearts. But it's not; in fact, it's quite the opposite. In the midst of swift techno grooves and laser beams, Cher pilots the brokenhearted through a healing melody on the wings of her distinctive vocals. Her 2002 debut has lit the techno dance fuse, and Cher has once again become a hot commodity."

📰 "On the Record with WLTW's Jim Ryan"—RADIO & RECORDS report (Feb 8, 2002): "We're getting a great early reaction to Cher and 'Song for the Lonely.' Those types of rhythmic records always work great in New York. We've been playing it three or four times a day since December. I actually stole that one. I was over at Warner Bros., and the CD somehow ended up in my pants. It would have been embarrassing had I been stopped and searched: 'Are you happy to see me, or is that Cher in your pocket?'"

✍🏻 POPMATTERS album review by Tony Peregrin (Feb 25, 2002): "The album's first [US] single, 'Song for the Lonely,' is an infectious, energetic track that rides the waves of predictable synth pads and pulsating beats, while delivering a message that is achingly emotional and somber. According to BILLBOARD, when a manager of a New York City Borders Books & Music played a promo of the track in the store, New Yorkers were stopping 'dead in their tracks.' New Yorkers? Stopping for anything, let alone a Cher song? It's an interesting testament as to how powerful the message of the song truly is, especially in the afterburn of 9/11."

✍🏻 ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH album review by Kevin C. Johnson (Mar 18, 2002): "The first single from the new CD, 'Song for the Lonely,' is a failed attempt to play off 9/11 sentiments. The lyrics 'For the brokenhearted, battle scarred, I'll be by your side/This is a song for the lonely when your dreams won't come true' make it clear where she's coming from. And if that doesn't come across, she knocks listeners over the head with it in the video, with shots of New York City skyscrapers rising as instantly as the Twin Towers fell. Thanks, Cher, but we prefer our 9/11 tributes to be a lot less calculated."

✍🏻 "CD of the Week: Cher Delivers LIVING PROOF of Artificial Life"—THE OREGONIAN review by Scott D. Lewis (Jul 29, 2002): "When Cher simply sticks to the straightforward, simple dance-pop fare, as she does on her single 'Song for the Lonely,' she does fine. It sounds like the Cher we've loved, guiltily, for the past decade or so. Her voice is warm and slightly scratchy, and she follows the spacious start by shooting straight onto the dance floor and keeps the pace flowing through the end."

📺 "9/11: One Year Later"—LARRY KING LIVE: SPECIAL EDITION transcript (CNN, Sept 11, 2002): "King: '"Song for the Lonely" is very upbeat, energized, inspiring—a tune that tells us we're not alone in tough times. Can you give me a little history of it?' Cher: 'I received "Song for the Lonely" about five months before 9/11. It was my favorite song on the album, and after I recorded it, it became my favorite song. Then after 9/11, I was listening one day, and it took on a completely different meaning. When I heard the words, "when heroes fall in love or war, they live forever," before I thought of it as a love song. Afterward, it was just very right for the occasion.' King: 'And you dedicated the song—on the album jacket—to "my friend Liz." Who is that?' Cher: 'Yes, my friend Liz Rosenberg, head of publicity for Warner Brothers. She works with me and Madonna, and she's a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker. She loved this song so much—it made her cry every time she heard it. That's why I dedicated it to her.' King: 'What response do you get from audiences when you sing it?' Cher: 'It's unbelievable. It's the second song in the show [Farewell Tour], and people start doing their fingers up in the air—they come so alive. It's really the first emotional connection for us in the show.'"

✍🏻 ALLMUSIC album review by Kerry L. Smith (2002): "Cher takes a brief break from her inquisitiveness about love to dedicate the bold, heartfelt opening track, in honor of the 9/11 tragedy, 'Song for the Lonely' to 'the courageous people of New York, especially the firefighters, police, Mayor Guiliani, and Governor Pataki.'"

