Cher just brought down the house at the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The superstar, 77, closed out Thursday morning’s festivities following a cascade of colorful floats and performances that entertained audiences tuning in from around the country.
The actress and singer serenaded the crowd with her new track, “DJ Play a Christmas Song,” off of her album, Christmas. She was surrounded by a group of dancers who held large red hearts — and even got a round of applause from Flavor Flav, who was seen clapping and cheering in the New York City crowd.
Even a minor broadcasting glitch — which interrupted the video feed to show distorted colors while audio stayed intact, according to Entertainment Weekly — didn’t interrupt Cher’s flow.
Cher kept warm in her best cold-weather gear, which of course included some sparkles via a pair of black bedazzled pants and a sparkly silver coat, which she shed during the performance.
Cara Howe/NBC
The rendition of her hit song came after performances from artists like Jon Batiste, Jessie James Decker, Brandy, Chicago, En Vogue, David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Ashley Park and Pentatonix as well as numbers from Broadway productions including Shucked, Back to the Future: The Musical and Spamalot.
Cara Howe/NBC
Thursday’s performance was not Cher’s only holiday outing, as she will be taking the stage again in just a few days for the iconic Christmas tree lighting at New York City’s Rockefeller Center.
She is set to perform two songs, both a solo and a duet with Darlene Love — likely “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” which they recently recorded together for Cher’s new Christmas album.
Other performers slated to take the stage during the two-hour event include Chloe Bailey, Adam Blackstone, Keke Palmer, Foster and McPhee, Liz Gillies, Seth MacFarlane, Barry Manilow, Carly Pearce and Manuel Turizo.
And of course, the Rockettes will be on deck to perform a number during the broadcast which will be hosted by Kelly Clarkson.
While promoting the release of her album Christmas, Cher’s first holiday project, the Grammy winner told PAPER earlier this year that looking back on her catalog of work, she has some critiques.
“I’ve made so many albums, and some of the ones I thought were as good as I could like an album of mine weren’t hits. And then other ones that I was not that excited about [were],” she explained.
“So I like this album. I’m not a Cher fan, but I like doing it,” she admitted. “When I listen to [Christmas], I think this worked out.”
She went on to add, “I just never liked my voice that much. If I had my choice, I probably would have another one, but I didn’t get my choice. I got my mother’s voice.”
