10 Songs, 40 Minutes

ABBA - (Dancing Queen live version from ABBA In Concert Wembley Arena London 1979).

Dancing Queen Audio Download

EDITORS’ NOTES

It makes so much sense, it’s a wonder this took so long. An album of ABBA covers by camp queen Cher is a match made in pop-music heaven. The ostensible inspiration for the set was her cameo in Mamma Mia 2, where she delivered a faithful rendition of the timeless ballad “Fernando.” But who needs a reason to justify 10 new takes on ABBA’s biggest hits? From the piano vamp of “Dancing Queen” that opens the album, it’s clear nobody is trying to reinvent the wheel here. These tracks, FM radio staples for 40-plus years already, are given a spit shine and updated production values, but they’re otherwise straightforward takes that make clear the producers’ (and the performer’s) reverence for the source material. Only at the end does the formula change: “One of Us,” a heartbreaking standout from the Swedish group’s final album, The Visitors, is stripped down to strings and piano, leaving only Cher’s voice to channel all of the emotion from the devastating lyrics.

EDITORS’ NOTES

It makes so much sense, it’s a wonder this took so long. An album of ABBA covers by camp queen Cher is a match made in pop-music heaven. The ostensible inspiration for the set was her cameo in Mamma Mia 2, where she delivered a faithful rendition of the timeless ballad “Fernando.” But who needs a reason to justify 10 new takes on ABBA’s biggest hits? From the piano vamp of “Dancing Queen” that opens the album, it’s clear nobody is trying to reinvent the wheel here. These tracks, FM radio staples for 40-plus years already, are given a spit shine and updated production values, but they’re otherwise straightforward takes that make clear the producers’ (and the performer’s) reverence for the source material. Only at the end does the formula change: “One of Us,” a heartbreaking standout from the Swedish group’s final album, The Visitors, is stripped down to strings and piano, leaving only Cher’s voice to channel all of the emotion from the devastating lyrics.

• 10 Songs, 40 Minutes
• Released: Sep 28, 2018
• ℗ 2018 Warner Records Inc.

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Dancing Queen is the twenty-sixth studio album by American singer and actress Cher, released by Warner Bros. Records on September 28, 2018. It is Cher's first album in five years, following Closer to the Truth (2013). The album contains cover versions of songs recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA, with the title referencing their 1976 song 'Dancing Queen'. The album follows Cher's appearance in the 2018 musical film Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, based on the music of ABBA.^[2][3]

Dancing Queen Download Song

The album received acclaim from music critics, and was a success commercially, debuting at number three on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 153,000 copies, becoming Cher's highest debut sales week for an album in the United States. Dancing Queen also debuted at number one on the US Top Album Sales chart with 150,000 pure copies, making it Cher's first number one album on that chart. The album also peaked within the top ten of charts in another 18 countries, with nine of those being top five entries. As of March 2019, Dancing Queen was certified gold by Music Canada and silver by BPI.

To promote the album, Cher embarked on a concert tour, titled Here We Go Again Tour which began on September 21, 2018. It also marks her first worldwide tour since the Living Proof: The Farewell Tour.

• 8Charts

Background[edit]

After previously appearing in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, for which she recorded 'Fernando' and 'Super Trouper', Cher was inspired to do an ABBA cover album.

While recording, Cher hinted on her Twitter account that she might be releasing an ABBA cover album. On July 16, 2018, it was officially revealed in an interview with The Today Show that the album would consist of ABBA covers. She further stated:

'After filming Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, I was reminded again of what great and timeless songs they wrote and started thinking, 'Why not do an album of their music?' The songs were harder to sing than I imagined but I'm so happy with how the music came out. I'm really excited for people to hear it. It's a perfect time.' —Cher

Cher also said that '[she has] always liked ABBA and saw the original Mamma Mia! musical on Broadway three times'.

In addition to that, Cher was asked about what people can expect from the album. She replied with saying, 'It's not what you think of when you think 'ABBA', because [she] did it in a different way.'

On August 9, 2018, it was announced that the album would be released on September 28, 2018.^[4]

Singles and promotion[edit]

On August 8, 2018, Cher released a teaser of the album's first single 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)' on her Twitter account.^[5] The song was digitally released on the following day.^[6] People who pre-ordered the album on iTunes immediately received a digital copy of the single. The song peaked at number 4 on the Hot Dance Club Songschart. An extended version of 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)' was released on September 14, 2018.^[7]

The second single, 'SOS' was digitally released on August 23, 2018.^[8] To promote the song and the album, Cher performed it on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on September 7, 2018.^[9] A music video for the song was released on September 18, 2018.^[10] To promote it even further, SOS is sung during Cher's Here We Go Again Tour, along with Waterloo and Fernando. These three songs are all tracks from Dancing Queen.

