Paula Abdul is Forever My Girl

My Paula Adbul fandom is a little unique I feel. I had heard of her growing up but I didn't know her music during her prime. By the time I got into music in 1997 her last album Head Over Heels had been released 2 years ago to commercial indifference. I had gotten into older pop divas in the late 90s like Madonna, Janet and Mariah but they were still currently producing music. We were still a few years away from her American Idol comeback as well. So how did I get into Paula?

Well oddly enough my first exposure to her music came via Beavis & Butthead. That show exposed me to a lot of 90s music, especially alternative rock and grunge, but I remember seeing the video for Crazy Cool off Head Over Heels on Beavis & Butthead. I thought the song was pretty darn catchy from what I could hear over Beavis & Butthead's banter.

My next Paula moment came on an MTV countdown hosted by a group of comedians called 25 Lame, the 25 lamest music videos ever. Rush Rush by Paula Abdul was on the list as was Hold On by Wilson Phillips and Two Princes by the Spin Doctors and now all 3 of those songs are some of my favorites of the 90s so the countdown obviously didn't have the intended effect it was supposed to on me. That said, Janeane Garofalo actually says she likes the Rush Rush music video and song especially because she loves the film Rebel Without a Cause. So of course Dennis Leary has to rip on her and say she only likes it because of Keanu Reeves because women only like uncool things (aka feminine things) because of hot men. Janeane made her point clear but nobody cares because men are always right.

A year later I purchased a compilation CD called Entertainment Weekly: 1990 which had Opposites Attract right at the start. It also had Release Me by Wilson Phillips (Trust me I'm gonna talk about those girls at some point down the road.)

Now realize these moments were spread out over several years but they left an impression. The moment I finally decided to buy her music was spring of 2000 when I heard Straight Up on a light rock radio station and I loved it. At the time Paula's official American released Greatest Hits was not quit out yet (It would be released in December of 2000) and I liked starting with Greatest Hits typically if I could when getting into artists. What was available was a Japanese Greatest Hits that was under 30 dollars on Amazon. After waiting a few weeks it finally arrived and my Paula Abdul obsession was now off and running.

Eventually I bought all 3 of her albums on CD, her 2 music video VHS collections and the Under My Spell tour on VHS for dirt cheap. This was before YouTube and around the time when MTV stopped playing many videos, especially older ones. So back then in the year 2000 the only way to really see older music videos or concert clips was to buy cheap used VHS collections of said artist's music videos and concerts off Amazon or Half.com. These VHS collections also came with interviews with Paula Abdul about her childhood, becoming a Laker girl, choreographing music videos for The Jacksons, how she launched her music career and then the story behind each of the music videos. The story I find really cute is when Paula talks about the Forever Your Girl music video which featured children recreating classic moments in 80s music videos. The one little boy with the leather jacket and motorcycle apparently had a crush on Paula and asked her if she would be his girlfriend. Paula told him that she’s a little too old for him and his response was “That’s OK I like older woman!” Again in the days before YouTube these VHS tapes were my only resources to watch Paula Abdul music videos, to learn more about her and hear her talk about her career.

I also asked for Paula’s 2000 Greatest Hits because it had all the single versions of her songs which were different from the albums versions (especially Crazy Cool). I also made multiple mix tapes of her music and I listened to her music constantly. My brother recently commented on this to his girlfriend that he remembers very vividly when I got into my Paula Abdul phase. He remembers that it came out of nowhere and dominated my music listening for well over a year before I started moving into Grunge and Classic Rock. My Paula phase is scorched into his brain for all time. And to reiterate those 2 years I was obsessed with Paula (2000-2001) were 5 years removed from her last album and before the American Idol comeback so she was on no one's radar especially my peers but I think that's what I loved about her too. It felt like my own secret obsession unlike say Britney Spears who everyone knew and all the girls and gays listened to during that same era.

