May 21 (UPI) — Cher sang her hit songs “Believe” and “If I Could Turn Back Time” at Sunday’s Billboard Music Awards ceremony in Las Vegas.
Gwen Stefani introduced the superstar, who appeared on stage wearing a long, blonde wig and silver, fringed garment over a nude body stocking, giving the illusion Cher was mostly naked.
When she finished the song, a video tribute played on the screens of the T-Mobile Arena, noting how the singer and actress is a Grammy, Emmy, Oscar and Golden Globe winner.
Cher then returned to sing “If I Could Turn Back Time,” clad in a curly, black wig, lace cat-suit and leather jacket similar to those she wore in the record’s 1989 video.
Stefani then presented the Billboard Icon Award to Cher.
“I’ve wanted to do what I do since I was four years old and I’ve been doing it for 53 years,” Cher said. “I’m 71 yesterday, yes, and I can do a five-minute plank, OK? Just saying. I want to thank my mom because when I was really young, my mom said: ‘You’re not going to be the smartest, you’re not going to be the prettiest, you’re not going to be the most talented, but you are going to be special.’ And then when I met [my late ex-husband] Sonny [Bono,] he said the same thing. And there was really nothing about me that led anyone to believe that I was going to be anything special. So, I’ve had so much help. … With my success, I think it was mostly luck with a little something else thrown in.”
