Cher

Cher's 23rd studio album, 1998's Grammy Award-winning Believe marked an extreme departure for Cher, as the record was a collection of up-tempo dance tracks. The album was a critical and commercial success, reaching the top spot in nearly every country where it was released, including the United States, Germany, Australia and France. Believe has been certified 4x Platinum in the United States and has sold 20 million copies worldwide. The Grammy Award-winning first single and title track was a worldwide smash, easily becoming the biggest hit of Cher's entire career. By March 1999, the song reached #1 in 23 countries around the world including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Australia. It was the best-selling recording of the year. "Believe" made Cher the oldest woman (at age 52) to have a number one hit in the Hot 100 rock era. It also gave her the distinction of having the longest span of #1 hits (more than 33 years) and the largest gap between number ones (10 days short of 25 years). Cher is also the only female artist to have solo Top 10 hits in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. On the U.K. Singles Chart, "Believe" claimed the number one slot for seven consecutive weeks, and also became the biggest-selling single ever by a female artist in United Kingdom. It sold over 10 million copies worldwide. From the album, three other singles were released, with "Strong Enough" becoming a perfect follow-up hit in Europe, peaking at #3 in Germany and France as well as the U.K. Top Five, but failing to gain equally huge success in North America. "All or Nothing" and "Dov'è L'Amore" were also solid hits in Europe, but didn't get much attention in her native country.
Cher published her first memoir in late 1998, titled The First Time. Rather than a tell-all, the book was a collection of Cher's most significant "first-time" memories from her childhood, life and Hollywood career. In January 1999, Cher performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" in front of the Super Bowl XXXIII television audience. Cher also performed on the highly rated television special VH1 Divas Live 2, performing alongside contemporaries Tina Turner, Elton John, Chaka Khan, Faith Hill, Mary J. Blige, LeAnn Rimes, Diana Ross, Brandy and Whitney Houston. Later in 1999, Cher co-starred in the well-received Franco Zeffirelli film Tea With Mussolini (1999) with Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Lily Tomlin. Her successful worldwide Do You Believe? Tour travelled throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, with the Emmy-nominated television special Cher: Live at the MGM Grand In Las Vegas airing by year's end. On November 30, 1999, she released a compilation album The Greatest Hits that continued to build upon her huge popularity in Europe. The album entered the German Charts at #1 (her second consecutive German No. 1 album) and peaked at #7 on the official UK Albums Chart. This compilation was released only outside the United States, due to the release of the North American only compilation, If I Could Turn Back Time: Cher's Greatest Hits which was released that same year. In Germany she became again best selling female artist of the year and was receiving her second ECHO Award (she and Madonna are the only female artists to do so). The Do You Believe? Tour continued throughout 2000 and became her most successful tour to that time.