It's unfathomable to believe that Cher -- the Goddess of Pop -- hates her own voice, but it's true.
Speaking to ET's Kevin Frazier, the 77-year-old songstress admitted that she's not one to sing some of her legendary songs when she walks around the house -- and her reason is shockingly very relatable.
"Never. OK. Never," she tells ET. "I don't like my voice. I just don't like it. It's like, have you ever heard yourself talking?"
But she's Cher, which makes this even more surprising. The "Believe" singer expanded on that in a new interview with Paper, telling the magazine she's never liked her voice much and, if she had her druthers, she'd have a different voice.
"But I didn't get my choice," she tells the outlet. "I got my mother's."
She's befuddled when asked how she'd like her voice to be -- not befuddled at the question but how to convey a precise answer.
"I don't know, it's weird. It doesn't sound like a man, it doesn't sound like a woman," she says. "I'm somewhere more in-between. I have this strange style. I do what you do when you can't hold a note: I don't pronounce my R's. I guess some consonants are hard to sing, so I just gotta leave them open."
Cher at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Opening Gala at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on September 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.
When she's reminded about having such an iconic voice, Cher doesn't budge.
"No, I never liked it very much," she says. "I mean, people seem to like it and I'm happy as a clam, but I wouldn't have picked it. I liked it on my mother and it's definitely my mom's voice. My mom's is softer, mine is edgier -- different, but the same, but I don't think I would have picked it."
The likes of Stevie Wonder and Michael Bublé would beg to differ. They are among the artists featured on Cher's first-ever holiday album, Christmas, available now. The album is her first with original material in 10 years, following 2013's Closer to the Truth.
It can be terrifying branching out with something different as an established and beloved artist, but Cher confesses to ET that she's genuinely proud of the work on her new album.
"It's like, I didn't want to do it. I think everybody in the universe knows that, and I didn't know what I was doing when I started it," she admits. "I didn't have a goal. I just didn't want to do a Christmas album. I wanted to do an album with a Christmas theme that would make people feel happy during the holidays, but I wanted to do a Cher album."
Cher sings at a private event on October 24, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The singer describes the holiday album as "erratic," pointing out the eclectic mixture of guest artists featuring on the album's tracklist. From covers of iconic singles like Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run," and guest appearances by artists such as Darlene Love, Cyndi Lauper, and Tyga, it's fair to say the album has something for everyone.
It's a big year for Cher, who is also celebrating the 25th anniversary of "Believe" with the release of "Believe 25th Anniversary (Deluxe Edition)," out Nov. 3. All these years later, the hit track still resonates with audiences that transcend generations thanks to its unique sound.
"I think the sound 'cause nobody had ever heard that sound before," she says. "Somehow your ear just responds to it."
RELATED CONTENT:
