Editing Cher (section)

=== 1998–2002: Fourth musical comeback and songwriting debut ===
[[File:WKTU-FM's Miracle on 34th Street show - New York - seen on December 11, 1998 Cropped.jpg|right|upright=0.9|thumb|alt=Cher performs in a glittering blue outfit with a black coat and layered necklaces, with sleek, straight dark hair.|Cher performing "[[Believe (Cher song)|Believe]]" during [[WKTU]]'s Miracle on 34th Street concert in 1998]]

Cher's 22nd studio album, ''[[Believe (Cher album)|Believe]]'' (1998), marked a shift from her previous rock sound to 1970s disco-inspired [[dance-pop]].<ref name=Danza/> It sold 11&nbsp;million copies worldwide,<ref>{{cite news |first=Melinda |last=Newman |date=October 10, 2023 |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/cher-talks-first-holiday-album-christmas-1235435413/ |title=Cher on Making Her First Holiday Record: 'I Had No Intention of Doing a Christmas Album' (Exclusive) |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=March 24, 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250320062306/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/cher-talks-first-holiday-album-christmas-1235435413/ |archive-date=March 20, 2025}}</ref> earning quadruple platinum certification in the US and gold or platinum status in 39 countries.<ref name=RIAA/>{{sfn|Bego|2001|p=283}} ''Entertainment Weekly'' described the album as "the most dramatic comeback Hollywood has seen", emphasizing its role in introducing her to a new generation of fans who "hadn't yet been born when 'I Got You Babe' ruled the charts in 1965".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/1999/04/23/hip-be-cher/ |title=Hip to be Cher |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=April 23, 1999 |access-date=December 17, 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241217010115/https://ew.com/article/1999/04/23/hip-be-cher/ |archive-date=December 17, 2024}}</ref>

The album's [[Believe (Cher song)|title track]] reached number one in 23 countries and sold over 10&nbsp;million copies globally.<ref name=BBCWorldPoll>{{cite press release |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/12_december/20/ws_worldsfavsong.shtml |title=Global music taste revealed in BBC World Service poll |date=December 20, 2002 |access-date=January 17, 2016 |publisher=[[BBC]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161217144725/http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/12_december/20/ws_worldsfavsong.shtml |archive-date=December 17, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.complex.com/music/2010/08/complex-presents-the-25-greatest-auto-tune-songs/ |title=Complex Presents: The 25 Greatest Auto-Tune Songs |first=Insanul |last=Ahmed |magazine=[[Complex (magazine)|Complex]] |date=August 5, 2010 |access-date=January 17, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131215759/http://www.complex.com/music/2010/08/complex-presents-the-25-greatest-auto-tune-songs/ |archive-date=January 31, 2016}}</ref>{{sfn|Berman|2001|p=13}} It was the best-selling single of 1998 in the UK and of 1999 in the US.<ref name=BBCWorldPoll/><ref name=Hay-2000>{{cite magazine|last=Hay|first=Carla|date=February 5, 2000|title=Backstreets, Cher, TLC Among Those Up For Record of the Year|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1A0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20|access-date=January 17, 2016}}</ref> "Believe" debuted at number one in the UK, held the position for seven weeks and became [[List of best-selling singles in the United Kingdom|the country's best-selling single by a female artist]].<ref name=believeuk>{{cite web |first=Rob |last=Copsey |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/official-charts-flashback-1998-cher-believe__20834/ |title=Official Charts Flashback 1998: Cher – 'Believe' |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=November 3, 2018 |date=October 25, 2018 |archive-date=June 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619165830/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/official-charts-flashback-1998-cher-believe__20834/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In the US, it led the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for four weeks,<ref name=BillboardRecordBreakers>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/470364/billboard-chart-record-breaking-songs-albums-longest-music-moments-ever |title=''Billboard'' Chart Record-Breakers: The Longest Music Moments Ever |date=May 9, 2014 |access-date=January 18, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120170044/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/470364/billboard-chart-record-breaking-songs-albums-longest-music-moments-ever |archive-date=January 20, 2016}}</ref> making Cher, at 52, the oldest woman to top the chart.{{efn|name=oldest2023|Cher's record as the oldest woman to top the [[Billboard Hot 100|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100]] was surpassed by [[Mariah Carey]], who was 53 when "[[All I Want for Christmas Is You]]" (1994) reached number one in December 2023, and [[Brenda Lee]], who was 78 when "[[Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree]]" (1958) topped the chart that same month. Excluding catalog songs, Cher remains the oldest female artist to top the chart.<ref>{{cite web |website=[[American Songwriter]] |url=https://americansongwriter.com/the-story-behind-chers-smash-hit-believe-which-topped-the-billboard-charts-25-years-ago/ |title=The Story Behind Cher's Smash Hit 'Believe', Which Topped the ''Billboard'' Charts 25 Years Ago |first=Matt |last=Friedlander |date=March 12, 2024 |access-date=March 29, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312223537/https://americansongwriter.com/the-story-behind-chers-smash-hit-believe-which-topped-the-billboard-charts-25-years-ago/ |archive-date=March 12, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}<ref name=oldest1999>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6A0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA118 |title=Chart Beat: Did She Or Didn't She? Cher She Did! |first=Fred |last=Bronson |date=March 13, 1999 |access-date=January 18, 2016}}</ref> ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' wrote that "coming from Cher—a confident, charismatic, and massively talented woman who'd been subjected to frequent [[Celebrity culture|public ridicule over her personal life]]—'Believe' took on an extra survivalist edge".<ref>{{cite web |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-best-songs-of-the-1990s/ |title=The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s |date=September 27, 2022 |access-date=March 29, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927130919/https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-best-songs-of-the-1990s/ |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

