Taylor Hill/Getty ImagesCher is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in two ways: by releasing new music, and trying to help others.
As Billboard reports, as soon as she began self-isolating, the legendary star began working on recording her first-ever Spanish-language song: a cover of ABBA‘s 1979 hit “Chiquitita.” As Cher tells Billboard, she began learning the song last year, but didn’t record it then. It appears on her 2018 ABBA tribute album Dancing Queen, but in its original English-language form.
The song arrives this Friday, May 8, and the video premieres Saturday on a UNICEF special that streams at UNICEFWontStop.org and the UNICEF USA YouTube channel at 8 p.m. ET. Cher’s donating the song proceeds as well.
“I shot my part of the video at home and they later sent me the final cut with children from around the world in it. It’s such a beautiful, optimistic experience,” Cher tells Billboard. “It’s great when you can see anything positive now because all of the turmoil we are in.”
Cher’s also set up a charity called CherCares, through which she plans to donate $1 million to “chronically neglected and forgotten people.”
“It’s not a lot of money — $1 million goes in the blink of an eyelash! — so now I’m trying to get my friends to make it a lot more so we can do something that will really meet people’s needs,” she explains.
Cher, who’s registered as an independent, also explained why she’ll be voting for Joe Biden in the upcoming presidential election. She says she’s known him for many years and believes he’s an “honest man.”
She adds, “Y’know, everybody’s got faults, but at least he has a soul and he understands pain…I think he still has got it or I wouldn’t vote.”
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.