Paula Abdul

Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962 in San Fernando, California) is an American dancer, choreographer, singer, and television personality.

Singing

In 1988, she released her debut album Forever Your Girl and, after a fairly long time, became a smash hit star. The album spawned five American Top Five singles (out of just ten songs): "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me", and "Opposites Attract". A remix album, Shut Up and Dance, was also released and reached #7 on Billboard's album chart. The video for "Opposites Attract" featured an animated cat named MC Skat Kat. As a sign of Paula's enormous popularity, the cartoon cat ended up with his own record deal later that year. Abdul's voice was sampled on one track and she appeared in the video for the first single.

Related Topics:
1988 - Forever Your Girl - Shut Up and Dance - MC Skat Kat

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Her follow-up album, 1991's Spellbound, is often overlooked in musical history. Abdul made such an impact in late-1980s music that when her second effort was released in the early 1990s, everyone assumed it would be less successful. Instead, it unleashed another string of top-ten hits "Rush, Rush" (which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, thanks to its George Lucas-directed video, and Rebel Without a Cause premise featuring Keanu Reeves in the James Dean role), "The Promise of a New Day", "Blowing Kisses in the Wind", "Vibeology", and "Will You Marry Me?". The first single "Rush, Rush", was a ballad, which surprised many as singers generally release an up-tempo song as a first single. The album Spellbound retained much of the dance-oriented formula heard on her debut album. The track "U" was written for Paula by Prince.

Related Topics:
1991 - Spellbound - 1980s - 1990s - Billboard Hot 100 - George Lucas - Rebel Without a Cause - Keanu Reeves - James Dean - Prince

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As Abdul's image shifted slowly from "beautiful" to "sexy", gossip began to circulate about her weight. At only 5 ft 2 in (157 cm), Abdul did not have the height commonly associated with dancers and choreographers. In her music video for "Promise of a New Day", a visual effect was used which stretched images vertically on the screen. Tabloids claimed this was to make Abdul appear taller and thinner. Then, in an appearance on the MTV Video Music Awards, Abdul did a live performance of "Vibeology" wearing a sequined one-piece bustier outfit, revealing that Abdul had indeed put on weight. Morning radio hosts were merciless the following day. In 1995, Abdul appeared in an ABC television interview with Diane Sawyer in which she discussed her past weight problem and revealed that she'd been in recovery from a lifelong battle with bulimia.

Related Topics:
Music video - MTV Video Music Awards - 1995 - Diane Sawyer - Bulimia

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Spellbound was successful but didn't sell nearly as many copies as the Abdul's debut album. Abdul took a break from recording and resurfaced in 1993 with an exercise video.

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In 1995 Abdul released her fourth album, Head Over Heels. With modest radio hits with the singles "My Love Is for Real", "Crazy Cool", and "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up", she showed that she was still able to create popular music while moving with the times. The first single off the album, "My Love Is for Real", featured a fusion of R&B and traditional Middle Eastern instruments. It's accompanying Lawrence of Arabia inspired music video had was played in theaters across the world as a preface to the film Clueless. It was a hit in dance clubs (peaking at #1 on Billboard's Club Play chart) but the single stalled at #28 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. The second single, "Crazy Cool", was accompanied by a music video wherein Abdul is seen riding a mechanical bull and pouring beer over her breasts. The album did not sell nearly as well as previous two.

Related Topics:
1995 - Head Over Heels - R&B - Lawrence of Arabia - Clueless - Mechanical bull

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Abdul had never had a real career as an actress, barring an appearance as Sherri in a low-budget musical movie from 1978 called Junior High School. In an attempt to revitalize her career as a performer, she began accepting acting roles, starting with the television movie Touched by Evil in 1997. In a genre that is hardly well respected to begin with, her performance (as a rape victim who discovers her boyfriend was her rapist) was rejected by both fans and critics. Another made-for-TV movie, The Waiting Game (1988), was neither panned or praised.

Related Topics:
1978 - Junior High School - Touched by Evil - 1997 - Rape - 1988

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In the year 2000, the CD Greatest Hits was released. It featured an array of hit singles from all three of Abdul's previous albums, as well as other noteworthy tracks. The song "Bend Time Back Round", included on the CD, had only been heard previously on the 1993 soundtrack of the hit television series Beverly Hills 90210.

Related Topics:
2000 - 1993 - Beverly Hills 90210

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Abdul co-wrote Kylie Minogue's 2000 hit single "Spinning Around".

Related Topics:
Kylie Minogue's - 2000 - Spinning Around

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As of 2005, she is working with fellow American Idol judge Randy Jackson to produce a new album of dance material. It has been rumored that the album's working title is Paula'ticks of Love.

Related Topics:
2005 - Randy Jackson - Paula'ticks of Love

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