The third single, 'One of Us', was digitally released on September 21, 2018, at each country's individual midnight time. On the same day, an animated video of a blue vinyl's B-side playing along with the song was released on Cher's YouTube.^[11]

On September 18, 2019 Cher performed Waterloo at the season 14 finale of America's Got Talent, to promote the album and her Here We Go Again Tour.^[12]

Critical reception[edit]

Dancing Queen was met, mostly, with acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 79 based on ten reviews, indicating 'generally favorable reviews'.^[14]Gay Star News gave the album a positive review, saying: 'If she'd approached this collection of ABBA re-recordings with the seriousness of, say, George Michael on the excellent Songs from the Last Century, she'd have been in big trouble. Instead, Dancing Queen is about fun, entertainment, dizzy abandonment. She knows how to please a crowd, while also acknowledging the desires of her die-hard fans.'^[17] Marc Snetiker from Entertainment Weekly gave the album a favourable review, calling it Cher's 'most significant release since 1998’s Believe' and saying that 'the album ender, 'One of Us,' is frankly one of Cher’s best recordings in years.'^[16]

Nick Levine from Gay Times praised Cher's vocals, calling them 'glorious [...] – still rich and wonderfully androgynous-sounding' and pointing out that they 'drive each song from beginning to end.'^[18]Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos commented that 'the 72-year-old makes ABBA songs not only sound like they should’ve been written for her in the first place but like they firmly belong in 2018'.^[21]At Idolator, Mike Wass felt that 'every track exudes the glitter, fun and nostalgia of a bygone era' and that 'Dancing Queen, while disappointingly brief, covers all bases from dreamy disco moments and emotional ballads.'^[24]

In a positive review for The Guardian, it was noted that 'occasionally Cher uses her trademark Auto-Tune like a crutch [...] but mostly it acts as a kind of interstellar portal that elevates Abba from the dancefloor to the cosmos.'^[22]In a review for The Times, Will Hodgkinson was less positive; he stated that the album delivered 'exactly the results you would expect' and that 'There's nothing to dislike, but also nothing to recommend beyond this being a fun, tacky choice for the Christmas party.'^[25]

Rolling Stone placed Dancing Queen on 5th place of all pop albums released in 2018 as well as placing Cher’s version of 'The Name of the Game' as the 22nd best song of the year.^[26][27] The album’s music video of 'SOS' was ranked as the 18th best music video of 2018 by Paper.^[28]

Year-end lists

Commercial performance[edit]

In the US the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 153,000 album-equivalent units, becoming Cher's highest debut sales for an album in the United States. It also ties the record for Cher's highest-charting solo album on that chart, which she first reached when her album Closer to the Truth also debuted and peaked at number three. Dancing Queen also debuted at number one on the US Top Album Sales chart with 150,000 pure copies, making it the biggest debut sales for a pop album by a female in the United States in 2018 and marking Cher's first number one album on that chart.^[30]Dancing Queen ranked at number 193 on the Billboard 200 year end chart for 2018.

The album also debuted at number two in Canada, Cher's highest peak for a studio album there since 1998's Believe. Dancing Queen went on to be certified gold by Music Canada for sales of over 40,000 copies.

In the UK the album debuted at number two as well, giving Cher her highest-charting studio album there since 1992's Greatest Hits: 1965–1992, with 22,677 units.^[31][32] The album was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling over 60,000 copies and landed at number 91 on the year end chart for 2018.In Ireland, the album gave Cher her first top ten album in 20 years when it debuted at number ten.^[33]

In Australia the album debuted at number two, making it Cher's highest-charting studio album there since Heart of Stone topped the chart in 1989.^[34]

The album also reached the top five in Hungary, peaking at number five, as well as placing 61st in the country's year-end chart.^[35]

Here We Go Again Tour[edit]

A world tour, titled the Here We Go Again Tour, in support of Dancing Queen, began on September 21, 2018, in Auckland, New Zealand. It was officially announced on May 7, 2018.^[36][37]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Stig Anderson, except where noted. Mark Taylor produced all songs; except 'Fernando' produced by Andersson with vocal production by Taylor.^[38].

