It has been close to a year since my colleague Robin Leach first blogged about rumors that Cher would be joining Elton John and Bette Midler as a headliner at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Even before the Midler show was announced, Cher's name was in the mix. Now, with Midler's "The Showgirl Must Go On" opening February 20, the official announcement of Cher's residency was finally made.

 

Cher last said goodbye to Las Vegas an epic four times on her "farewell" tour between 2002 and 2005. Cher's drawing power is going to be tested starting May 6 with 200 shows set to take place over the next three years, with prices ranging from $95 to $250. If things go well, expect more shows to be added, because as the  Review-Journal's Mike Weatherford notes, "The first stint that runs through May 31 offers four shows per week, leaving room for the singer to add more if she chooses."

 

I am going to go out on a limb and guess that Cher will prove the first hard sell among Colosseum headliners. Celine Dion proved a monstrous success. Her "A New Day" really did mark a new beginning for Vegas headliners. Elton John's show, if anything, is even more successful. Bette Midler certainly lacks the numerous hits of Dion or John, but she has spent decades doing almost vaudevillian concert tours that seem a perfect match for Vegas.

Obviously, as Cher tells Mike Weatherford, "Las Vegas is over the top, and the show I do is way over the top. I feel that it just has to be." Maybe so. But there are so many shows in Vegas built around spectacle that cost less, and how much of Cher's singing will be live? Audiences are far more sophisticated about vocal tricks of the concert trade than they were just a few years ago. Time will tell.

 

Now, if I can turn back time (yeah, not funny), check out this old-school YouTube clip of the three headliners of Caesars Palace (Elton John, Bette Midler and Cher) doing a medley of songs including "Proud Mary." (Photo by Sarah Gerke)