For over six decades, Cher has been many things — a pop icon, a movie star, a trailblazer, and above all, a survivor. Known for her fearless reinvention and unmatched longevity, the singer and actress recently looked back on one of the most difficult periods of her career — when two failed albums nearly convinced her that her time in music was over.

“I just kept going back,” Cher said. “Every time I fell, I told myself, ‘Get up and try again.’ Because what else was I going to do? Music is who I am.”

The Years That Almost Ended It All

The albums Stars (1975) and I’d Rather Believe in You (1976) came at a time of chaos in Cher’s life. Her high-profile divorce from Sonny Bono had just gone public, her television show was faltering, and the style of pop that once made her a sensation seemed out of step with the times.

“Those records hurt,” she admitted. “I poured myself into them, but nobody wanted to listen. The critics trashed them, and they didn’t sell. I felt invisible — like I’d gone from being Cher to being nobody.”

Still, even as her confidence faltered, Cher’s resilience wouldn’t allow her to stop.

“I’ve never been the type to quit,” she said. “When the world told me I was finished, I went back to the studio. When they said I was too old, I made a dance record. When they said I couldn’t act, I won an Oscar.”

Rising from the Ashes

Cher’s comeback began in the late 1980s, when she returned to both music and film with unstoppable energy. Her Academy Award–winning performance in Moonstruck (1987) reminded audiences of her range, while albums like Heart of Stone (1989) reestablished her as a global pop powerhouse.

But her true global resurgence came in 1998 with Believe — the electrifying dance-pop anthem that became both a chart-topping hit and a cultural reset.

“Believe was my middle finger to everyone who said I was done,” Cher said with a grin. “I didn’t plan it that way — I just wanted to make something that felt alive again. But when I heard that song finished, I thought, ‘Yeah… this is going to work.’”

The single sold more than 11 million copies and introduced the world to the now-iconic Auto-Tune vocal effect, which went on to influence an entire generation of pop music.

Confidence, Redefined

With more than 100 million records sold worldwide and a career spanning six decades, Cher remains the only artist in history to have a No. 1 song in six consecutive decades. But for her, confidence doesn’t mean perfection — it means persistence.

“People think confidence means you never fall,” she reflected. “That’s not true. Confidence is falling a hundred times and still standing up the hundred and first. That’s my secret.”

Her career is a study in reinvention — not for the sake of fashion, but as an act of survival. From 1960s pop duets to Oscar-winning film roles to commanding Las Vegas stages, Cher has continued to evolve without ever losing her core identity.

“I’ll Always Come Back”

Now in her late seventies, Cher continues to record, perform, and inspire younger artists who see in her a living example of endurance and authenticity.

“I’m not chasing a comeback anymore,” she said. “I’ve had enough of those to last a lifetime. I just want to keep creating — because that’s what kept me alive all these years.”

And with characteristic wit and unwavering resolve, she summed up her legacy in one unforgettable line:

“They can knock me down, they can count me out — but I’ll always come back. I’m Cher. That’s what I do.”