Paula Abdul

torontodj

torontodj

Suburbia said:
The Spellbound era confuses me.

She looked incredible, the tour was great, the artwork was gorgeous, and the album was solid, but that singles run... I do love Promise of a New Day, though the video was definitely a choice. Why were she/they hellbent on pushing ballads? Poor Vibeology had a hard task trying to save the era that late in the game once the damage was done. Horny horns!
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I think Paula and her team were responding to the lawsuit. They wanted to show that Paula could sing and that she could get to #1 with a ballad and they proved that with Rush Rush.

I think Vibeology was always going to be a hard sell. I love it but it has a very unique structure. The VMA performance didn't help and I think the timing of when it was released converged with a massive transition in the music scene with Nirvana. The lawsuit also didn't help. Spellbound was a successful era but Paula and team were up against a lot.
 
bcmuk

bcmuk

What was the lawsuit? Was it against the label?

I don't why pop artists are sometimes so concerned with being seen as "serious artistes" when they are selling records by the truck load. There are plenty of talented and serious artistes out there living in abject poverty. Regardless of what anyone thinks of a singer and vocal ability, you cannot argue with success, so she must have been doing something right.
 
S

Suburbia

torontodj said:
I think Paula and her team were responding to the lawsuit. They wanted to show that Paula could sing and that she could get to #1 with a ballad and they proved that with Rush Rush.

I think Vibeology was always going to be a hard sell. I love it but it has a very unique structure. The VMA performance didn't help and I think the timing of when it was released converged with a massive transition in the music scene with Nirvana. The lawsuit also didn't help. Spellbound was a successful era but Paula and team were up against a lot.
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What was the reaction to the VMAs? I thought there was a technical issue at the beginning until the Paula in drag reveal... that was gaggy I thought
 
WhatKindOfKylie?

WhatKindOfKylie?

It's funny, Spellbound is a great album and I enjoy it more as a whole listen than Forever Your Girl. But, compared to her debut, it does lack many songs that sound hits in that respect.
 
torontodj

torontodj

Suburbia said:
What was the reaction to the VMAs? I thought there was a technical issue at the beginning until the Paula in drag reveal... that was gaggy I thought
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She got a lot of flack for it.
bcmuk said:
What was the lawsuit? Was it against the label?

I don't why pop artists are sometimes so concerned with being seen as "serious artistes" when they are selling records by the truck load. There are plenty of talented and serious artistes out there living in abject poverty. Regardless of what anyone thinks of a singer and vocal ability, you cannot argue with success, so she must have been doing something right.
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Yvette Marine, of the Mary Jane Girls, sued Virgin Records claiming she had shared lead vocals on some of the Forever Your Girl songs. She insisted that Paula did sing but that their voices were blended. The suit was in favour of Abdul but the damage was done. I even remember an interview with Cher who said that Paula was not a singer, she was a dancer.
 
bcmuk

bcmuk

torontodj said:
She got a lot of flack for it.

Yvette Marine, of the Mary Jane Girls, sued Virgin Records claiming she had shared lead vocals on some of the Forever Your Girl songs. She insisted that Paula did sing but that their voices were blended. The suit was in favour of Abdul but the damage was done. I even remember an interview with Cher who said that Paula was not a singer, she was a dancer.
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Really? Thanks for the info. Paula is hardly alone in getting a bit of help on a record. She had a very distinctive voice, blended or not.

Quite mean spirited of Cher. Can you imagine if someone told her ‘you’re a singer, not an actress’?!

I’ll never understand what an artist gets out of shading a peer in public.
 
djessie

djessie

According to Wikipedia, Forever Your Girl has sold approx. 7 million copies in the US and the remix album about 1 million for a total of 8 million US sales.

Madonna released in 1989-1990 Like A Prayer, I´m Breathless and The Immaculate Collection which combined have sold around 18 million copies in the US.

That said, Paula had six number one singles from 1988-1991 while Madonna had three.
 
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That Blonde Lad

That Blonde Lad

Straight Up is such an amazing pop song. A bit weird, even slightly creepy but also unabashedly pop whist having an atypical pop structure. It didn’t sound like much else on the radio at the time, and still doesn’t. I guess you could say it sounds a wee bit Princey at a push? Also, great lyrics, superb vid and bewitching cover art make a fantastic combo.
 
torontodj

torontodj

Rush Rush was a massive hit. It got a lot of hype and press. It was her first single after the mammoth success of Forever Your Girl. It was her first ballad to be released as a single, and there was also the expensive video co-starring Keanu Reeves. It was everywhere in the summer of 1991, along with Terminator 2 and Natalie Cole's Unforgettable... with Love.
 
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