On November 22, 1988, “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul was released and it went on to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. As the third single from her debut album “Forever Your Girl,” the popularity of “Straight Up” propelled the album to multi-platinum success, selling 12 million copies worldwide and spending 10 weeks as a No. 1 album. “Straight Up” also earned Abdul a 1989 Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Born on June 19, 1962 in San Fernando, CA, Abdul was inspired at a young age to start a career in dance after watching Gene Kelly’s performance in “Singing In The Rain.” Her dancing dreams came true when she was an 18-year-old freshman in college. Out of 700 applicants, Abdul was selected to become an Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader. Her natural talent moved her up to the coveted position of head choreographer a year later.
Abdul’s work with the Lakers cheerleaders caught the attention of a who’s who list of 1980s music artists, including ZZ Top, Duran Duran, George Michael, The Jacksons, and Janet Jackson, who hired her to choreograph their music videos. Abdul cites the choreography she did for Janet Jackson’s “Nasty” and “When I Think Of You” (1986) music videos as her all time favorite.
Abdul launched her own music career in 1988 with “Forever Your Girl.” Her single “Straight Up” became a smash success thanks to the relatable anxiety that she expresses in the song. With the catchy chorus, “Straight up, now tell me/Do your really want to love me forever/Or am I caught in a hit and run?… or are we just havin’ fun,” it is hard to think of a better way to demand a relationship status update from someone who is giving you mixed messages.
The album also generated other high-charting favorites, including “Knocked Out,” “The Way That You Love Me,” “Forever Your Girl,” “Cold Hearted,” and “Opposites Attract.” Although Abdul lost out to Bonnie Raitt at the 1989 Grammys for the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance award, she won a 1990 Grammy for her “Opposites Attract” music video.
After releasing two more albums and selling over 30 million records by 2000, Abdul went on a brief hiatus from the music world. However, two years later she returned to the limelight as an “American Idol” judge, alongside Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell. She quickly became a fan favorite for her positive encouragement of the contestants on the music reality TV competition show. After leaving “American Idol” in 2009, she became a judge on the “The X Factor” in 2011 for one season and a judge on the Australian version of “So You Think You Can Dance.”
Whatever next move she makes in her career, Abdul will be forever our girl when it comes to getting us motivated to hit the dance floor.
