These are busy times for Academy/Grammy/Emmy/Golden Globe Award winner Cher as she preps for the release of her upcoming album, Dancing Queen, on September 28.
The collection of ABBA cover songs was inspired by her recent return to the silver screen in the ABBA jukebox musical sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
Taking part in an ABBA-themed movie and then a whole album of cover songs, you’d think the 72-year-old icon would be a huge fan of the Swedish super-group that dominated the pop music scene in the late 70s/early 80s.
But according to an insightful new interview with The New York Times, that’s not the case.
“I wasn’t a big fan of Abba in the ’70s,” says the singer. “Benny [Andersson] took the girls and used them like instruments. Sonny used to do that to me. He would carve out a place for them in the songs, and they would fit in that little place. But he didn’t give them space to sing the way they might have wanted to.”
Cher goes on to say her approach to recording the ABBA songs was “a lot freer.”
“I got swept up in the fun of it,” she adds. “The songs are silly and crazy, and for the album, I chose the ones that are saddest and the most fun.”
In fact, speaking of ‘silly and crazy,’ her return to acting with the Mamma Mia film was kind of crazy as her former agent, Ronnie Meyer, simply rang her up and told her, “You’re doing Mamma Mia.”
And that, apparently, was that.
While Cher stole the movie (in this writer’s opinion), she originally thought it would be a small part and “no one will even know I’m there.”
According to the NY Times, she hasn’t even seen the film yet.
But her recollection is, “I don’t remember doing anything memorable, except singing “‘Fernando.’”
Back to the topic of singing, the "Goddess of Pop" shares she's never been a huge Cher music fan herself, admitting, "I like doing it more than hearing it."
That's a good thing considering her ongoing concert residency in Las Vegas at Park Theater keeps her singing live on a regular basis.
And if all that wasn't enough, the multi-hyphenate is advising the creative team working on The Cher Show, a Broadway musical of her life.
The musical, which begins previews November 1, features three actresses playing the star at different stages of her life.
Cher likes the approach saying her lengthy career means “I really have been distinct personalities.”
And aren’t we the better for it!
Check out Cher’s latest advance listen from Dancing Queen, her take on “SOS.”
We are surprised that back in
We are surprised that back in the day, a pop music icon did not like the music of other pop icons? This is show business and when you’re in the heat of things, you may not appreciate your rivals as much as you do in retrospect.