📰 "Top Dance Tracks of 2002"—MUSIC WEEK feature by Alan Jones (UK, Jan 18, 2003): "Cher's 'Song for the Lonely,' the number-one record of the year on the UK Pop Club chart, wasn't even accorded a commercial release. Whether, as was widely speculated at the time, Warner Music's decision not to release the track as a single was as a result of Cher not making herself available to promote it, or whether it was because radio was reluctant to play the disc, is open to speculation. The fact is Cher's previous single, 'The Music's No Good Without You,' had reached a respectable No. 8 of the UK singles chart, and her album LIVING PROOF—which had peaked at No. 46—could have done with a boost. For whatever reason—and although 'Song for the Lonely' is a club anthem to this day—no second single was ever released [in the UK]."

✍🏻 THE NEW ROLLING STONE ALBUM GUIDE retrospective review by Nathan Brackett and Christian David Hoard (2004): "After September 11, 2001, Cher released 'Song for the Lonely,' a no-holds-barred dance-music prayer believably concerned about heroes, tragedy, people with recently broken hearts, and hope. Cher's transformation into the world's all-purpose kindhearted rock-identified female icon seemed complete. It was the triumph of feathers."

📰 "Good Works"—BILLBOARD column by Michael Paoletta ("Inside Track," Sept 17, 2005): "Have you seen the Weight Watchers TV spot that uses Cher's 'Song for the Lonely'? The artist is donating all the money she receives from the ad to various charities, including the Children's CranioFacial Organization, and to Habitat for Humanity to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina."

📰 "Weight-Loss Ads Insult, Don't Inspire"—CHICAGO TRIBUNE op-ed by Kyra Kyles (Feb 2, 2006): "Take a closer look at the current TV spot for Weight Watchers featuring Cher's 'Song for the Lonely.' Cher's warbling vocals are misused against a backdrop of plus-size women who wander aimlessly around restaurants, bars, and other social settings. They watch sadly from the sidelines as the skinny people laugh, talk, date, and party. After all, only the thin are eligible for love and happiness, right? 'What really did it is for me was that song,' said Betty Manley, 24. 'The lonely? What is that about?'"

📰 "A Healthy Hit"—BILLBOARD column by Michael Paoletta ("Making the Brand," Feb 17, 2007): "The Weight Watchers spot that used Cher's 'Song for the Lonely' still resonates after nearly two years."

💬 "A Song for the Lonely"—Personal essay by music video director Stu Maschwitz (Sept 13, 2011): "In 2001, I was not yet a professional director. The project that changed that was Cher's 'Song for the Lonely.' I pitched Warner Records an idea for a Cher-guided tour through New York's proud history, with reverse-timelapses of buildings rising before our eyes. I got word the job was mine and that Cher would be calling me on my cell phone. I was terrified, but when Cher called, she disarmed me immediately. 'So what are we supposed to be talking about?' We shot in December in New York. We got special permission from the Mayor's office for live audio playback in the streets of Manhattan, a practice that had recently been outlawed. I hadn't even met her yet and was already experiencing how much the city of New York loved Cher.
💬 "One of the best pieces of advice I received was to schedule the first shot to capture Cher looking her absolute best. So we scheduled the 'black void' shot for early Thursday morning. This, along with the greenscreen stairs, we'd shoot in Brooklyn, then move to Manhattan for the rooftop shot. The black void shot was a huge success, but it almost didn't happen. The sun wasn't up yet when we learned Cher's makeup artist, the gifted Kevin Aucoin, was nowhere to be found. Much later we'd learn he was struggling with a terminal illness, but at the time all I could think was my directorial debut was about to be cancelled. Then word came that Cher would proceed—and do her own makeup. She was 55 and about to face the cameras without the aid of her star makeup artist. That's when I realized how committed she was. When I finally met her that morning, she looked stunningly beautiful.
💬 "Between takes of her running up the greenscreen stairs, Cher didn't return to her trailer or chair. She jogged in place to keep her energy up. As I explained the effects we'd add in post, I stopped myself, realizing this Academy Award-winning actress and accomplished director needed no coaching from me. 'You've done this before,' I said. 'Yeah, but you haven't,' she replied, smiling and touching my arm. I'd walked over to comfort my star and she wound up comforting me. That pattern continued. On day two, after I called to my assistant director that the extras needed to walk faster, Cher took my arm: 'Babe, if you call them "extras," they'll act like extras. But if you call them "actors," they'll give you their best.' I had a hard time concentrating after Cher called me 'babe.' If there's one human on the planet who owns that word, it's her.
💬 "We were shooting on public streets with full closures but had challenges dressing New York to the right periods. To cover that, we smoked up the streets with big, loud smoke machines. The events of 9/11 were still a fresh memory, and complaints started coming in. A cop told us we'd have to shut down, but I still needed one more shot. My AD borrowed 'first team' (that's Cher) and the script supervisor's camera, walked to the cop, and one autographed Polaroid later, we were shooting again. Again, the power of Cher. On her walk back, a guy yelled from a window: 'Yo, Cher!' Without missing a beat, she yelled back: 'Yo!' All of this in the most brutal December cold experienced in New York. Meanwhile, Cher was strutting up and down the street in skinny jeans, heels, and a thin shirt under a light jacket.
💬 "Despite the cold, the street shots went smoothly, but the rooftop shoot the previous day was another matter. It took forever to move the company from Brooklyn to midtown Manhattan, and when we got up to the roof, the weather turned on us. Our gorgeous view of the Empire State Building was blocked by dense fog that rapidly became a light but persistent rain. Still, Cher climbed onto the roof—part of it only accessible by a rickety ladder—and sang her heart out. There are shots where she's standing in heels a foot from a thirty-story drop, with only me and her bodyguard holding her feet for safety.
💬 "Like every first-time director, I planned a 360-degree dolly shot. Imagine lighting a movie star on a giant rooftop, hiding all the gear from a camera that sees everything, then asking the crew to leave—including Cher's vanities team. Guess what happened. The shot wasn't great, and without hair and makeup for 'last looks,' our star didn't look her best, so we left most of it out. Still, it was fun crouching at Cher's feet with my monitor while the Steadicam rocketed around us on that roof. I'm more proud that I survived making this video than of the job I did. But I'll never forget the experience, the numerous lessons, and the honor of being part of Cher's tribute."

