Cher: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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Some of Cher's early songs cover controversial areas such as divorce, prostitution, unplanned and underaged pregnancy, and racism.<ref name="Goldmine" />{{sfn|Eder|2009}} The 1972 song "The Way of Love" is either about a woman expressing her love for another woman, or a woman breaking up with a gay male she loved ("What will you do/When he sets you free/Just the way that you/Said good-bye to me"). Her ability to carry both male and female ranges allowed her to sing solo in [[Androgyny|androgynous]] and gender-neutral-themed songs.<ref name="Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves Allmusic Review">{{cite web|last=Viglione|first=Joe|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/gypsys-tramps-thieves-mw0000309635|title=Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves - Cher : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards|accessdate=October 28, 2012|publisher=AllMusic. Rovi Corporation}}</ref>

Cher is known for her distinctive [[contralto]] singing voice, described by author Nicholas E. Tawa as "bold, deep, and with a spacious vibrato."<ref name="supremely american" /><ref name="Contralto">{{cite news|last=Holden|first=Stephen|authorlink=Stephen Holden|title=CABARET REVIEW; On Life's Rough-and-Tumble, via Mama's Tender Heart|work=The New York Times|page=5|date=December 18, 1997|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/18/arts/cabaret-review-on-life-s-rough-and-tumble-via-mama-s-tender-heart.html|accessdate=November 20, 2012|publisher=The New York Times Company}}</ref> [[Ann Powers]] of ''The New York Times'' called it "a quintessential rock voice: impure, quirky, a fine vehicle for projecting personality."<ref name="Believe Tour NYTimes Review">{{cite news|last=Powers|first=Ann|authorlink=Ann Powers|title=POP REVIEW; Quirky but Real, the Beat Goes On|work=The New York Times|page=1|date=July 7, 1999|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/07/arts/pop-review-quirky-but-real-the-beat-goes-on.html|accessdate=November 20, 2012|publisher=The New York Times Company}}</ref> Cher's dramatic, almost as much acted as sung performances come out of her ability to combine her limited singing range with her acting skills, according to Allmusic's Bruce Eder.{{sfn|Eder|2009}}<ref name="Half-Breed Allmusic Review">{{cite web|last=Eder|first=Bruce|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/half-breed-mw0000615307|title=Half Breed - Cher : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards|accessdate=October 28, 2012|publisher=AllMusic. Rovi Corporation}}</ref>

Cher developed an aggressive attitudeBeginning in her vocals on the album ''Black Rose'' (1980), tothe cement a rock and roll persona.{{sfn|Bego|2004|p=142}} The boldaggressive, sharp vocals in her late-1980shard and earlyrock-1990soriented workalbums were noted by Jim Farber of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' for having highlighted her sexually autonomous persona.{{sfn|Bego|2004|p=142}}<ref name="determined">{{cite web|first=Jim|last=Farber|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,314608,00.html|title=Love Hurts Review|work=Entertainment Weekly|date=June 14, 1991|accessdate=November 3, 2012|publisher=Time Warner}}</ref><ref name="Love Hurts Allmusic Review">{{cite web|last=McCombs|first=Joseph|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-hurts-mw0000264020|title=Love Hurts - Cher : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards|accessdate=October 28, 2012|publisher=AllMusic. Rovi Corporation}}</ref> For the album ''It's a Man's World'' (1995), she restrained her vocals, singing in higher registers and without [[vibrato]], revealing "vibrant and previously unheard colors of her voice" and a "surprisingly soulful falsetto" according to ''Billboard'' magazine's Jim Bessman.{{sfn|Bessman|1996}}<ref name="It's a Man's World Billboard Review">{{cite journal|last=Verna|first=Paul|date=July 13, 1996|title=Albums: Cher - It's A Man's World|journal=Billboard|location=New York|volume=108|issue=28|page=95|issn=0006-2510|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ogkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA95|accessdate=October 28, 2012|ref=harv}}</ref> The 1998 song "Believe" has an electronic vocal effect proposed by Cher,{{sfn|Flick|1998}} and was the first commercial recording to feature [[Auto-Tune]], a [[pitch correction]] tool, as a deliberate creative effect. After the success of the song, the technique became known as the "Cher effect".{{sfn|Sillitoe|Bell|1999}} According to Chris Lee of the ''Los Angeles Times'', "Believe" is "widely credited with injecting Auto-Tune's mechanical modulations into pop consciousness."<ref>http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/15/entertainment/et-tpain15</ref> Cher later used Auto-Tune on the album ''Living Proof'' (2001).<ref>http://www.allmusic.com/album/living-proof-mw0000658398</ref>

===Films, music videos and live performances===