Cher and the Legacy of Believe After 25 Years

By the AD HOC NEWS Music Desk » Anniversary - the editorial team covers albums, tours, charts and scene developments. Published: June 20, 2026 · Last reviewed: June 20, 2026 at 10:33 am

Cher has been a fixture in pop and rock culture for more than 60 years, from 1960s duo hits with Sonny Bono to solo stadium anthems. Around the 25th anniversary of her album Believe, many listeners are rediscovering how decisively that record reshaped late-1990s dance-pop and vocal production.

What the charts once showed

When Cher released Believe in October 1998 in Europe and early 1999 in the United States, the title track rapidly became a global hit single. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1999 and stayed there for four weeks, making her, at 52, the oldest woman to top the chart at that time. It also led the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and reached No. 1 in countries including the United Kingdom, where it became one of the best-selling singles of all time.

The accompanying album Believe reached the top ten on the Billboard 200 and ultimately sold more than 11 million copies worldwide according to industry estimates. In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America certified the album quadruple platinum, recognizing more than 4 million units shipped. These numbers underlined a commercial resurgence for Cher three decades into her recording career.

How Believe changed careers

The single Believe marked a stylistic turn that aligned Cher with late-1990s European dance-pop while leveraging her distinctive contralto voice. Its hooky melody, four-on-the-floor beat and conspicuous use of pitch-correction effects made the track instantly recognizable, while the lyric about resilience after heartbreak resonated across generations.

Technically, producers Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling used pitch-correction software (often described as Auto-Tune) in an exaggerated, audible way, creating what would later be widely copied as the so-called "Cher effect" on vocals. This sound influenced pop, R&B and hip-hop productions throughout the 2000s, with artists from T-Pain to Kanye West embracing similar techniques.

The sound and work behind Believe

Believe sits at the intersection of dance-pop, Eurodance and adult contemporary, pairing club-oriented production with ballads that highlight Cher's lower vocal register. The album features contributions from producers including Mark Taylor, Brian Rawling and Todd Terry, who were active in European dance music at the time.

Beyond the title track, songs like Strong Enough and All or Nothing also performed on dance charts and became staples in her live setlists. The record followed earlier phases in her career that ranged from folk-pop with Sonny & Cher to rock-oriented releases in the 1970s and glossy pop-rock in the late 1980s with hits such as If I Could Turn Back Time.

Where Cher stands now

Cher currently has no widely publicized new studio album release date or large-scale tour officially announced, but her catalog, led by Believe, continues to be streamed globally and remains central to her standing as a pop and rock icon.

This article was created with AI assistance and editorially reviewed. All information without guarantee; dates, chart positions and certifications may change at short notice.