"Believe" won the [[Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording]] and the 1999 [[Billboard Music Award|''Billboard'' Music Award]] for [[Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1999|Hot 100 Single of the Year]].<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Chuck|last=Taylor|url=https://www.billboard.com/specials/hot100/charts/top50-no1s-90s.shtml |title=The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Songs of the Year (1990–1999)|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413152443/http://www.billboard.com/specials/hot100/charts/top50-no1s-90s.shtml|archive-date=April 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915075014/https://www.billboardmusicawards.com/winners-database/?winnerKeyword=&winnerYear=1999&winnerCategory= |url=https://www.billboardmusicawards.com/winners-database/?winnerKeyword=&winnerYear=1999&winnerCategory= |title=1999 Winners Database |url-status=live |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=March 11, 2025 |website=[[Billboard Music Awards|BillboardMusicAwards.com]]}}</ref> The album's second single, "[[Strong Enough (Cher song)|Strong Enough]]", reached number one in Hungary<ref name=europe-1999-04-24>{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1999/MM-1999-04-24.pdf#page=12 |title=Top National Sellers – Week 17/99 |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |date=April 24, 1999 |access-date=March 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519200935/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1999/MM-1999-04-24.pdf#page=12 |archive-date=May 19, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> and entered the top five in Austria,<ref name=europe-1999-04-03>{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1999/MM-1999-04-03.pdf#page=19 |title=Top National Sellers – Week 14/99 |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |date=April 3, 1999 |access-date=March 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519201711/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1999/MM-1999-04-03.pdf#page=19 |archive-date=May 19, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> Belgium,<ref name=europe-1999-04-24/> France,<ref name=europe-1999-04-24/> Germany,<ref name=europe-1999-03-27>{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1999/MM-1999-03-27.pdf#page=8 |title=Top National Sellers – Week 13/99 |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |date=March 27, 1999 |access-date=March 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519201052/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1999/MM-1999-03-27.pdf#page=8 |archive-date=May 19, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> Iceland,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://timarit.is/page/2982863#page/n9/mode/2up |title=Íslenski listinn – NR. 318 – vikuna 9.4–16.4. 1999 |newspaper=[[DV (newspaper)|Dagblaðið Vísir]] |language=is |page=10 |date=April 9, 1999 |access-date=March 24, 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604162706/https://timarit.is/page/2982863#page/n9/mode/2up |archive-date=June 4, 2020}}</ref> Poland,<ref name=europe-1999-05-01>{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1999/MM-1999-05-01.pdf#page=23 |title=Major Market Airplay – Week 18/99 |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |date=May 1, 1999 |access-date=March 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519201837/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1999/MM-1999-05-01.pdf#page=23 |archive-date=May 19, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> Scotland,<ref name=UKChartHistory/> Spain,<ref name=europe-1999-03-27/> Switzerland<ref name=europe-1999-04-03/> and the UK.<ref name=UKChartHistory/> In 1999, Cher starred in [[Franco Zeffirelli]]'s critically acclaimed [[war film]] ''[[Tea with Mussolini]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tea_with_mussolini |title=''Tea with Mussolini'' (1999) |date=April 2, 1999 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=August 20, 2020 |archive-date=August 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820105713/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tea_with_mussolini |url-status=live}}</ref> playing a flamboyant American socialite unwelcome among Englishwomen ([[Judi Dench]], [[Maggie Smith]]) in Italy.{{sfn|Bego|2001|p=287}} [[Lisa Schwarzbaum]] of ''Entertainment Weekly'' described her performance as "always likable, always soft-focus, always strange",<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Lisa |last=Schwarzbaum |author-link=Lisa Schwarzbaum |url=https://ew.com/article/1999/05/21/tea-mussolini-2/ |title=Tea With Mussolini |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=May 21, 1999 |access-date=February 15, 2025 |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201083125/https://ew.com/article/1999/05/21/tea-mussolini-2/ |url-status=live}}</ref> while ''[[Film Comment]]'' wrote that she proved "how sorely she's been missed from movie screens".{{sfn|Berman|2001|pp=86–87}}

