Dance-floor diva.

Believe * Cher * Warner Bros.

It used to be that all female singers worth their pumps would perk up their long-players with at least a few tunes for the gay dance floor. But over the last year, with the sudden blanding of radio, our beloved dance divas have taken a beating while mainstream songbirds stick to ballads, and down-tempo grooves are pumped up to club energy levels only as an afterthought.

So it's a defiant move for Chef to release her most discofied album since her Studio 54--era Take Me Home. Targeted at the U.K./Euro market, Believe is a start-to-finish pop dance eruption recorded with Brit duo Metro (who've tweaked goodies by Gina G and Aqua), Todd Terry (star remixer of Everything But the Girl's "Missing"), and DJ icon Junior Vasquez. Already her biggest Anglo single in ages, the anthemic title track sets an uplifting mood with racing synths and quirky electronic manipulations of Cher's patented warble.

The material is inspired: Not only does Chastity's mom tackle Amy Grant's "The Power," Betsy Cook's cult-circuit favorite "Love Is the Groove," and her own hair-metal monster, "We All Sleep Alone," but she also wraps her lips around a bounty of new booty-wigglers that evoke the glory days of Gloria Gaynor ("Strong Enough") and Donna Summer ("Taxi Taxi"). The whole thing screams fan dance.