Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul

Paula Julie Abdul (Template:Pron-en, born June 19, 1962) is an American pop singer, record producer, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.

In the 1980s, Abdul rose from being a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to being a sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era, then to being a Pop-R&B singer with a string of hits in the late-1980s and early-1990s. She has scored six number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, placing her in a tie for fifth among the female solo performers who have reached #1 there. She won a Grammy for "Best Music Video - Short Form" for "Opposites Attract" and twice won the "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography."

After her initial period of success, she suffered a series of setbacks in her professional and personal life, until she found renewed fame and success in the 2000s as a judge on the television series, American Idol. Abdul was most recently featured in the eighth season of American Idol. Abdul has been working on a new album, and hopes to have the album released by the end of 2009.

Background

Abdul was born in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, the daughter of Lorraine (née Rykiss), a concert pianist who once worked as film director Billy Wilder's assistant, and Harry Abdul, a former livestock trader and owner of a sand and gravel business. Her father, a Syrian Jew, was born in Syria, raised in Brazil, and subsequently emigrated to the United States; Abdul's mother, also Jewish, is originally from Saint Boniface (now part of Winnipeg), Manitoba, Canada. Her mother's birth in Canada makes Abdul a Canadian citizen.

An avid dancer, Abdul was inspired towards a show business career by Gene Kelly in the classic film Singin' in the Rain as well as Debbie Allen, Fred Astaire, and Bob Fosse.

Abdul began taking dance lessons at the age of eight and showed a natural talent. She attended Van Nuys High School, where she was a cheerleader and an honor student. At 15, she received a scholarship to a dance camp near Palm Springs, and in 1978 appeared in a low-budget Independent musical film, Junior High School.

Abdul studied broadcasting at the California State University at Northridge. During her first year (freshman), she was selected from a pool of 700 candidates for the cheerleading squad of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team — the famed Laker Girls. Within three months, she became head choreographer. Six months later, she left the university to focus on her choreography & dancing career.

Career

Dance and choreography

Abdul and Patrick Swayze at the 1990 Grammy Awards

Abdul was discovered by The Jacksons, after a few of the band members had watched her while attending a Laker game. She was signed to do the choreography for the video to their single "Torture". "My only problem was how to tell the Jacksons how to dance," Abdul later recalled. "Imagine me telling them what routines to do. I was young, I was scared. I'm not quite sure how I got through that." The success of the choreography in the video helped lead to Abdul's then new career of choreographer in music videos. It was also due to the success of the video that Abdul was chosen to be the choreographer for the Jacksons' Victory tour.

Abdul choreographed videos for several singers throughout the 1980s, including many videos for Janet Jackson during her Control era. In 1995, Abdul released a dance workout video entitled Paula Abdul's Get Up and Dance! (re-released on DVD in 2003), a fast-paced, hip-hop style workout. In 1998 she released a second video called Cardio Dance (re-released on DVD in 2000). In December 2005, Abdul launched a cheerleading/fitness/dance DVD series called Cardio Cheer, which is marketed to children and teenage girls involved with cheerleading and dance.

In film, Abdul choreographed sequences for the giant keyboard scene involving Tom Hanks’s character in Big. Further credits include Coming to America, Action Jackson, Jerry Maguire, The Running Man, American Beauty (1999 film), and Oliver Stone's, The Doors. Television credits include The Tracey Ullman Show, American Music Awards, the Academy Awards, and several commercials, such as The King's touchdown celebration, as seen in a string of popular Burger King television commercials that aired during the 2005–2006 NFL season.

Forever Your Girl era (1987–1990)

Paula Abdul, 1990

In 1987, Abdul used her savings to make a singing demo. Although her voice was relatively untrained, her exceptional dancing proved marketable to the visually-oriented, MTV-driven, pop music industry.

