Cher
Cher is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Goddess of Pop", she is known for her androgynous contralto voice, bold fashion and visual presentation, and multifaceted career. Her screen roles often reflect her real-life persona as a strong-willed, outspoken woman. An influential figure in popular culture, she has sustained a career spanning more than six decades through continual reinvention.
Cher rose to fame in 1965 as part of the folk rock duo Sonny & Cher, early exponents of the 1960s counterculture, and found simultaneous success as a solo artist. In the 1970s, she topped the US Billboard Hot 100 with the narrative pop songs "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", "Half-Breed" and "Dark Lady". After a period focusing on acting, she reemerged with the hair metal albums Cher, Heart of Stone and Love Hurts, scoring international number-one singles "If I Could Turn Back Time" and "The Shoop Shoop Song". At 52, she reached a commercial peak with the dance-pop album Believe, which introduced the "Cher effect"—a stylized use of Auto-Tune to distort vocals. The title track became 1999's number-one song in the US and the UK's best-selling single by a female artist.
Cher rose to fame in 1965 as part of the folk rock duo Sonny & Cher, early exponents of the 1960s counterculture, and found simultaneous success as a solo artist. In the 1970s, she topped the US Billboard Hot 100 with the narrative pop songs "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", "Half-Breed" and "Dark Lady". After a period focusing on acting, she reemerged with the hair metal albums Cher, Heart of Stone and Love Hurts, scoring international number-one singles "If I Could Turn Back Time" and "The Shoop Shoop Song". At 52, she reached a commercial peak with the dance-pop album Believe, which introduced the "Cher effect"—a stylized use of Auto-Tune to distort vocals. The title track became 1999's number-one song in the US and the UK's best-selling single by a female artist.
