Cherilyn "Cher" Sarkisian (1946-) is a prolific American entertainer who has gained fame as a singer, actress, presenter and philanthropist in the course of a career spanning nearly fifty years.
She originally entered the spotlight in
The Sixties as one half of Sonny and Cher, a
Pop/Folk duo in which she performed with her then-husband
Sonny Bono. They had a major hit with "I Got You Babe" and co-presented a successful television show with
The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, but eventually they decided to go their separate ways both personally and professionally. In
The Seventies, Cher scored solo hits and became a popular figure in the Disco genre, but when that scene collapsed, her attempts to switch to a more contemporary
AOR sound fell flat.
Instead, she spent
The Eighties primarily establishing herself as an actress, earning an Academy Award nomination for her appearance in the film
Silkwood and winning the Best Actress Oscar for
Moonstruck. With her success in this field solidified, she returned to music, revisiting her earlier attempt at
Arena Rock to great acclaim and achieving her greatest success as a singer in
The Nineties with the number one dance hit "Believe" (credited with making
Auto Tune mainstream).
Her achievements include an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award an Academy Award, several Golden Globes and four number one singles on the American chart. As a testament to her
Long Runner status, she holds a record as the artist with the longest gap between their first and most recent number one hits.
This singer provides examples of:
- Auto Tune: Probably the first artist to use it in a successful mainstream recording ("Believe"); she wasn't going to use it, but when she heard it being applied to her recorded vocals she liked it and decided to keep it in.
- New Sound Album: In the past, she modified her sound to accomodate changing trends (Folk in the sixties, Disco in the seventies, Rock in the eighties and Contemporary R&B/Dance in the nineties).
- Older Than They Look: Look at her "Believe" video. She must've been at least over 50 at the time but can easily pass as being in her thirties.
- Power Ballad: She has recorded many of them, especially in her late eighties Arena Rock days.
- Trope Codifier: Auto Tune existed before "Believe," mostly being used for its original intention of minor pitch correction; however, she liked the otherworldly sound it gave to believe and decided to keep it. After that, it spread like wildfire.
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