CHER: "Christmas"

Published Oct 24, 2023, 7:00 AM

Cher. That's all one needs to say to get the attention of those within earshot. She's an icon, a legend, a powerhouse, she's... Cher!  And she's with us today on this podcast episode to spill the tea on her new album, "Christmas" (and maybe a few other little secrets!)

With 13 tracks, 4 of them originals, and a number of colabs with her besties, Darlene Love, Stevie Wonder, Michael Bublé, Cyndi Lauper, and Tyga this album has it ALL. Why do a Christmas album now, after 6 decades of chart topping hits? Tune in to find out! ~ Delilah

Have the temperatures outside where you live cooled enough to tempt you to build a fire in the fireplace, put on some fuzzy slippers, brew up a steaming cup of hot cocoa or soothing big a low t If not, we'll be there soon. The rain. Who The rain is starting to come down with regularity. Where I live, the wind has been howling. Pumpkins are popping up on stoops and porches. While their carved faces are meant to be menacing, There's nothing spooky about this time of year for me. I just love autumn. I love the leaves, I love walking through them. I love riding my horses when the leaves are falling. One of the best things about this time of year is the abundance of new holiday music that is dropping. October is traditionally the month that artists revealed their projects they've been working hard on, and this year will not disappoint. Maybe you caught wind of a quick visit I made to Los Angeles last month. Maybe you saw me sharing hints on social media. Malibu Beach, to be precise. While I wasn't able to share much about it at that time, I can now the seasonless national treasure that is, Share invited me and a handful of other folks in the music industry to get together to listen to her new Christmas album. So that we did. We gathered, We sipped on sparkling water, we nibbled on delicious little tidbits, and we waited in breathless anticipation at her home. And then the music began. Oh Oh, my heart's how I love Christmas at any time of year. And hearing Cher's powerful voice belting out our old favorites and exciting news soon to be favorites since shivers up and down my spine even on a warm evening in September. It was a very merry, very bright, and hooray, a very rock and roll holiday album. It includes thirteen songs, many of them holiday classics, and four new original songs written by Sarah Hudson and her team, who I got to meet, I got to hang out with, I fell in love with them all. It also has a star studded list of musical besties, including Darlene Love, Stevie Wonder, Michael Boublaiz, Cyndi Laupper, and Tiga. It was the most magical, amazing evening I had to pinch myself before, during, and after to make sure I wasn't dreaming the whole thing. Can it get any better than that? Well, yes, yes it can, because she is here with us today and we're going to hear all the details about how her glorious new album Christmas came about. Christmas has been available for a couple of days now. It was released October twenty at the first single DJ play a Christmas song dropped last month. It's disco vibe. We'll have you up on your feet. We'll be sharing all the details on Shar's new album Christmas right after I share the details on an incredible sponsor, a sponsor who helps to make these conversations possible, a sponsor that does so much good around the world. Mercy Ships has been transforming lives for over forty years. Many people in our world have no access to healthcare, and as a result, they must endure pain and suffering. But with the support of volunteers and donors, Mercy Ships can go to these communities and perform free surgeries. Surgeries that help mothers see their babies for the first time, surgeries that allow little boys and girls to run and play. They change lives through the work they do. Now, thanks to the launch of the Global Mercy, the first custom built hospital ship of its kind, they can help even more people. The Global Mercy is projected to serve one hundred and fifty thousand patients over the next five decades. Four year old Amato from southern Senegal was the first to receive surgery on the Global Mercy. Born with one windswept leg and one bowed leg, he missed out on so many things kids love, But thanks to the treatment he received from Mercy Ships, Amadu can't wait to run around with his friends and he dreams of all that. Liza Ahead learn more about mercyships at mercyships dot org. Hie, Hi Sarah, how are you? I'm wonderful? How are you? Is the question?

Pretty good?

You're pretty good? You're pretty awesome. Are you dancing? Are you dancing to your new Christmas song? Because this DJ here is is putting it on for you. I mean, come on, how could you? How could we not when you title a song, DJ play this, you know, come on? I know? That was like damn. She is so clever, she knows, she knows how to stroke it. So we can't not play it.

I didn't think about it. I didn't write it, but I love it, and I actually was thinking about it, and I was thinking, boy a bit, every DJ is going to play it.

Yeah, that's exactly what every one of us that have talked to each other said. Oh my god, she mentioned as like she remembers, there's a person here. I love that.

It's so weird. I mean, I don't know. I wasn't thinking it when I was doing it. I just thought about it. I thought, oh my god, I'm gonna say to them, I'm giving them props.

You are, it's totally giving us props. And we love that. We love that, and we love you. First off, I got to say thank you for inviting me to your listening party.

It was fun. It was fun, right, it was fun.