I think what I really liked about Paula Abdul was not only was a she great entertainer and dancer, but she made music that was POP in all caps with no pretense. A lot of times pop artists act like they are better than pop but not Paula. Granted a lot of that probably has to do with her vocal range not being as strong as other pop divas at the time but I find I like that more sometimes. The reason being that sometimes with a great vocalist you find the song serves the singer and not the singer serving the song. Therefore the music itself is not too interesting because they want you as the listener to be impressed with the singer's vocal range and honestly I find that boring most of the time. Now pop stars with more limited vocals (see Britney Spears and even Madonna) you get music that works overtime to keep you interested. The production, melody, instrumentation, hooks and chorus are firing from all cylinders to make up for any vocal short comings. Paula's music is perfectly constructed pop that keeps your ears interested from start to finish. Each song spins off as many hooks as humanly possible and they get stuck in your head for days if not for all time! Yes her music doesn't move me emotionally but that's not a problem. Sometimes you just want pop music that makes you feel good and Paula's songs do that for me better than most. To me Paula Abdul's music is the textbook example on how to craft great feel good pop songs.

Something that people tend to forget too is just how huge Paula Abdul was between 1989-1991. In that time she had two # 1 multi-platinum albums plus a successful remix album, 6 # 1 singles and 2 additional top 10s, she won multiple music awards, and her music videos were splashed all over MTV at that time. In that 3 year span she sold more albums and had more chart topping hits than Madonna, Whitney Houston and Gloria Estefan! Only Janet Jackson rivaled her during that time with The Rhythm Nation album. Paula's music combined with her dancing skills and eye-popping videos made her a superstar that nobody could resist for a few years. Sure people write Paula Abdul off now but I bet most of those people like at least one of her songs such as Rush Rush, Opposites Attract or Straight Up.

The other thing I love about Paula is how nice she is. Like Britney Spears, Paula Abdul is a pop diva who doesn't act like a diva. She seems like such a sweetheart and tries to encourage and empower her fans with positivity. She did this through her music, interviews and on American Idol as the nice judge and she is still doing that today. Paula is one of my favorite people to follow on social media because her posts always brighten up my day. She gives words of encouragement & self-care and sets goals for herself and encourages her fans to set goals for themselves as well. In a time of political turmoil, plus my own struggles with a concussion and my back, Paula's messages on social media were sometimes the most positive thing I would read all day. I told her on Facebook she was a beacon of light in these dark times which she hearted in response. Paula is also not one to talk trash about people besides possibly Simon Cowell, which in that one instance is completely justified. Paula isn't about putting people down, throwing shade or starting drama and for that I love her. Also seeing her open up about her back issues in recent years and overcome them has been really inspiring for me as well since my back has been an ongoing issue for me this decade.

Back to the early 00s though. As I said I drifted away from pop for a few years and Paula was someone I didn't really listen to much for a while. During that time though she finally had her comeback but she didn't record any music. Instead she became the nice judge on American Idol. I never really watched American Idol to be honest but just the fact that she was back in the public sphere again made me happy. Eventually she did record a little music, 2 songs to be exact around the time I started listening to her music again on a regular basis. Both songs were solid with Dance Like There's No Tomorrow being my favorite of the two. I played that song a lot senior year of college and I would request it at the gay clubs I went to. I would preface my request by saying "The NEW Paula Abdul song."

Paula didn’t record as much music as Madonna, Janet or Britney but that has its own advantages. Due to only having 3 studio albums with few stray singles, B-sides, a remix album, and a greatest hits means that there is very little filler in her catalogue in my opinion. She probably has about 3 songs I don't like total. Everything else I like or love by her. Her catalogue is a perfect example of less being more.

Yet there is promise of new music from her once again as we seem to find ourselves in the middle of Paula Abdul renaissance! First Paula started touring again with New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men. After that she launched her first headlining tour since 1992. Then came her billboard awards performance which blew everyone away and reminded everyone what an amazing dancer and performer Paula Abdul has always been.

That same night we then learned Paula had a new Vegas Residency lined up called Forever Your Girl and that a new album was finally coming! This was way more than I ever dreamed at this point but it warms my gay heart. I couldn’t be happier that Paula Abdul, much like her good friend Janet Jackson, is finally getting the respect and kudos she deserves. Plus her streaming numbers shot up after her Billboard performance as a new generation of music listeners discovered how fun and memorable her music and videos still are.

Paula Abdul was the last of the pop divas to become a huge favorite of mine before I moved onto classic rock and grunge in 2002 and therefore she has cemented her place as one of my all-time favorite female pop singers. Speaking of Grunge, next up it's time to tackle the story of how a teenage gay boy trapped in the closet turned to flannel clad rockers for solace.