Diane Warren Says She ‘Believed in Cher’ From the Start

It’s hard to imagine Cher not being the icon she is today, but according to songwriter Diane Warren, there was a time when people had their doubts.

“I believed in Cher, that’s the thing,” Warren, 68, exclusively told Us Weekly at the recent Carousel of Hope Ball in Los Angeles while reflecting on their time spent working together in the late ‘80s. “I remember, when I was working with her at that time, and she was, like, in her 40s, I believe. And everybody [was] saying, ‘Oh, she can’t have a hit.’ Everybody wrote Cher off. I didn’t. I still, to this day — Cher [is] 78 years old and you can never write her off because she’s always eternally cool.”

Dubbed the “Goddess of Pop,” Cher has since earned four No. 1 singles and is one award shy of reaching EGOT status.

Cher and Warren worked together on the smash hit “If I Could Turn Back Time,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 following its 1989 release and is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. Warren told Us Cher “hated” the song and had to be convinced to record it.

“When I wanted to do the song and she just didn’t want to do it; she hated it and I literally held her legs down in the studio,” Warren teased. “Really, I said I wouldn’t let go until she said yes. So she said yes. And, you know, it kind of worked out.”

Since working with Cher, Warren has continued to churn out hits. She’s currently “so excited” to be receiving Oscar buzz for her song “The Journey” from Tyler Perry’s upcoming American war drama, The Six Triple Eight, starring Kerry Washington.

“[It’s] one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written for a movie, but one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written in my life. Period. I hope [it gets nominated],” Warren told Us. “Whether it wins or — look, I haven’t won in 15 [chances], but winning is being nominated because the people in the music branch are the best of the best in music and films. And if they, like, pick you as one of the five, you already won.”

Along with writing for the big screen, Warren has also worked on successful hits for other musicians like Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” Céline Dion‘s “Because You Loved Me,” Tina Turner’s “Don’t Turn Around” and more songs for Cher.

“When I wrote ‘You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me’ — I wrote that for her, which is like her theme song now,” Warren continued. “Because you never see the last of Cher. We never will.”

Reporting by Mariel Turner