Forever Your Girl
Forever Your Girl | ||||
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Studio album by Paula Abdul | ||||
Released | June 21, 1988 | |||
Studio |
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Genre |
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Length | 44:35 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Producer |
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Paula Abdul chronology | ||||
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Singles from Forever Your Girl | ||||
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Forever Your Girl is the debut studio album by American singer Paula Abdul. It was released on June 21, 1988, through Virgin Records.[3] The album was Abdul's breakthrough into the music industry after being a choreographer for high-profile clients including Kate Bush, The California Raisins, George Michael, ZZ Top, Duran Duran and most notably Janet Jackson. At the time of the album's release it was the most successful debut album of all time and was the first time an artist scored four US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles from a debut album. It is currently certified 7× platinum by the RIAA.
Background
In 1987, Abdul, once a choreographer for Los Angeles Lakers and high-profile artists including George Michael, ZZ Top, Duran Duran and most notably Janet Jackson, used her savings to make a singing demo.[4] Soon thereafter, she was signed to Virgin Records by Jeff Ayeroff, who had worked in marketing at A&M Records with Janet Jackson. Although she was a skilled dancer and choreographer, Abdul was a relatively untrained singer, and worked with various coaches and record producers to develop her vocal ability, with her vocal range defined as mezzo-soprano.[5][6] Ayeroff recalled signing Abdul to a recording contract years later, stating: "She said, 'I can sing, you know. I want to do an album.' Paula's in our industry. Here's someone with a personality and she's gorgeous, and she can dance. If she can sing, she could be a star. So she went into the studio and cut a demo record and she could sing."[7] The album was made on a budget of $72,000.[8]
Release and reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Record Guide | C[10] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Los Angeles Daily News | C[12] |
Number One | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
On October 7, 1989, 64 weeks after its July 23, 1988 debut on the chart, Forever Your Girl hit number one on the Billboard 200 album sales chart, the longest an album has been on the market before hitting number one.[15] The album was eventually certified seven times Platinum in the US by the RIAA and has sold over 12 million copies worldwide.[16] It also includes four number one Billboard Hot 100 singles: "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", and "Opposites Attract",[16] which places Forever Your Girl in a tie (with several other artists) for second most number-one songs from a single album, and ties it for the most number ones in a debut album. She was the first female artist to have four number one singles from a debut album. "The Way That You Love Me" reached number three, and "Knocked Out" reached number 41.
The album also reached number four on the R&B album chart, while "Straight Up", "Opposites Attract", "Knocked Out", and "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" all reached the top 10 of the R&B tracks chart.
After a slow start, the album's third single "Straight Up" helped the album breakout in spring/summer 1989 after its initial summer 1988 release. Forever Your Girl hit number one for the first time on October 7, 1989. After the release of the single "Opposites Attract", the album shot to number one again on February 3, 1990, and stayed there for nine consecutive weeks.
By 1998, Billboard magazine reported that Forever Your Girl was the most successful album released by the Virgin Records label, with all five of its top 20 hits also appearing on the same chart ranking Virgin's singles.[17]
The Los Angeles Daily News called the album "a fine starmaker vehicle", stating that Abdul "applies a come-hither whisper to a likable batch of melodies... What's frustrating is that Abdul's voice is buried beneath bustling arrangements on tunes like 'Opposites Attract' and 'Knocked Out'."[12]
Accolades
Organization | Country | Accolade | Year | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
MTV Video Music Awards | United States | Best Female Video (Straight Up) | 1989 | Won |
Best Dance Video (Straight Up) | ||||
Best Choreography in a Video (Straight Up) | ||||
Best Editing (Straight Up) | ||||
Best New Artist in a Video (Straight Up) | Nominated | |||
Breakthrough Video (Straight Up) | ||||
American Music Awards | Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist | 1990 | Won | |
Favorite Dance Artist | ||||
Favorite Pop Rock Album | Nominated | |||
Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist | ||||
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist | 1991 | |||
Billboard Music Awards | #1 World Album | 1990 | ||
Soul Train Awards | Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Song of the Year (Straight Up) | 1990 | Nominated | |
People's Choice Awards | Favorite Female Artist | 1990 | Won | |
Favorite All-Around Female Entertainer | Nominated | |||
Grammy Awards | Best Vocal Performance, Female (Straight Up) | 1990 | Nominated | |
Best Music Video (Short Form) Opposites Attract | 1991 | Won | ||
Juno Awards | Canada | International Single of the Year (Straight Up) | 1990 | Nominated |
International Album of the Year | 1990 | |||
Brit Award | United Kingdom | International Breakthrough Act | 1990 | Nominated |
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Way That You Love Me" | Oliver Leiber | Leiber | 5:22 |
2. | "Knocked Out" |
|
| 3:52 |
3. | "Opposites Attract" | Leiber | Leiber | 4:24 |
4. | "State of Attraction" | Ballard | 4:07 | |
5. | "I Need You" |
| Johnson | 5:01 |
6. | "Forever Your Girl" | Leiber | Leiber | 4:58 |
7. | "Straight Up" | Elliot Wolff | Wolff | 4:11 |
8. | "Next to You" |
| C. Williams | 4:26 |
9. | "Cold Hearted" | Wolff | Wolff | 3:51 |
10. | "One or the Other" |
| C. Williams | 4:10 |
Total length: | 44:22 |
Personnel
Adapted from AllMusic.[18]
- Paula Abdul – lead vocals
- Marvin Gunn and Bruce DeShazer AKA Tony Christin - backing vocals
- Peter Arata – mixing assistant
- Babyface – keyboards, producer, backing vocals
- Glen Ballard – drums, producer, programming
- Russ Bracher – engineer
- Pattie Brooks – backing vocals
- Wally Buck – engineer
- Francis Buckley – engineer, mixing
- Annette Cisneros – assistant engineer
- Dave Cochran – guitar, backing vocals
