{"id":821,"date":"2018-10-23T14:03:57","date_gmt":"2018-10-23T14:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cherscholar.com\/cherblog\/mixed-bag-of-honors-and-accomplishments\/"},"modified":"2023-02-20T08:16:49","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T15:16:49","slug":"mixed-bag-of-honors-and-accomplishments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cherscholar.com\/cherblog\/2018\/10\/mixed-bag-of-honors-and-accomplishments\/","title":{"rendered":"Mixed Bag of Honors and Accomplishments"},"content":{"rendered":"


<\/a> \"Moony2\"<\/a>First of all Cher's Believe<\/em> album will be out on vinyl<\/a> in December.  <\/span><\/p>\n

In Music<\/h4>\n

A few weeks ago Cher's album Dancing Queen <\/em>made its debut on the Billboard album chart at #3. This felt disappointing as Cher and the fans were aiming for #2. Although the album did hit #1 in the list for Top Album Sales. And the song "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" reached #5 on the Dance Club Play chart. And the Gimme remixes were recently released<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

So it felt a bit short at the time but my Billboard guru friend tells me I was off my meds to think this way: \"Sos\"<\/a><\/p>\n

"For me, I am super impressed with her position on the chart. The year is three-quarters done, so for her to have the largest week of sales for an album in 2018 by a female pop artist is a major<\/em> achievement.  <\/span>It means she sold more albums in her debut week than 20-something Ariana Grande, who is the hottest female pop star in the U.S. currently, when she released <\/span>Sweetener <\/span><\/em>a few months ago. <\/span>It means that the only female <\/span>in any genre<\/span><\/em> to post a larger one week tally this year is Cardi B. <\/span>Were this released four years ago, before they started incorporating streaming into chart calculations, she would have debuted at #1 on the Top 200 chart, rather than #3 (and #1 on the sales chart).  <\/span>The last female pop artist to exceed this level of sales in a single week was none other than 20-something Taylor Swift who remains the biggest U.S. female artist of the last ten years.  Not shabby company to keep. <\/span>The fact that it is a sales sum that has only been surpassed by one other pop artist this year (Justin Timberlake) is truly remarkable. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mary, please think of it this way–over 50,000 albums across genres are released in the U.S. each year and our 72-year-old beloved can in 2018 sell more in a single week than literally any other pop artist on Earth except one, and more than any other female artist on Earth except one.  That is stupendous<\/em>."<\/span><\/p>\n

So that perspective was great. But then in week two the album feel from #3 to #43. <\/p>\n

In Movies<\/h4>\n

Anyway, there was another Billboard list that made me feel better again: Billboards list of 100 top musician performances in movies<\/a>. Cher ranks #1. J. Lynch has this to say:<\/p>\n

Cher\u2019s Oscar-winning turn in the 1987 romcom <\/span>Moonstruck <\/span>remains the standard by which you mentally check all others. Cher brings that mixture of reluctance and romantic recklessness to the screen with a self-effacing realism and millisecond-sharp comedic timing. Few performances are this irresistible, hysterical and believably low-key — and the fact that it came from one of the 20th century\u2019s biggest pop stars leaves us unable to snap out of loving Cher in her deservedly Oscar-winning performance more than 30 years later."<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The Kennedy Honor<\/h4>\n

And then there's the incredible Kennedy Honor. Maybe not in and of itself but for the fact that fans and Cher-watchers have been lobbying so long for Cher's simple induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To be beset with yet a larger honor was fully unexpected. And a bit disorienting quite frankly. But what a big deal. As my friend Christopher described it, \u201c<\/span>the government's highest form of recognition for artists…its official intention is to identify and honor artists for their <\/span>lifetime contribution to the culture of the United States<\/span>. That is no small potatoes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Especially since nobody's been noticing Cher's lifetime contribution to the culture of the United States. <\/p>\n

The awards will be televised on December 26 on CBS at 8 p.m. Eastern.<\/p>\n

Some articles about the honor:<\/p>\n