Believe (Cher song)
| "Believe" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"Believe" is the lead single, and a hit song, from American singer Cher's studio album Believe. The song, released and recorded in 1998, peaked at #1 in 23 countries worldwide. On the week ending March 13, 1999, it reached #1 in the Billboard Hot 100, making Cher the oldest female artist (at the age of 52) to perform this feat. It also was ranked as the number one song of 1999 by Billboard, and became the biggest single in her entire career. In the UK, "Believe" spent seven weeks at #1 in the UK singles chart, and became the biggest-selling single by a female solo artist in history.
An interesting note about the recording of the song revolved around the highly-recognizable vocoder auto-tune effect utilized in the verses and chorus. Producer Mark Taylor added the effect to Cher's vocal simply as a lark; he had recently purchased the 'Digitech Talker', and was testing it out. When Cher heard the results, she demanded that the effect remain in the song, and her original vocal be erased, much to the chagrin of her record company, who wanted it removed; upon their suggestion, Cher's response to the record label was 'over my dead body!' (source: Fred Bronson's Billboard Book Of Number 1 Hits, ISBN 0-8230-7677-6).
Charts
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USA | 1 |
| USA (Hot Dance/Club Play) | 1 |
| USA (Maxi Single Sales) | 1 |
| UK | 1 |
| Germany | 1 |
| Sweden | 1 |
| France | 1 |
| Netherlands | 1 |
| Norway | 1 |
| Ireland | 1 |
| Italy | 1 |
| Australia | 1 |
| Europe | 1 |
| Croatia | 1 |
| Switzerland | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| Spain | 1 |
| Denmark | 1 |
| United World | 1 |
| Brazil | 1 |
| Poland | 1 |
| Latvia | 1 |
| Austria | 2 |
| Canada | 2 |
| USA (Adult Contemporary) | 3 |
| Japan | 4 |
| Finland | 6 |
| Argentina | 9 |
| Belgium | 11 |
| world wide sales | 12,000,000 |
Notes
- 23 weeks on #1 US HOT DANCE CHARTS
- 22 weeks on #1 EUROPE HOT DANCE CHARTS
- Most played song in radio: 1,500,000,000 times
Track listing
Europe CD 1 Released October 19, 1998
- "Believe" (Album Version)
- "Believe" (Almighty Definitive Mix)
- "Believe" (Xenomania Mix)
Europe CD 2 Released October 19, 1998
- "Believe" (Album Version)
- "Believe" (Grips Heartbroken Mix)
- "Believe" (Club 69 Future Mix)
U.S. Maxi Single Released November 17, 1998
- "Believe" (Album Version)
- "Believe" (Phat 'N' Phunky Club Mix)
- "Believe" (Club 69 Phunk Club Mix)
- "Believe" (Almighty Definitive Mix)
- "Believe" (Xenomania Mad Tim And The Mekon Club Mix)
- "Believe" (Club 69 Future Anthem Mix)
- "Believe" (Grips Heartbroken Mix)
- "Believe" (Club 69 Future Anthem Dub)
- "Believe" (Club 69 Phunk Dub)
- "Believe" (Phat 'N' Phunky 'After Luv' Dub)
U.S. Single Released November 17, 1998
- "Believe" (Album Version)
- "Believe" (Xenomania Mix)