- Keith "KC" Cohen – mixing, producer
- Delisa Davis – backing vocals
- Tami Day – backing vocals
- Jimmy Demers – backing vocals
- Eddie M. – saxophone on "I Need You"
- Al Fleming – assistant engineer
- Basil Fung – guitar
- Jon Gass – engineer, mixing
- Bobby Gonzales – guitar
- Danny Grigsby – assistant engineer
- Evelyn Halus – backing vocals
- Dann Huff – guitar
- Tim Jaquette – engineer, mixing
- Jesse Johnson – drums, keyboards, producer
- Cliff Jones – assistant engineer, engineer
- Kayo – synthesizer, synthesizer bass
- Oliver Leiber – arranger, drum programming, guitar, keyboards, producer, programming
- Jeff Lorber – drum programming, engineer, guest artist, keyboards, producer
- Yvette Marine – backing vocals
- Pat McDougal – assistant engineer
- Lucia Newell – backing vocals
- Ricky P. – keyboards
- Pebbles – guest artist, backing vocals
- L.A. Reid – drums, guest artist, percussion programming, producer
- Angel Rogers – backing vocals
- Josh Schneider – assistant engineer
- Daryl Simmons – backing vocals
- Bob Somma – guitar
- St. Paul – arranger, bass, keyboards, Organ, vocoder
- Kendall Stubbs – engineer
- Randy Weber – programming, synthesizer
- Steve Weise – engineer
- Troy Williams - saxophone on "Forever Your Girl"
- Wild Pair – vocals, backing vocals
Charts
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Chart | Position |
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US Billboard 200 (Women)[42] | 10 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA)[43] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada)[44] | 7× Platinum | 700,000^ |
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[45] | Gold | 10,000* |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[46] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[47] | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[48] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[49] | 7× Platinum | 7,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
See also
References
- ^ Breihan, Tom (December 3, 2021). "The Number Ones: Paula Abdul's "Rush Rush". Stereogum. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
- ^ Deggans, Eric (January 1, 1998). "Paula Abdul". In Graff, Gary; du Lac, Josh; McFarlin, Jim (eds.). MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 2.
- ^ Britannica Book of the Year. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Incorporated. 1991. ISBN 978-0-85229-546-5.
- ^ "Paula Abdul Biography". metacritic.com. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ Dominguez, Pier (June 13, 2018). "How "Forever Your Girl" Made Paula Abdul The Original Britney". BuzzFeed. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- ^ Hanson, Rachel. "Dancer Paula Abdul". LoveToKnow. LoveToKnow Corp. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ Hall, Carla (March 25, 1990). "Paula Abdul, Soaring Straight Up". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ "Paula Abdul Talks "Very Personal" Las Vegas Residency and Paving the Way for Today's Pop Stars". The Hollywood Reporter. 31 October 2019.
- ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r131740
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1990). "A". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved August 16, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
- ^ a b Britt, Bruce (July 29, 1988). "Sound Check". Los Angeles Daily News. p. L40.
- ^ Martin, David (April 26, 1989). "Albums". Number One. p. 43. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 2. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
rolling stone paula abdul album guide.
- ^ "Paula Abdul - Biography, Photos, News, Videos, Movie Reviews". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
- ^ a b "Paula Abdul, Driven". VH1. VH1. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
Forever Your Girl went on to sell 18 million records.
- ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1998-09-05.
- ^ "Forever Your Girl - Paula Abdul | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9072". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ "Spellbound – Oricon", Oricon (in Japanese), archived from the original on May 5, 2019, retrieved February 21, 2009
- ^ "Charts.nz – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ "Paula Abdul | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ "Paula Abdul Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ "Paula Abdul Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ "Top 100 Albums of 1989". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1989". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1990". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Top 100 Albums of 1990". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ Bakker, Machgiel (22 December 1990). "1990 REVIEW: Music & Media Year -End Awards . European Top 100 Albums 1990" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. pp. 29, 38. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ Mayfield, Geoff (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- ^ "Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums By Women". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1990 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Paul Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Music Canada. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ^ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1990". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ^ "New Zealand album certifications". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Forever Your Girl')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ^ "British album certifications – Paul Abdul – Forever Your Girl". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ^ "American album certifications – Paul Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
External links
- Paula Abdul Billboard peaks
- v
- t
- e
- Forever Your Girl
- Spellbound
- Head over Heels
- Shut Up and Dance: Mixes
- Greatest Hits
- Greatest Hits: Straight Up!
- "Knocked Out"
- "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me"
- "Straight Up"
- "Forever Your Girl"
- "Cold Hearted"
- "Opposites Attract"
- "Rush Rush"
- "The Promise of a New Day"
- "Blowing Kisses in the Wind"
- "Vibeology"
- "Will You Marry Me?"
- "My Love Is for Real"
- "Crazy Cool"
- "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up"
- "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow"
- "I'm Just Here for the Music"
- Under My Spell Tour
- Total Package Tour
- Straight Up Paula!
- Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl
- American Idol
- Hey Paula
- Live to Dance
- The X Factor
- So You Think You Can Dance
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