In 1988, Abdul released her pop debut album, Forever Your Girl. The album took 62 weeks to hit #1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart — the longest an album has been on the market before hitting #1 — and spent 10 weeks there. The album eventually became multi-platinum in the spring and summer of 1989, and it spawned five American Top Three singles, four of them #1s (three in 1989 and one in 1990): "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me", and "Opposites Attract". A remix album, Shut Up and Dance, was also released and reached #7 on Billboard's album chart, becoming one of the most successful remix albums to date. The Grammy award-winning video for "Opposites Attract" featured an animated cat named MC Skat Kat. Abdul also went on a Club MTV tour where she performed songs from her album. Several other acts were also on the tour.

In the early 1990s, Yvette Marine, backing vocalist on Forever Your Girl, claimed that she sang lead vocals on the album and sued Paula and Virgin Records for compensation. After one month of court proceedings, Abdul and Virgin won the case.

Spellbound era (1991–1994)

Abdul's follow-up album, 1991's Spellbound, contained another string of hits, and sold 13 million copies worldwide. The first single from Spellbound was the ballad, "Rush, Rush", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, and was noted for its music video and Rebel Without a Cause motif featuring Keanu Reeves in the James Dean role. "Promise of a New Day," the second release from the album, also hit No. 1, and it was followed by the Top 10 hit "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" and two Top 20 hits: "Vibeology" and "Will You Marry Me?." The album, Spellbound, retained much of the dance-oriented formula heard on her debut album. The track "U" was written for Paula by Prince. "U" was supposed to be the final single from the album, but was never actually released.

Abdul promoted the album through the "Under My Spell Tour", which was named by an MTV contest for fans. This tour was nearly cancelled due to an accident during rehearsals. The tour began on schedule and ran from October 1991 to the summer of 1992. In 1991, Abdul embraced advertising and starred in a popular Diet Coke commercial in which she danced with a digital image of her idol, a young Gene Kelly.

Head Over Heels era (1995–1996)

By 1995 Paula Abdul had recovered from her battle with the eating disorder bulimia nervosa and prepared to return to the spotlight with her new album Head Over Heels. The album received mixed reviews, and its singles became modest radio hits. The first single off the album, "My Love Is for Real" featured a fusion of R&B and traditional Middle Eastern instruments, and was performed with Yemeni-Israeli singer Ofra Haza. Its accompanying Lawrence of Arabia-inspired music video was played in theaters across the world as a preface to the film Clueless. It was a hit in the clubs (peaking at #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart), but the single stalled at #28 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Despite the lack of mainstream chart success, the single was nominated for several MTV Video Music Awards.

The second single, "Crazy Cool" became a minor hit in the U.S. yet managed to peak at #13 on the dance charts. "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" served as the third and final single but failed to chart in the Hot 100. To date Head Over Heels has sold 3 million copies worldwide, Abdul's lowest selling studio album.

Musical hiatus

After the low sales of Head Over Heels and conquering her personal problems, Abdul took a hiatus from the music industry. In 2000, Abdul’s Paula Abdul: Greatest Hits CD was released by Virgin Records (with whom Abdul was already no longer affiliated). It featured all of her hit singles and other noteworthy tracks. The song "Bend Time Back 'Round" had previously been heard only on the 1992 soundtrack for the hit television series Beverly Hills 90210. The album was not a commercial success; however, it did sell more than one million copies worldwide.

In 1997, Abdul co-wrote "Spinning Around" along with fellow American Idol judge, Kara DioGuardi; a dance-pop track intended to be the lead single off her new album. The album never materialized and "Spinning Around" was given to Kylie Minogue as a single. The song became highly successful and re-launched Minogue's career, as it was intended to do for Abdul, and reached #1 in numerous countries.