And your patio, your little thing is so beautiful, and you're so beautiful and you look so happy with your honey. And I was just like my sister and I both kept pinching ourselves, going, oh my god, aren't we really in shares place? And then when the music started. When the music started, because they had given me little snippets of a few of the songs, but when we got to listen together, you know, to the whole album. It was wonderful. Thank you.

It's kind of a bunch of songs that you think wouldn't go together, but they do.

They do. So why why now? Why a Christmas song? After all these years of you've done sappy love songs, you've done dance songs, you've done dance songs about love, You've done love songs that you can dance to, and now we've got a Christmas album and some of them you can dance to.

Well, you know, I never wanted to do one because I could never. I never felt like I could pupture what I wanted, and I wasn't even and because I didn't know what I wanted. But then I thought, if I could just pick the songs myself, that I would have a chance. I would pick songs that I loved and maybe pick songs that people don't know. And then Sarah they came up with, you know, drop Top and Angels in the Snow and DJ and not all at one time. I mean she they actually wrote one of the songs, dropped Top sleigh Ride, because I said to Sarah, I want you to take some kids stuff and make it grown up, and she did, I mean so, and then I just started like I found Chuck Berry's song, you know, Run Run, Rudolph So. And also I got a chance to sing all the kinds of music that I loved.

I mean, come on, I got to meet your friend Darlene Love, and she told me the story of when when you sang that with her and you were a teenager.

Right, Well, I sang background on it when I was a teenager, but I was in the studio when she did it when she's actually sang it, and we all knew, you know, I've been in the studio a couple of times when everybody in the room just nose and nobody was breathing. And then it was done and the only thing that happened was that Fanita had just bent over and hit her in the knee, and then we were all just amazed. It's just an amazing feeling, an amazing moment when you hear a song like that.

Well, she shared a wonderful story with me, and she said, when they had you singing the background the backup, somebody said, well you need to back up a little bit. You need to back up a little bit because your voice was so beautiful and powerful and strong, and she said, I knew at that moment she had it talking about you. I know that she knew that you had this powerhouse inside of you.

Well that's pretty good talking from a powerhouse. But it was Philip. It was phil Spector, and he kept saying, could you just back up? Could you just back up? And Darling once said, if she backs up and emmosals being studio.

Be ah, that is wonderful. And now you got to sing it with her on your first Christmas album and we are blessed to be able to listen to it. And I'm just excited because I got to be honest with you. Sometimes I get kind of bored. I mean, I've been doing Christmas music how many months out of the year, two months, three months out of the year for my entire career, and you can only hear holly Jolly Christmas so many times.

I know That's why I didn't do it, because I just didn't. I couldn't fit it in. I just couldn't fit it in. And even though there have been great Christmas albums, I just this kind of sound a little bit ridiculous. But I just wanted to do a share Christmas album and I didn't really know what it was. I couldn't really find it. And then I just share.

Celebrating Christmas with us right here on Love Someone. With Delilah, we have a little more time with her, but I want to take a moment to unwrap the gift of another podcast sponsor. This podcast is sponsored by Better Help. Do you ever find the just as you're trying to fall asleep, your brain suddenly starts working overtime? Do your thoughts start racing right before bed or at other inopportune moments. It turns out one great way to make those racing thoughts go away is to talk them through. Therapy gives you a place to do that, so you can get out of your negative thought cycles and find some emotional and mental peace of mind. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give better Help a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist, and you can switch therapist if you choose any time for no additional charge. Get a break from your thoughts with better Help. Visit betterhelp dot com. Slash Love someone today to get ten percent off your first month. That's better help HLP dot com slash love Someone. And how did you find Sarah? The young lady and her gang that wrote the original music? How did you find her?

I've known Sarah since she was four years old, and I think that she brought or someone at the company, the record company was talking to her and then she went, oh my god, okay, share of course, of course, and then we started talking about when she was little, and you know, and we just were it was just like no time had gone past. And then she wrote the other two with her crew.

She is a breath of fresh air. I so enjoyed talking to her and the young men that helped her collaborate on the new stuff that you did, which is fresh and fun and holiday and love and joy all wrapped up that you can dance to.

Also you can just be happy to it too.

Yeah, and we need that, we need that.

Oh yeah, yes, and yes, but it's it's joyous. I don't know. It just turned out that the songs that I picked independently became joyous as a group.

When I was there at your house and I was listening and the song came on because you do duets with Stevie Wonder and Tiger and You, Darlene.

And simply and Michael Boblay.

Michael Buble came on and he's I love him, and so I texted him, I said, oh mg, and I shot a little video. I said, I'm at Shar's house listening to you sing with her. And then he sent me a video back as he was at home with the kids, and oh my god, it's so beautiful.

