Hello! 😊👋
Welcome to a new edition of the Best Music of All Time newsletter!
Today’s music pick hits the dancefloor to celebrate the upcoming 25th anniversary of the biggest smash of a pop icon’s career.
Genre: Pop, Eurodance
Label: Warner Bros.
Release Date: October 22, 1998
Vibe: 💃
Like it or not, Cher’s Believe irrevocably changed the face of modern pop music.
The title track, which topped the charts in over 20 countries and moved upwards of 10 million units independently, is best known as the first certifiable smash shaped around autotune. The computer effect wasn’t widely available or known in 1998—so much so that its producers initially lied and said the vocals were created using a vocoder, a technology pioneered by Kraftwerk in the 1970s. Since then, autotune has become such a standard tool in the average producer’s toolbox that we take it for granted. It’s helped create instantly recognizable audio signatures for everyone from Daft Punk and Dua Lipa to Kanye West and R&B’s autotune godfather, T-Pain. Music snobs can decry its ubiquity and gripe about how it’s “not real” singing, but the fact remains that much of the 21st century’s catchiest songs wouldn’t exist without Cher.
Don’t let the title and first paragraph fool you, either: There’s more to this record than “Believe.” The lush “Dov'è l’amore” ranks among Cher’s most confident love songs, while “Runaway” and “All or Nothing” deliver the kind of synth-laden grooves that will instantly transport you back to the days of 90s club anthems. You’ve also got “Strong Enough,” an empowering feminist disco track that would make Gloria Gaynor blush. Even moments like “Takin’ Back My Heart,” a song so cheesy it risks clogging your arteries, benefit from Cher’s effortless charisma to become a solid, meat-and-potatoes serving of pop-funk. In an era where too much pop music takes itself too seriously, Believe is a fun, nostalgic antidote.
So cue this one up and get ready to sing along to that iconic warble. It is Friday, after all.
👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