💬 RETROPOP interview with Cher (UK, 2018): "I don't understand what happened with 'Song for the Lonely.' I was sure it would be a hit—when I sang it onstage, people reacted like it was the biggest hit in the world. I really think 'Song for the Lonely' might be the best song I've ever done."

✍🏻 "Cher's LIVING PROOF Turns 20"—THE 97 retrospective album review by Andrew Martone (Feb 26, 2022): "The US version of LIVING PROOF was led by the radio-ready, vocally organic dance-pop single 'Song for the Lonely'—'(This Is) A Song for the Lonely' on international pressings—which also opens the US album. LIVING PROOF centers on love, loss, reflection, resilience, and unity. 'Song for the Lonely' merges all these themes into one record, written about persevering through loneliness in any form. 'Can you hear this prayer?/Someone's there for you,' Cher pleads, trying to quell even one person's loneliness. The song took on another life as an anthemic cry of resilience, released in the immediate post-9/11 world. Even two decades later, it's hard to separate it from that event, for which Cher dedicated the music video."

"Alive Again" (2002)

📍 Released commercially only in Germany
💡 Used on German TV as one of the theme songs for the 2002 Winter Olympics

🌟 GSA Airplay: #10
🚀 CZE Airplay: #21
🚀 GER: #27
🪁 ROU Airplay: #58
🪁 SWI: #80

✍🏻 SLANT MAGAZINE review of the album LIVING PROOF by Sal Cinquemani (Jan 21, 2002): "To even further her Euro club sound, Cher aligned with Ibiza sensation Chicane for the trance anthem 'Alive Again.'"

✍🏻 AMAZON single review by Ulf Behlen (Germany, 2002): "After 'The Music's No Good Without You,' Cher now brings the second single from her successful album LIVING PROOF to market: 'Alive Again.' And anyone thinking 'but that song's been around for a while' is right—'Alive Again' was the official ARD song for the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Anyone expecting a new, different Cher will be disappointed, as she sticks to the formula that made her previous hits work: danceable beats, a very catchy melody, and her now-typical vocal effects. One could accuse her of self-copying, but in the end what counts is success—and, as is practically pre-programmed with Cher, success will come. As a bonus, the single includes the non-album track 'When You Walk Away' and a club mix of 'The Music's No Good Without You.'"