Personnel[edit]

Credits for Dancing Queen adapted from AllMusic.^[1]

• Benny Andersson – executive producer, keyboards, mixing, piano, producer (all on 'Fernando')
• Göran Arnberg – orchestration, transcription
• Chris Barrett – assistant engineer
• Rob Barron – piano
• Mat Bartram – engineer
• Thomas Bowes – orchestra leader
• Matt Brind – string arrangements, string conductor
• Andy Caine – background vocals
• Cher – vocals, concept, executive producer
• Judy Craymer – executive producer
• Björn Engelmann – mastering
• Mats Englund – bass on 'Fernando'
• Linn Fijal – assistant engineer
• Matt Furmidge – mixing
• Isobel Griffiths – orchestra contractor
• Jeri Heiden – art direction, design
• Lasse Jonsson – guitar
• Martin Koch – conductor, orchestration
• Per Lindvall – drums on 'Fernando'
• Bernard Löhr – engineer, mixing
• London Session Orchestra – orchestration
• Stephen Marcussen – mastering
• Paul Meehan – engineer, keyboards, programming
• Simon Meredith – saxophone
• Machado Cicala Morassut – photography
• Rocco Palladino – bass
• Adam Phillips – guitar
• Hayley Sanderson – background vocals
• Ash Soan – drums
• Nick Steinhardt – art direction, design
• Jörgen Stenberg – percussion
• Mark Taylor – engineer, keyboards, producer, programming, vocal producer
• Björn Ulvaeus – executive producer on 'Fernando'
• Lasse Wellander – guitar on 'Fernando'

Charts[edit]

Certifications and sales[edit]

References[edit]