[[File:22-57-41 Cher Concert in Ahoy, Rotterdam op 27 oktober 1999 van Gerben Bosma 07 (cropped).jpg|left|upright|thumb|alt=Cher performs on stage in a black bodysuit with sheer panels, jagged embellishments, a short black bob, and a beaded hip scarf. A large screen behind her shows a close-up as she sings.|Cher performing on the [[Do You Believe? Tour]] in 1999]]

On January 31, 1999, Cher sang "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]", the US [[national anthem]], at the [[Super Bowl XXXIII]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Deborah|last=Wilker|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1999-01-28/sports/9901280029_1_cher-anthem-super-bowl-xxxiii|title=A Reason To Believe|newspaper=[[Sun-Sentinel]]|date=January 28, 1999|access-date=January 17, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201004305/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1999-01-28/sports/9901280029_1_cher-anthem-super-bowl-xxxiii|archive-date=February 1, 2016}}</ref> She co-headlined the TV special ''[[Divas Live '99|VH1 Divas Live '99]]'', which drew 19.4&nbsp;million viewers and became the highest-rated program in VH1's history at the time.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Mayfield|first=Geoff|title=Between the Bullets|date=May 8, 1999|access-date=February 6, 2016|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA84}}</ref>{{sfn|Bego|2001|p=286}} Her [[Do You Believe? (tour)|Do You Believe? Tour]] (1999–2000) sold out in every American city it visited,{{sfn|Bego|2001|p=290}} drawing a global audience of over 1.5&nbsp;million.<ref name=BelieveIt>{{cite magazine|date=January 22, 2000|title=Believe it|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sA0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PP2|access-date=January 17, 2016}}</ref> The tour's TV special, ''[[Live in Concert (video)|Cher: Live in Concert – From the MGM Grand in Las Vegas]]'' (1999), became HBO's top-rated original program of 1998–1999.{{sfn|Bego|2001|p=291}}<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Cable World|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-78333850.html |date=September 3, 2001|access-date=February 6, 2016|title=Sunday's Madonna's Night|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220165843/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-78333850.html |archive-date=February 20, 2016}}</ref> ''Billboard'' named Cher the top dance artist of 1999.<ref name=Hay-2000/> Capitalizing on her success, former label Geffen released the US-only compilation ''[[If I Could Turn Back Time: Cher's Greatest Hits]]'' (1999),<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[CMJ|CMJ New Music Report]]|first=Kelso|last=Jacks|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVwOt5tiDncC&pg=PA9|title=Record News|date=April 12, 1999|access-date=February 6, 2016}}</ref> certified gold by the RIAA.<ref name=RIAA/> Meanwhile, Cher oversaw ''[[The Greatest Hits (Cher album)|The Greatest Hits]]'' (1999) for international markets, reaching number one on the [[European Top 100 Albums]] chart.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1999/BB-1999-12-04.pdf#page=131 |title=Hits of the World |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=December 4, 1999 |access-date=March 9, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519152305/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1999/BB-1999-12-04.pdf#page=131 |archive-date=May 19, 2024}}</ref>