✍🏻 "Cher's LIVING PROOF Turns 20"—THE 97 retrospective album review by Andrew Martone (Feb 26, 2022): "Resilience converges with loss on the third international single, 'Alive Again.' Cher contemplates a life where she could fix the relationship problems that led her to 'a bridge I need to burn before I leave.' She sounds like a phoenix, ready to burst into flame and implode into ash, knowing she'll rise stronger than before. The biggest crime against LIVING PROOF is that 'Alive Again' didn't get the full remix and video treatment its anthemic chorus deserved. It only half-received a video, stitched together from a commercial shoot showing Cher in various wigs, only actually singing the song in the red one."

"A Different Kind of Love Song" (2002)

📍 Released only in the US

🥇 US Dance Club Play (BB): #1 (2w)
🥇 US AC Radio Adds (R&R): #1 (1w)
🥈 US Dance Sales (BB): #2
🚀 US Sales (BB): #11
🚀 ROU Airplay: #28
🚀 US AC (BB): #30

✍🏻 THE GUARDIAN review of the album LIVING PROOF by John Aizlewood (UK, Nov 16, 2001): "In the sweeping 'A Different Kind of Love Song,' Cher sheds a good 40 of her 55 years."

📰 "Cher Offers LIVING PROOF"—BILLBOARD feature by Larry Flick (Jan 12, 2002): "'A Different Kind of Love Song' is a decidedly optimistic, single-worthy jam. 'It's certainly an appropriate time to put some positive energy out into the world,' Cher says."

✍🏻 POPMATTERS album review by Tony Peregrin (Feb 25, 2002): "'A Different Kind of Love Song' is a toe-tappin', head-bobbin', radio-friendly song that functions as a perfectly acceptable piece of dance-pop, though it will need some remix work by Tracy Young or Hex Hector if it is ever to find its way to a dance floor."

✍🏻 ROLLING STONE album review by Barry Walters (Feb 28, 2002): "Tracks such as 'A Different Kind of Love Song' return to themes of tragedy, heroism, and universal brotherhood. Coming from a willfully wiggy billion-dollar diva, this noble stuff feels calculated, particularly when it's presented in such a sparkling, showbizzy package. Cher believes in love—no problem. Convincing us she's a selfless social commentator demands a much taller leap of faith."

✍🏻 BILLBOARD single review by Michael Paoletta ("The Beat Box Hot Plate," Jul 13, 2002): "Like its predecessor, 'Song for the Lonely,' 'A Different Kind of Love Song' finds the artist not rocking the 'Believe' boat too much. The chorus is soaring, the beats are foot-stomping, and the singer's vocals are gloriously affected. While the album version remains perfect, it may be too upbeat for clubland, which will certainly embrace the remixes by Rosabel, Murk, and Craig J. Hopefully, this irresistible track will jump-start the artist's stalled LIVING PROOF."

✍🏻 BILLBOARD single review by Chuck Taylor (Jul 13, 2002): "Cher's current LIVING PROOF packs quite a hitworthy wallop, and first single 'Song for the Lonely' had all the potential to joyfully tear up the pop airwaves and leave them in tatters. Unfortunately, US programmers looked the other way and missed out on a great song, and as a result, the accompanying album has drawn little attention. So, if at first you don't succeed, hit up programmers with a track that's even more irresistible. 'A Different Kind of Love Song' personifies summer, with its cloud-scraping chorus, breezy melody, and kitschy production tics, including Cher's trademark vocoder swipes. True, this number doesn't rewrite history, but it certainly possesses all the life-affirming punch and panache of the best of millennium-era Cher. The album version needs no tweaking, but remixes from Lenny B. and Johnny Rocks twist the beat a bit to fine effect. Only the Rodney Jerkins reworking casts the song in an awkward context, placing Cher's vocal alongside a monotonous jittery rhythm track that strips away its joyful highs and lows. And that, after all, is the point here."