Abba Dancing Queen Videos

1. ^ ^ab'Dancing Queen - Cher'.
2. ^Tornow, Sam (August 9, 2018). 'Cher Announces 'Dancing Queen' Album Release Date'. Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
3. ^'Cher to Release New Album, 'Dancing Queen,' Next Month'. Variety. August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
4. ^'Cher to Release ABBA Cover Album in September'. E! Online. August 9, 2018.
5. ^'Cher just released a teaser of her ABBA album, and it's amazing'.
6. ^'Cher Announces 'Dancing Queen' Album Release Date'. Billboard.
7. ^'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) [Extended Mix], Cher – Télécharger et écouter l'album'. Qobuz.com. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
8. ^'Hear Cher Belt Out Emotional Version of ABBA's 'SOS''. Rolling Stone.
9. ^'Cher Performs the ABBA Classic 'SOS''. ellentube.com.
10. ^'WATCH: Cher's new video for SOS features Betty Who, Rumer Willis and more lip-syncing the hit ABBA song'. channel24.co.za.
11. ^'Cher Gets the Tears Flowing With Sentimental Cover of ABBA's 'One of Us:' Listen'. Billboard.
12. ^Avery Thompson. 'Cher, 73, Rocks Plunging Purple Jumpsuit & Performs 'Waterloo' On 'AGT' Finale'.
13. ^'Dancing Queen by Cher reviews'. AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
14. ^ ^ab'Reviews for Dancing Queen by Cher'. Metacritic. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
15. ^Scott, Darren (September 28, 2018). 'Cher's 'dancing Queen': A Track-by-track Review'. attitude. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
16. ^ ^abSnetiker, Marc (September 28, 2018). 'Cher sends ABBA into disco bliss on Dancing Queen'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
17. ^ ^ab'REVIEW: Cher's new album Dancing Queen is here to save 2018'. Gay Star News. September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
18. ^ ^abLevine, Nick (September 26, 2018). 'Cher's new album Dancing Queen is an instant gay classic – review'. Gay Times. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
19. ^Gamboa, Glenn (September 28, 2018). 'Dancing Queen review: Cher covers ABBA songs and makes them her own'. Newsday. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
20. ^Levine, Nick (September 25, 2018). 'Cher – 'Dancing Queen' review'. NME. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
21. ^ ^abSpanos, Brittany (September 28, 2018). 'Review: Cher Lovingly Updates ABBA's Hits on Dancing Queen'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
22. ^ ^abSnapes, Laura (September 28, 2018). 'Cher: Dancing Queen review – ingenious Abba-dabbling'. The Guardian. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
23. ^McCormick, Neil (September 28, 2018). 'Cher, Dancing Queen, review: a guided missile of pure atomic pop'. The Telegraph. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
24. ^ ^abWass, Mike (September 28, 2018). 'Album review: Cher's Dancing Queen'. Idolator. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
25. ^Hodgkinson, Will (September 28, 2018). 'Pop review: Cher: Dancing Queen'. The Times. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
26. ^Spanos, Brittany; Sheffield, Rob (December 14, 2018). '20 Best Pop Albums of 2018'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
27. ^Sheffielf, Rob (December 20, 2018). 'Rob Sheffield's Top 25 Songs of 2018'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
28. ^Montero, Roytel (December 17, 2018). 'PAPER's Top 20 Music Videos of 2018'. Paper. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
29. ^Sheffield, Brittany Spanos,Rob; Sheffield, Rob (December 14, 2018). '20 Best Pop Albums of 2018'. rollingstone.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
30. ^Caulfield, Keith (October 7, 2018). 'Cher Ties Solo-Career-Best Rank on Billboard 200 as 'Dancing Queen' Debuts at No. 3'. Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
31. ^'Charts analysis: Rod Stewart rules albums chart - Analysis - Music Week'. www.musicweek.com.
32. ^'Rod Stewart Scores Ninth Solo No. 1 Album in U.K With 'Blood Red Roses''.
33. ^White, Jack (October 5, 2018). 'Kodaline collect their third Number 1 on the Official Irish Albums Chart'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
34. ^'Australian Charts : John Butler Trio 'Home' Debuts At No 1'. Noise11.
35. ^'Top Albums - based on sales in 2018'. MAHASZ. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
36. ^'Cher coming to NZ for one-off concert in September'. Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
37. ^'Cher is bringing her arena tour to Sydney'. Timeout.com. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
38. ^'Dancing Queen, Cher – Télécharger et écouter l'album'. Qobuz.com.
39. ^'Australiancharts.com – Cher – Dancing Queen'. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
40. ^'Austriancharts.at – Cher – Dancing Queen' (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
41. ^'Ultratop.be – Cher – Dancing Queen' (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
42. ^'Ultratop.be – Cher – Dancing Queen' (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
43. ^'Cher Chart History (Canadian Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
44. ^'Lista prodaje 42. tjedan 2018' (in Croatian). HDU. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
45. ^'Czech Albums – Top 100'. ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201840 on the field besides the word 'Zobrazit', and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
46. ^'VINYL TOP-40'. Hitlisten. December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
47. ^'Dutchcharts.nl – Cher – Dancing Queen' (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
48. ^'Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums (Week 40, 2018)'. Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
49. ^'Offiziellecharts.de – Cher – Dancing Queen' (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
50. ^'Greekcharts.com – Cher – Dancing Queen'. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
51. ^'Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2018. 40. hét' (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
52. ^'Irish-charts.com – Discography Cher'. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
53. ^'Italiancharts.com – Cher – Dancing Queen'. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
54. ^'大碟 101-300'. Oricon. Retrieved October 17, 2018.Note: Scroll all the way down until you see 大碟 101-300 , that's for albums with them denoted in blue colour that are in positions 101 - 300. 单曲 101-200 is for singles positions. CDJapan wrote Cher's & Dancing Queen in Japanese as: シェール - ダンシング・クイーン . So that way you should find it. Click the blue screenshot and then keep sliding to 15/15 where you find Cher's position and sales.
55. ^'Charts.org.nz – Cher – Dancing Queen'. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
56. ^'Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart'. OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
57. ^'Portuguesecharts.com – Cher – Dancing Queen'. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
58. ^'Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
59. ^'Slovak Albums – Top 100'. ČNS IFPI. Retrieved October 9, 2018.Note: On the chart page, select SK Albums and '201840' on the field besides the word 'Zobrazit', and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data.
60. ^'South Africa Top 20' (in Afrikaans). Recording Industry of South Africa. October 29, 2018. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
61. ^'Spanishcharts.com – Cher – Dancing Queen'. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
62. ^'Swedishcharts.com – Cher – Dancing Queen'. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
63. ^'Swisscharts.com – Cher – Dancing Queen'. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
64. ^'Official Albums Chart Top 100'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
65. ^'Cher Chart History (Billboard 200)'. Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
66. ^'Cher Chart History (Top Album Sales)'. Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
67. ^'Top Albums - based on sales in 2018'. MAHASZ. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
68. ^'End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2018'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
69. ^'2018 Year-End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums'. Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
70. ^'Canadian album certifications – Cher – Dancing Queen'. Music Canada. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
71. ^'British album certifications – Cher – Dancing Queen'. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 27, 2019.Select albums in the Format field.Select Silver in the Certification field.Type Dancing Queen in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter.
72. ^'Cher Ties Solo-Career-Best Rank on Billboard 200 as 'Dancing Queen' Debuts at No. 3'. Billboard. October 7, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2019.

Dancing Queen Download