Machado CicalaTimes change, but icons remain, and Cher is certainly that. In 2018, the 72-year-old living legend had a super-successful year.
In March, Cher headlined the 40th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras celebration in Australia, and the response was so positive that in May, she announced a new tour, the Here We Go Again Tour. It was initially just supposed to visit Australia and New Zealand, where she hadn’t toured for 13 years. But in September, she announced the tour would hit North America starting in January — becoming her first full U.S. tour in five years.
The name of the tour was a tie-in to Cher’s starring role in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, the sequel to the 2008 hit ABBA-inspired movie musical Mamma Mia! Released in July, it was the Oscar-winner’s first on-screen role in eight years and reunited her with her old friend, Meryl Streep, with whom Cher starred in the 1983 Oscar-nominated film, Silkwood. In the Mamma Mia! sequel, Cher played Ruby, the mother of Meryl’s character Donna. The movie earned nearly $400 million worldwide.
After recording the ABBA hits “Fernando” and “Super Trouper” for the movie, Cher announced an entire album’s worth of ABBA covers. Dancing Queen, released in September, debuted at #3 on the Billboard album chart, tying the record for Cher’s highest-charting solo album ever. It also scored the biggest sales week of the year for any pop album by a woman. She’s since teased the possibility of a second volume.
The next big move for Cher in 2018 was finally seeing The Cher Show, the musical based on her life on which she’d been working for years, arrive on Broadway. The musical features three different actresses playing Cher at different points in her career: “the kid first starting out, the glam pop star, and the icon,” as the producers put it.
The Cher Show also features 35 smash hits, costumes designed by the legendary Bob Mackie, and most importantly, Cher’s stamp of approval. On opening night, Cher told reporters that at times, it was “very very difficult” to see her own life play out before her eyes.
Soon afterwards, Cher announced via Twitter that she was “Writing life story…Book Due Out First Part Of 2020,” and added, “Bio Pic to Follow.”
During 2018, Cher also continued her successful residency at the Park Theater at Park MGM Last Vegas, which she’ll continue into 2019 as well.
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