Dancing Queen (album)

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
Studio album by
Cher
ReleasedSeptember 28, 2018 (2018-09-28)
RecordedOctober 2017 – August 2018
Studio
  • Angel Studios, London
  • Metrophonic Studios, London
  • Mono Music Studio, Stockholm
GenreDance-pop[1]
Length40:05
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerMark Taylor
Cher chronology
Closer to the Truth
(2013)		 Dancing Queen
(2018)
Singles from Dancing Queen
  1. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"
    Released: August 9, 2018
  2. "SOS"
    Released: August 23, 2018
  3. "One of Us"
    Released: September 21, 2018
  4. "Chiquitita"
    Released: May 8, 2020

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 album-equivalent units, becoming Cher's highest debut sales week for an album in the United States. 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 has been 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.

Background

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

Singles

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 Songs chart. 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 as a promotional single 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]

Live performances

Cher performed "SOS" at the Ellen Show in 2018. 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]

Tour
Main article: Here We Go Again Tour

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.[13][14] "Fernando", "Waterloo", and "SOS" were the only songs off the album Cher performed, however.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.9[15]
Metacritic79/100[16]
Review scores
SourceRating
attitude[17]
Entertainment WeeklyA-[18]
Gay Star News[19]
Gay Times[20]
Newsday[21]
NME[22]
Rolling Stone[23]
The Guardian[24]
The Telegraph[25]
Idolator[26]

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".[16] 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."[19] 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."[18]

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."[20] 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".[23] 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."[26]

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."[24] 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."[27]

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.[28][29] The album’s music video of "SOS" was ranked as the 18th best music video of 2018 by Paper.[30]

Accolades

Year-end lists

Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Rolling Stone The 20 Best Pop Albums of 2018
5
[31]
Rolling Stone Rob Sheffield's Top 25 Songs of 2018
22
[A]
[29]
Paper PAPER's Top 20 Music Videos of 2018
18
[B]
[30]


[A] for "The Name of The Game"
[B] for "SOS"

Commercial performance

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.[32] 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.[33][34] 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.[35]

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.[36]

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.[37]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes[38]

All tracks are written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Stig Anderson and produced by Mark Taylor, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dancing Queen" 3:42
2."Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"
  • Andersson
  • Ulvaeus
4:11
3."The Name of the Game" 4:48
4."SOS" 3:22
5."Waterloo" 2:52
6."Mamma Mia" 3:34
7."Chiquitita"
  • Andersson
  • Ulvaeus
5:14
8."Fernando" (Andersson, Taylor[a]) 3:57
9."The Winner Takes It All"
  • Andersson
  • Ulvaeus
4:32
10."One of Us"
  • Andersson
  • Ulvaeus
3:53
Total length:40:05

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a vocal producer

Personnel

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

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[73] Gold 40,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[74] Silver 60,000
United States — 150,000[75]

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

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