Cher reveals dark days after shocking advice about her iconic voice
Cher thought her career was over before it started when a teacher said her voice was too “different.”
December 6, 2024, published at 6:30 PM ET
Cher was forced to believe her singing career was doomed when a teacher declared her voice was “too idiosyncratic” for any genre.
In part 1 of her powerful memoir, the singer describes the crushing moment she was dropped from the lead role in her school play, ‘shoved’ into the chorus and told her ‘quirky’ voice would never fit – a blow that almost shattered. her dreams can be revealed by RadarOnline.com.
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The singer revealed that a teacher at her high school criticized her “unique” voice after casting her.
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When Cher attended Montclair College Prep School in Los Angeles as a teenager, Cher said she was both excited and nervous to audition for her school’s production. The Mikado.
After “working up the courage” to try out for the lead role of Yum-Yum, the now pop goddess said she was “devastated” when she was cast in the chorus instead.
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Cher was confident in her talent, but constantly doubted her destiny as a young teenager.
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Her teacher, Mr. di Fiori, told Cher that she was a “contralto,” which meant that the register of her voice was considered the lowest of the female range.
He hit, “Your register is too low to sing with the girls, but not low enough to sing with the boys.”
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Cher noted that her lower voice was a “quirk” that would “haunt” her for years, adding that this led her to believe her career was over before it began.
She wrote: ‘I thought:’Okay, so it’s over.'”
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Later in the book, Cher admitted that although she thought her “voice was a talent”, she never thought it was good enough to secure her a place in the music industry.
She said: ‘I had discovered it was too unusual to fit in anywhere, which threw me off.
“If I couldn’t even get a spot in a high school production, what hope did I have of becoming the acting and singing sensation I was destined to become?”
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The singer then admitted that she “felt like a rude ship” as she metaphorically “bumped into one rock and then another before being knocked back by yet another wave”.
She wondered, “Jeeze Cher, what the hell is going to become of you?”
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Cher married Sonny Bono in 1964 and the two welcomed one child, Chaz, before splitting in 1975.
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Shortly after the confidence boost, things started to change when she met songwriter Sonny Bono – who recognized her talent early on.
Cher describes her first meeting with Bono elsewhere in the book, which didn’t exactly go the way some fans might think.
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It was not love at first sight for the couple, who were later married for more than ten years. In fact, she wasn’t even physically attracted to him, and he was more interested in pursuing her gay boyfriend.
Bono “wasn’t the tall, handsome” man she expected from the commotion he caused the first day he showed up at a coffee shop with her and some friends.
However, Cher said that “everyone else in the room faded away” when she saw him, saying he was “the most interesting man she had ever seen”.
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The hitmaker admitted: “It wasn’t love at first sight. I just thought this man was special.”
While Cher said everyone “loved” Bono, he was immediately attracted to and fascinated by her “knockout brunette” friend, Melissa.
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However, Melissa’s sexuality meant that she was far of interest in Bono.
Cher explained: “I said little, I watched him talk to Melissa like a professional and admired the way he put everyone around him at ease. What he didn’t know was that although he amused Melissa, he wasn’t her type – she was gay.”
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The Grammy winner has detailed her suicidal behavior during her marriage to Bono.
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Cher started living and working with Sonny after hanging out with several friends, although her mother wasn’t too happy about her 16-year-old daughter living with a man ten years older than her.
Although they were friends for a while at first, they married in 1964 and divorced in 1975, welcoming one child, Chaz.
The collaborators had an incredibly tumultuous relationship, with Cher even admitting in her memoir that she had suicidal thoughts while married to Bono.
Bono, who would later become the 16th mayor of Palm Springs, California, died in January 1998.
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