04 December 2023 , 17:31
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Cher admitted she lost millions from her chart-topping single Believe after making a "stupid” error.
The music icon released the electro-pop tune back in 1998, and it topped the charts in over 23 countries, and sold over 11 million copies. The song also won a Grammy, and is one of Cher’s best-selling records to date, but she revealed she made a big mistake when recording the track.
In an interview with Vernon Kay on BBC Radio 2’s Tracks of My Years, the 77-year-old recalled being “too stupid” to ask for her contribution to the song’s lyrics to be recognised, meaning she missed out on millions.
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The music icon regretted missing out on millions (NBC)Brian Higgins, Stuart McLennen, Paul Barry, Steven Torch, Matthew Gray and Timothy Powell are the official songwriters for Believe, and Cher shared her disappointment over her failure to push to be recognised, especially as she penned two of the most iconic lines on the song.
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“You can’t even imagine – about 30 people wrote on it. And I wrote it and was so stupid – I didn’t even ask to get a writer’s credit! I wrote, ‘I’ve had time to think it through, and maybe I’m too good for you,” she told Vernon.
Cher also stated that she didn’t want the whole song to be about heartbreak and loneliness, and added: “A chick can be upset for one verse but not two, not on one of my songs.”
Cher wrote two of the best lines on the track (Getty Images)“I could have gotten a lot of money,” she lamented. Later on in the interview, Cher revealed she walked out of the studio while recording the track, as her vocals were criticised by producers.
“The verse was so bad. I couldn’t make it good. I got into a big fight with Mark [Taylor, producer], and Mark kept saying, ‘You’ve got to sing it better.’ And finally I went, ‘If you want it sung better, get somebody else,’ and I walked out,” she explained.
Cher was determined to have her vocals altered for the track to fit in with the electro-pop feel of the song, but the producers shot down her suggestions, until they eventually gave in. "I couldn’t believe how fabulous it was, and my favourite thing was that you didn’t know it was my voice at the beginning,” she shared.