Cher Talks About Her Much-Anticipated ABBA Cover Album With ‘The New York Times’
It’s been known for quite a while now that Cher is releasing Dancing Queen, an album that will cover iconic ABBA songs, later this month. However, she recently sat down with the New York Times to discuss why she chose to make the album and how she works in the studio.
According to the interview, which took place as Cher snuggled up in bed, the iconic singer was inspired by, of course, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. The movie features an all-star cast singing covers of ABBA songs in Greece. Funnily enough, Cher admitted to not having seen the film in the interview even though fans of the franchise (and the interviewer) say she stole the show with her cameo and cover of ABBA’s “Fernando.”
While Cher may be a fan enough of ABBA to cover their songs, she still had some criticism for the original group, saying,
“I wasn’t a big fan of Abba in the ’70s. Benny [Andersson] took the girls and used them like instruments…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 is using this criticism to propel her own versions of the songs, which she calls much “freer.” Cher is definitely known as a woman who isn’t afraid to voice her opinions. In fact, her Twitter feed includes digs at President Trump. When asked if she was afraid of alienating his supporters, she simply said,
“Trump voters don’t like me anyway. And I don’t blame them. I say terrible, true things about him. I hate him because he’s using his job to make money. But mostly, I hate him because he’s tearing this country down, and it’s going to take generations to put it back together, if we even can.”
This all ties back in with her ABBA cover album as she’s a self-proclaimed “news junkie” and that”these are rough times.” She continues, “But when I was recording, I got swept up in the fun of it.” Her Twitter isn’t just political, she also used the platform to tweet out the track list for Dancing Queen.
SONGS
1.WATERLOO
2.GIMME,GIMME
3.DANCING?
4.CHIQUITITTA
5. NAME OF THE GAME
6.MOMMA MIA
7. ONE OF US
8.WINNER TAKES IT ALL
9.SOS
10.??— Cher (@cher) July 25, 2018
What it all boils down to, it appears, is Cher’s self-governing empire. She does what she wants when she wants to because, well, she’s Cher. She had never thought about doing a cover album before and only pitched the idea because she thought it would be “fun.”
After the release of Dancing Queen, Cher fans have a musical about her life to look forward to. The Cher Show will debut on Broadway November 1.
Previews of Cher’s covers are available on her Instagram.
