Dua Lipa joined forces with Cher for a rendition of ‘Believe’ last night.
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Kicking off proceedings at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland yesterday (October 19), Lipa – backed by house band The Roots – began the 1998 track alone and was later joined by the pop icon on stage, with the two holding hands as they sang its chorus.
It’s an unexpected turn for Cher, whose long-awaited induction comes after she slammed her absence last year.
We’re LIVE with the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony! @dualipa, @cher, and @theroots kick things off the with their AMAZING performance of Cher’s smash hit “Believe.” Tune in NOW on Disney+ to watch LIVE. #RockHall2024 pic.twitter.com/2vFQydTm0f
— Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (@rockhall) October 20, 2024
The singer aired her concerns to Kelly Clarkson, saying that despite being one of the only two music acts to score a No. 1 hit across a whopping seven decades – the other being The Rolling Stones, who were inducted in 2010 – she has constantly been passed up for induction.
“And I’m not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! You know what, I wouldn’t be in it now if they gave me a million dollars. I’m not kidding you,” she said at the time, adding: “I’m never going to change my mind,” and that they could “just you-know-what themselves”.
Dua Lipa, Cher and Zendaya at the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction. pic.twitter.com/K8ntZNtbZX
— Pop Base (@PopBase) October 19, 2024
“Thank you, Cher!” ♥️ @zendaya takes the stage to honor the storied career of the one and only @Cher. Tune in NOW on @DisneyPlus to watch the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. #RockHall2024 pic.twitter.com/R3fwL4wSTw
— Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (@rockhall) October 20, 2024
Despite that, spirits were high during her induction yesterday. Zendaya, wearing a Bob Mackie dress in homage to the ‘I Got You Babe’ singer, gave Cher’s introduction speech, and said that the legendary singer and actress “does it all, and really, really fucking well.”
“Where do I even begin? Cher is not one person. Her name is just as legendary as her legacy,” she said. “Her voice is so singular that any song she sings becomes a Cher song. She’s navigated a multitude of musical genres, defined new ones and reinvented others.”
After the Euphoria actress had inducted Cher into the Rock Hall, the singer celebrated the moment by singing ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ from her 19th studio album ‘Heart of Stone’.
In her speech, the musician said “the one thing I got from my mom is that I never gave up”, and claimed she had “changed the sound of music” forever. “I’m lucky, I’ve had really bad things happen – I was dropped by four labels,” she said.
“When it was completely over, I did ‘Believe’ and it was like, “yes!” I’ve just been really lucky, and I have had number ones for seven decades, which surprises me, because I’m a good singer [but] I’m not a great singer. You know what? I’ll take it. And also, I changed the sound of music forever, all right? And and ‘Believe’ really changed the sound of music.”
Cher’s induction follows the release of ‘Forever’ in September, and fell ahead of the release of her upcoming two-part memoir. The first part of the music icon’s memoir is set for release on November 19 via HarperCollins, with the second part being released sometime next year. You can pre order Cher: The Memoir, Part One here.