"Woman's World" is a song by American singer Cher, from her twenty-fifth studio album Closer to the Truth (2013). It was released on June 18, 2013 by Warner Bros. Records as the album's lead single. On June 18, 2013, Cher's album was made available to pre-order on iTunes. Upon doing so, "Woman's World" would become an instant download. Sonically, it is a dance-pop, EDM, electropop and electro song with themes of women's empowerment in its lyrics. "Woman's World" became a modest hit on Billboards top-selling electronic dance music chart. On the Hot Dance Club Songs chart, it became Cher's eighth number-one single, after being the greatest-gainer for its fourth, consecutive week. On the Adult Contemporary chart "Woman's World" debuted at number 30, making Cher one of few artists to have appeared on that chart in every one of the last six decades.
Background and release
After a nearly ten-year break, Cher resumed her recording career when she starred in the 2010 musical film Burlesque. Cher recorded two tracks, "Welcome to Burlesque" and "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me", for the film's soundtrack album which was issued in November 2010. The soundtrack was met with positive reviews, with critics praising her return to music. In early 2011, Cher began work on her twenty-fifth studio album.
While Cher was still in the process of finishing the album, snippets of "Woman's World" surfaced online in late October 2012, and when a DJ played a demo of the song at a Michigan club, Cher revealed on her Twitter page that she was upset about the leak. Once a full-length, unfinished version of the song began to spread online, Warner Bros. and Cher decided to give the single an early release. Cher explained, "We thought we had time, but ('Woman's World') started popping all over the world!"
On November 22, 2012, "Woman's World" was streamed on Cher's official website as a Thanksgiving treat for her fans. The song was not commercially released and was only available to stream on media sites such as YouTube and SoundCloud. After angrily tweeting a fan about her forthcoming album's delay, Cher admitted that the single's release was pushed back to June 2013, with the album following in September. On June 10, Cher revealed on her Facebook page that the official date of the single's release is June 18, with the premiere at the season finale of the talent show The Voice. Shortly after, a lyric video was posted on Cher's YouTube channel and the single appeared for purchase and streaming on iTunes, Amazon.com and Spotify.
On August 30, 2013 "Woman's World" was released in France and Australia and on September 2, 2013 in most other European countries.
Composition
"Woman's World" is an uptempo, "thumping" "empowerment jam" which falls under the dance-pop, EDM, electropop, and electro genres. The song lyrically and sonically matches her previous hits, "Believe" and "Strong Enough". Bass drums serve as the song's prologue, preparing a trance-like atmosphere, where Cher sings in a soft, low tone of voice: "I'm dancin' solo, in the dark on the club floor/ I need to let it go, shake it off, stop thinkin' 'bout you'," before emerging with a powerful vocal delivery with the words: "Torn up, busted, taken apart/ I've been broken down, left with a broken heart/ But I'm stronger, strong enough to rise above." In the refrain, Cher belts "tell the truth / this is a woman's world" in her contralto. The lyrics revolve around the theme of overcoming a broken relationship by surrendering to a discothèque environment. Toward the middle of the song, Cher addresses the listeners directly with: "All the women in the world, stand up, come together now/ This is a woman's world/ Everybody in the club, stand up, come together now" before returning to the hook and 808 drums. Cher's vocals span over one and a half octaves, from a low note of F3 to the high note of D5.