"The Text That Changed my Life."

Cher-ing The Music


The media text that changed my life, is possibly one of the most hated singles ever to grace the UK charts- 'Believe' by Cher. Despite the fact that the song was released when I was just 9 months old, it seemed to follow me throughout my toddler years, which for most would become horrendously irritating but for me it was fabulous. 

Music is my passion and  my most favourite media text, and I think this song played a fundamental part in making me believe, (no pun intended), this. I remember my parents playing a very eclectic mix of music when I was younger, from Chaka Khan to The Lighthouse Family, but nothing really captured my attention until Cher came along. As soon as I heard the familiar sound of the 90's electronic keyboard intro, I would demand my microphone and sing it as loud as I could and danced around to the delight of my neighbours (shown in the image above). Even at the tender age of 2, when I struggled to string a sentence together, I could still quote very single lyric, still can to this day.  Despite following the auto-tuned, generic pop songs of its time, for some reason Cher was different and made me fall in love with music. 

Believe is a very typical 90s pop song, which seemed to take elements of many other musicians such as Culture Club and even Britney Spears to create a familiar sound. I think this attracted me because I felt as though I had heard it many times before and it was instantly memorable, with the same chord progressions repeating throughout making it easy to pick up the melody as well as the fairly simple lyrics. Despite focusing on a topic aimed at adults, the language used is very basic making it more accessible to a wider age range of people. Both of these elements combined made it easier for me as a toddler to sing the lyrics, and causing my music obsession to begin. It was also the first time that I realised that people actually got paid for singing! Something that I struggled to comprehend because music was a hobby, not a job. 

As Ive grown up, the song has been labelled a "guilty pleasure" which I suppose I would agree with. Now when I hear it, it creates a sense of nostalgia by reminding me of when I was younger. It also makes me realise just how much music has developed over the past 17 years. If that song was released in 2015, I don't think it would have had the same impact because it wouldn't appeal to as much of a wide mainstream audience and I might have never of heard it in the first place because it wouldn't get as much radio play or advertisements. Believe is very much a song of its time, which I think also creates a sense of nostalgia not just for that specific song but for that specific time period. It makes me laugh because the production and editing of the song is pretty shocking, with more auto tune than genuine voices included. Of all the great songs that I could have chosen to listen to, it had to be Cher. The song appeared a lot on Top of the Pops, which also introduced me to many new artists which I also thoroughly enjoyed such as Steps and Atomic Kitten. In a way Cher's Believe also gave me hope that maybe I could have a successful music career, proving that you don't have to be the best to reach number 1 in the charts. Now I write songs and play guitar in the hope that one day I could be just a successful as Cher.