✍🏻 "CD of the Week: Cher Delivers LIVING PROOF of Artificial Life"—THE OREGONIAN album review by Scott D. Lewis (Jul 29, 2002): "'A Different Kind of Love Song' is a bit which, musically, tries to emulate UK sound sculptors like Death in Vegas. But the song blows it with a boring beat and by repeating the title line so much that the song becomes 'different' only by being so redundant and banal."

✍🏻 "Cher's LIVING PROOF Turns 20"—THE 97 retrospective album review by Andrew Martone (Feb 26, 2022): "In 'A Different Kind of Love Song,' a driving, warm dance-pop beat fuels Cher's computer-distorted vocals as she tries to unify the world, reminding it, 'I am part of you, these are universal truths.' While other tracks focus on one person, this love song is 'dedicated to everyone.' It's a feel-good, dance-floor ready record that even found its way, hysterically, onto WILL & GRACE during Cher's second cameo on the show."

"When the Money's Gone" / "Love One Another" (2003)

📍 Released only in the US
🪄 "Love One Another" originally recorded by Amber
🪄 "When the Money's Gone" originally recorded by Bruce Roberts

🥇 US Dance Club Play: #1 (1w)
🥈 US Dance Sales: #2
🌟 US Sales: #7
🪁 ROU Airplay: #72

🏅 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording ("Love One Another," 2004)—Nominated

✍🏻 THE GUARDIAN review of the album LIVING PROOF by John Aizlewood (UK, Nov 16, 2001): "Cher is too heavy of touch to wring anything from the promising 'When the Money's Gone.'"

✍🏻 "CD of the Week: Cher Delivers LIVING PROOF of Artificial Life"—THE OREGONIAN album review by Scott D. Lewis (Jul 29, 2002): "A passable piece of elementary pop can be found in the uplifting 'Love One Another,' and on the album's final offering, the energetic, '80s synth-pop of 'When the Money's Gone.'"

✍🏻 ALLMUSIC album review by Kerry L. Smith (2002): "You can bet the club kids and long-term Cher fans will appreciate the rapid-fire drum beats on the airy track 'When the Money's Gone' that is likely to keep them dancing until dawn."

📰 BILLBOARD column by Melinda Newman ("The Beat," Jan 18, 2003): "Cher is without a record label after she and Warner UK parted ways last year. However, Warner Bros. in the US continues to work the current album LIVING PROOF and released remixes of 'When the Money's Gone' to the dance format this month. 'Cher signed with Warner UK in 1994, and the deal ran out a few months ago,' says her manager, Lindsay Scott. 'We've already had interest from Warner America and several other labels.'"

💬 THE BOSTON GLOBE interview with Dutch singer Amber by Christopher Muther (Jun 12, 2003): "Muther: 'Cher had a hit with your song "Love One Another." Did you cringe the first time you heard her sing it?' Amber: 'Not at all. I have to give Cher credit. It's not easy for a woman in this business, and she's really stuck around.'"

📰 "Genres Make for Guesswork at Grammys"—HARTFORD COURANT story by Eric R. Danton (Feb 8, 2004): "With innumerable permutations, dance music developed out of disco and is all about production: thumping beats, swirling synthesizers, and a vocalist chosen to complement the song. The catchiest tunes become club anthems, and it's the direction Cher has taken in recent years. She's up for a Grammy in the Dance Recording category for 'Love One Another.'"

✍🏻 "Cher's LIVING PROOF Turns 20"—THE 97 retrospective album review by Andrew Martone (Feb 26, 2022): "Love and unity rule 'Love One Another,' a driving dance-pop record that would be, by any other artist, unbearably schmaltzy. Cher makes it work, even delivering the line 'Try to understand, open up your heart/A fist is just a hand, it can come apart' with such conviction it sounds powerful and revelatory. She doesn't say anything earth-shattering, but she expands on the commonalities from 'A Different Kind of Love Song,' calling for unity, forgiveness, and kindness. [...] While LIVING PROOF's sequencing varies between the international and US versions, one song stays put: both close with a pulsing cover of Bruce Roberts' 'When the Money's Gone,' ending the album on a high note. After spanning the album's themes, the song second-guesses and asks, 'Will you love me when the money's gone?'"

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