I know, it's we only have kind of two sad songs, and it's by far the saddest. All my girlfriends cried when they heard it. But it's great and he's really special. And I didn't know him. But then Cindy. Cindy came on board right away, right away, so I got all these people. And the truth is, I don't think I ever had anybody on any one of my records.

Seriously, this is new, all these all this love mashing up together.

Yeah, and I didn't think of it. I thought of it with Stevie because when I tried to sing a song, it just didn't work, you know. And I called him and said, Stevie, I think I've done a good job on a lot of it, but there are some parts that are just you and I can't do it, and I need you to come and do it.

And he, of course was thrilled to do that.

Okay, he just said, okay, it was too easy, and then he said at the end, do you want me to play my harmonica? And I was like, oh my god, yes, I do.

Well, it is a wonderful, fun album. I'm honored to get to share it with my listeners. And just to see you shine I heard at the party and I did a little research. You've got is it six decades? You've been on Billboard's top chart, the top of the chart. I think so, you think so? And now here we are in a new decade. So we got we gotta make it seven?

I know. Well, also I have. I'm going to start a new album after the season, after Christmas.

Are you going to give yourself some time to just relax and enjoy it?

Yeah, but you know what I'm going home about the next The next one is a share album. Well this was a share album too, but the next one doesn't have a theme.

Well, thank you for this theme, and thank you for spending time with us, and Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

I love you, it's nice to see you again.

And thank you for the picture, because my kids think I'm cool nowure. Oh, it was such a good picture of us. And I sent it. I have, you know, a thousand kids, and I sent it to all my adult children and they're like, dang, mom that share. I'm like, I know it. That's me. That's me, your mom right next to her. Okay, And we're friends. And I met your best friend and she's been in touch with me, your best friends from from way back. And she sent me pictures of some of the things her daughter had designed, the clothes and.

The joe Joey you met Joey.

Yeah. And and I, like I said, my sister and I were just thrilled beyond words to be there and your pool, your home, the roses I took. I was the crazy woman taking pictures of your roses. I didn't see you, so it's okay, okay. I was just like those roses smelled heavenly and I couldn't I couldn't get enough pictures. It was like the main picture on my social media for some time. Here are roses from Shar's party, because they were so good. Everything was beautiful. I didn't eat though, all that nice little food you had, I didn't eat there.

I was too excited.

I'm a slob, and I was afraid I was going to drop it on my shirt or my jumper. And so after where I left him, like, dang, I'm so hungry, and those little thingies looked so good, but I did not want to go give you a hug with food on.

You know, No, that wouldn't have been a good look.

That would not have been a good look.

I'm going to tell you. I make a confession. I'm like, I should wear a bib sometimes I should.

Wear a bib. I should invent a stylish bib. Actually, your girl friend's daughter should invent a stylish bib for adults that were slops.

No, you're not quite there. It's got to be rhymestone.

It's got to be blink blin a blink bib. I don't eat in the car because if I ever eat in the car, I wear it.

Well, I'm not that bad, but yeah, I have to be kind of careful because also I'm very big with my hands, you know, so talking and you know I have to kind of calm down.

Well, don't calm down this holiday share. Thank you, Merry Christmas, God bless you. Okay, same to you, big bye bye Hunt. This album is such a gift, and like all the best presents, it's when you can give to yourself just as easily as you can share it with others. Thirteen amazing Christmas songs from Chaer, our goddess of pop who has been aweing and delighting us for nearly six decades now and showing no signs of slow down. She is one of the world's best selling music artists, with over one hundred million in record sales. Her achievements include a Grammy and Emmy and Oscar, three Golden Globes, a cons Film Festival Award, and the Billboard Icon Award. She is the only artist to date to have a number one single on a Billboard chart for six consecutive decades, starting in the sixties, go into the twenty tens. I think we're going to be adding the twenty twenties to that list. I believe we Are Christmas is available everywhere right now, so don't waste any time before adding it to your holiday playlist. I'm pretty sure I can help her with the request of DJ play a Christmas song. I will be that DJ, as will many others. Go to Christmas dot share dot com to download yours today Christmas dot share dot com. If the shorter, darker days and all the craziness in the world have you feeling a little glum, Christmas music, especially Christmas music sung by Sharon her Friends, is the antidote. Spending time with me in the evenings is another proven way to lift your spirits and mine. Do spend some time while the sun is up paying attention to all the good things that are happening around us. The colorful leaves, the busy squirrels, all manners of mushrooms popping up in fields and gardens and forests. It is a fairy land out there. Enjoy the sights and sounds and senses that autumn delivers. Then curl up with a cup of tea and tune in to my radio program. I love spending time with you.

LOVE SOMEONE with Delilah

In a world that can feel divisive and bleak, it's easy to get caught up in feelings of hopelessness, 
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