Cher To Release ABBA Covers Album Following ‘Mamma Mia!’ Role

Cher has revealed that she has recorded an entire album’s worth of ABBA covers, following her appearance in the jukebox musical film Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

Speaking to the Today Show in the US, the iconic 72-year-old singer said: “After I did ‘Fernando’ [in the film], I thought it would be fun to do an album of Abba songs, so I did! It’s not what you think of when you think ABBA, because I did it in a different way.”  As yet, however, no further details are available in relation to the project.

Cher performs ‘Fernando’ in the film alongside Andy Garcia, who plays hotel manager Fernando Cienfuegos. Writer-director Ol Parker said that “people brought their husbands, wives, children and dogs” to watch the scene being filmed. Tom Hanks, executive producer on the film, said “we were all in awe, and a bit nervous” of the veteran actor and singer.

Cher spoke to Sky News at the world premiere in London on Monday night and revealed how she got the role: “The head of Universal used to be my agent, and he and I are best friends. He called me up and he said: ‘You’re doing Mamma Mia!’ And he hung up … It was beyond fun. I’ve never been on a movie that had less tension.” She said the film is “fun at a time when we need fun”.

In addition to her Mamma Mia! Role, Cher continues to perform live. Aside from continuing her concert residencies in Washington DC and Las Vegas throughout 2018, she will tour Australia in the autumn. A jukebox musical of her own work, The Cher Show, premiered in June in Chicago and is set to debut on Broadway in November.

As uDiscover Music previously reported, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again arrives in cinemas on 20 July.

Remind yourself of ABBA’s greatest songs here.

Format: UK English