Cher finally records her first Christmas album

Unbelievable as it may seem, Cher has never recorded a Christmas album. So now, at 78 years old and after nearly 60 incredibly successful years in the entertainment business, she decided to do something about that lapse and finally recorded her first Christmas album ever.

Simply titled Christmas and released late last October, the album has already become a huge hit. With DJ Play a Christmas Song as the first single out, the album notched No. 1 in the Holiday chart and is now in the Top 30 in the Hot 100. Like everything that Cher does, the album turned out to be a much talked about event.

Sample remarks: Cher! Is she still recording? Yes. And why not, she did an entire album of ABBA songs only a few years ago. She still has those vocals, which I must say are remarkably well-preserved just like her looks.

What can she do with Christmas music? A lot, I say because Cher is one of those singers whose voice is so distinctive that she makes any song her own. She sings pop, rock disco, etc. That husky contralto of hers is as commanding as ever. Just think of how she can interpret an ordinary Christmas song.

How can she compete with all those younger singers, like would somebody prefer her Christmas to one by Taylor Swift or Kelly Clarkson or even Mariah Carey? Why not? While technically, not new, Cher’s sound is unlike any that you hear nowadays. Besides she has accumulated such a huge following throughout these past years and they would all certainly enjoy hearing something new by Cher.

And not to forget, Cher is a pop icon in every sense of the world. She is an Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning actress, Moonstruck with Nicholas Cage. She is a TV star, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, the Cher show with an Emmy for The Farewell Tour Special. She is a singer with a Grammy and hit songs like Believe, If I Could Turn Back Time, Take Me Home, I Got You Babe with Sonny Bono and others.

And not only those. Cher is a daring, innovative fashion plate, remember that almost nothing Bob Mackie dress at the Oscars some years back? And she is a philanthropist who works tirelessly for the needy, for children and animals or for anything that will make ours a better world.

So, how does she fare as a Christmas singer? Very good, I must say. I like it very much that she has that happy lilt in her singing which shows that like most of us, she loves and gets excited about Christmas.

As can be expected from a star as big and as well-established as Cher, the album has all facets polished to perfection. Some listeners might not like her doing hip-hop like Drop Top Sleigh Ride with Tyga or EDM as in Angels in the Snow, but she does those detours from her usual very well.

The entire album is Christmasy pop with just the right sparkle and should please a wide market.  She has some new originals, DJ Play a Christmas Song; I Like Christmas; Christmas Ain’t Christmas without You and Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart, a duet with Cyndi Lauper.

Some interesting covers. What Christmas Means to Me with Stevie Wonder’s vocals from his 1967 recording; Run Rudolph Run; Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), again with another voice from the past, original singer Darlene Love; Home, a duet with Michael Bublé, plus Please Come Home for Christmas and Santa Baby.

And to end there is, This will be our Year, a cover of an oldie by The Zombies, remember them of She’s Not There fame? This is a nice capping touch that brings a message of optimism after all that has happened this year and for whatever the road to the next Christmas holidays will bring.