Song:Rush Rush
Album:Greatest Hits: Straight Up!
Paula Abdul was so popular from 1989-93 that I'm sure many fans don't realize she only recorded three albums and the last album was in 1995. Of course she's done plenty of other things to remain in the public eye. Rush Rush was the fifth of six consecutive number one hits. She was born June 19, 1962 in San Fernando, CA. Her mother was Canadian born concert pianist Lorraine Rykiss. Watching Gene Kelly in Singin' In The Rain inspired Paula to take dance lessons. After graduating high school, she joined the Los Angeles Lakers dance group The Laker Girls and she was head choreographer within a year. When some of The Jacksons saw her while attending a Laker game, she was hired to choreograph the video for Torture. Then she toured with them. Paula choreographed many music videos, most notably for Janet Jackson. She also worked in films and TV. So now she wants to be a singer though she doesn't have much of a singing voice. She signed with Virgin Records. The thinking is she could be coached to sing but her looks and dancing could carry her videos. Her debut album Forever Your Girl was released June 1988. It got off to a slow start. Straight Up! was the third single and it was Paula's first number one hit. The music video featuring Arsenio Hall was played constantly on MTV. This was followed by three more number one hits from Forever Your Girl. The album sold seven million copies. As we all know, it's always difficult to follow up when an debut album is that successful. For her 1991 album Spellbound, Paula worked mostly with Peter Lord of the R&B group The Family Stand. He was producing another Virgin act Aftershock and he heard Paula was looking for new songs. They clicked and Lord produced the whole album. Rush Rush was the first single and it topped the charts. The video was based on Rebel Without A Cause and it featured Keanu Reeves. The second single The Promise Of A New Day also topped the charts. Spellbound sold over three million copies. That was her final number one hit. Paula took time off to recover from bulimia. By the time she released the 1995 album Head Over Heels, she had been forgotten and the album didn't sell and there were no hit singles. This budget comp has all of her hits. She returned to choreography until she was named a judge for the TV show American Idol in 2002. She has appeared as a judge on several other shows. Most recently she was a judge on So You Think You Can Dance. Recently it was announced Paula would not be returning to the show as she is planning a concert tour. There has been talk that she has recorded an album but there are no details yet. It's doubtful she can return to the top of the charts after over a twenty year gap. Stranger things have happened. Here's the video for Rush Rush by Paula Abdul.
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