Cher choosing to release her Dancing Queen album was in short, a monumental success. Between the kitsch factor, classic tracks and Broadway-production styled tour, the era was delivered only as the force of nature known as Cher could deliver it. While a second album has been long rumored, Cher dropped the ABBA classic “Chiquitita” today, for a very worthy cause. 
While Cher already covered the single for the 2008 Dancing Queen project, the Spanish language version is brand new, with rehearsals starting for it late last year. “When everything changed in the world I wanted to help,” she said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “This seemed like the right time to complete it. I’ve long admired UNICEF, especially their work educating young women. The actress Audrey Hepburn was a hero of mine and I was so proud when she became their first Goodwill Ambassador in 1988. Now, more than ever, it’s critical that we prioritize every child around the world as if they were our own.”
In a nod to both history and philanthropy, this is not the first time that the proceeds from this single have been put to charitable use. Proceeds from Cher’s cover of the ABBA classic will be donated to UNICEF, which was also done for ABBA’s original version. The Swedish group performed the song at a UNICEF event in 1979, donating half of their royalties to the fund through 2014, after which all members of the band agreed to donate 100 percent of royalties to UNICEF. Similarly, Cher herself pledged $1 million through her own newly formed CherCares Pandemic Resource and Response Initiative.
As for crafting the video, Cher said to Billboard “UNICEF called and I told them I would donate my proceeds from the song like ABBA did with their Spanish version,” she recalls. “I shot my part of the video at home and they later sent me the final cut with children from around the world in it. It’s such a beautiful, optimistic experience. It’s great when you can see anything positive now because all of the turmoil we are in.”
The video for the “Chiquita” premieres on UNICEF’s COVID-19 Virtual Special, which streams at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on unicefwontstop.org and youtube.com/uincefusa.
Hear “Chiquita” here;
For more information and to donate to UNICEF, head over to unicefusa.org