In 2000, Cher released ''[[Not Commercial]]'', an album she wrote after attending a songwriting conference in 1994. She chose the title after her label's chief dismissed the project as "nice, but not commercial" and rejected it for its [[profanity|explicit language]] and unsparing themes, including the [[suicide of Kurt Cobain]], homelessness, [[Veteran#Health effects of military service and treatment for veterans|veteran neglect]] and personal trauma. She sold it independently on her website, an unusual move for an artist under contract with a major label. The song "Sisters of Mercy", which describes the nuns who prevented her mother from retrieving her from a Catholic orphanage as "daughters of hell", drew condemnation from the Catholic Church.<ref>{{cite news|first=Deborah|last=Wilker|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2000/11/14/ive-got-e-babe/|title=I've Got E, Babe|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=November 14, 2000|access-date=January 17, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105025506/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-11-14/features/0011130180_1_cher-songwriting-record|archive-date=November 5, 2012}}</ref>

Cher's dance-focused follow-up to ''Believe'',<ref name=Flick-2002>{{cite magazine|last=Flick|first=Larry|date=January 12, 2002|title=Warner's Cher Offers ''Living Proof''|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Q8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA100|access-date=January 17, 2016}}</ref> ''[[Living Proof (Cher album)|Living Proof]]'' (2001), reached number one in Greece<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |date=January 12, 2002 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/00s/2002/MM-2002-01-12.pdf#page=11 |title=Top National Sellers – Week 2–3/02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250115180427/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/00s/2002/MM-2002-01-12.pdf#page=11 |archive-date=January 15, 2025 |access-date=March 9, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> and number nine in the US,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/76521/chart-beat-bonus |title=Chart Beat Bonus |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=March 8, 2002 |access-date=January 17, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201011721/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/76521/chart-beat-bonus |archive-date=February 1, 2016}}</ref> where it was certified gold.<ref name=RIAA/> It features the UK top-ten single "[[The Music's No Good Without You]]",<ref name=UKChartHistory/> the Grammy-nominated "[[Love One Another#Cher version|Love One Another]]"<ref name=grammynoms>{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/cher/10931 |title=Cher – Artist |publisher=[[National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=April 2, 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929222306/https://www.grammy.com/artists/cher/10931 |archive-date=September 29, 2022}}</ref> and "[[Song for the Lonely]]", a tribute to "the courageous people of New York" after the [[September 11 attacks]].<ref name=Flick-2002/> Named ''Billboard''{{'}}s top dance artist of 2002, Cher received the Artist Achievement Award from [[Steven Tyler]] at the [[2002 Billboard Music Awards|2002 ''Billboard'' Music Awards]] for having "helped redefine popular music with massive success on the ''Billboard'' charts".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/73191/2002-billboard-music-awards|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=December 9, 2002|access-date=January 17, 2016|title=2002 ''Billboard'' Music Awards|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520141406/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/73191/2002-billboard-music-awards|archive-date=May 20, 2015}}</ref><ref name=Waddell-2002>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Og0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|title=Award Is ''Living Proof'' Of Success|date=December 7, 2002|access-date=January 17, 2016|first=Ray|last=Waddell}}</ref> That year, her wealth was estimated at $600&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/5313046.stm |title=In pictures: Cher empties wardrobe |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=September 4, 2006 |access-date=January 17, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131222043/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/5313046.stm |archive-date=January 31, 2016}}</ref>