American Idol

In 2002, Abdul appeared as one of three judges for the reality television music competition show American Idol. Abdul, along with fellow judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson (joined by Kara DioGuardi in 2009) were to evaluate the talent of a large group of young amateur singers, eliminate most of them in various audition rounds, and then judge the finalists as American television viewers voted on which finalists would continue to each successive round, until all but the winner were eliminated. Abdul won praise as a sympathetic and compassionate judge. She seemed especially kind compared to fellow judge Simon Cowell, who was often very blunt in his appraisals of the contestants' performances. When she realized that Cowell's over-the-top judging style was heartbreaking for many young contestants, Abdul was so horrified, she considered leaving the show. Although their differences often resulted in extremely heated on-air exchanges and confrontations, Cowell says he played a major role in convincing Abdul not to leave the show.

Now a bona fide television celebrity, Abdul accepted a second assignment as reporter for Entertainment Tonight. Her knack for finding something positive in almost every performance, her emotion-laden praise for contestants whose style she really likes, and her unique fingers-bent-outwards handclapping style have fueled the belief among some that she is drunk during auditions. This rumor has been the subject of satire, especially by Amy Poehler during Saturday Night Live sketches and Nicole Parker on MADtv. This ability to give positive feedback to every performance has also led some people to say she is a poor judge incapable of constructive criticism.

Abdul has been criticized for falling back on the same cliches and pat phrases when praising or critiquing Idol contestants with comments like "America loves you!", "You're authentic!" or "It wasn't your best performance." Several American comedy shows, including Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, and Mad TV, have capitalized on these catch-phrases when doing sketches involving an Abdul impersonator. They also imitate Abdul's unusual "arm-flapping" style of clapping her hands.

On March 28, 2006 FOX announced that Abdul had signed to stay on American Idol as a judge for at least three more years. Later that year, fellow American Idol judge Simon Cowell invited her to be a guest judge at some of the early auditions for the third series of his similar UK talent show The X Factor. Abdul was present at the initial audition of the eventual winner, Leona Lewis.

The week of May 14 to May 18, 2007 (the week before the season 6 finale), Abdul broke her nose when she tried to "avoid tripping over her pet chihuahua". She was present at the May 22 performance and the May 23 finale.

Her second greatest-hits CD, entitled Greatest Hits: Straight Up!, was released by Virgin on May 8, 2007. This album was put together by Virgin Records, with whom Abdul was no longer signed as a recording artist. At this time, they also released the music videos to all six of her #1 singles to iTunes.

Bravo announced a reality television series following Abdul through her day-to-day life, called Hey Paula. The series was produced by Scott Sternberg Productions and debuted on June 28, 2007. Paula's behavior as depicted on the show has been described as 'erratic' by comedian Rosie O'Donnell. and decried by numerous fans and critics.

Abdul's American Idol wardrobe often includes a number of necklaces, rings, bracelets, and earrings that she designs, and she often gives show contestants custom-designed jewelry. In 2007, Paula Abdul Jewelry launched its nationwide consumer debut on QVC, with the tagline "fashion jewelry designed with heart and soul". Paula's first QVC appearance resulted in 15 sellouts of her first jewelry collection involving more than 34,000 pieces. Paula is currently about to release her own perfume entitled "Sexy Thoughts."

In January 2008, Paula returned to the music charts for the first time in nearly 13 years with the single "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow", which is the first track on the album Randy Jackson's Music Club Vol 1. The song debuted on On Air with Ryan Seacrest. The song was a modest comeback hit for Paula, peaking at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Paula's MTV show "RAH!" premiered in January 2009. The 90-minute special featured five collegiate cheerleading squads, which competed in a series of challenges in order to be crowned the winner by Paula. A snippet of Paula's latest single "Boombox", a cover of a Kylie Minogue song, also premiered on the show.

On May 5, 2009, Paula debuted her new song "I'm Just Here for the Music" (originally an unreleased song from Kylie Minogue's ninth album Body Language) on the Ryan Seacrest Radio KIIS-FM show. On May 6, 2009, Paula performed her new song on the American Idol results show. On May 8, 2009, Paula released "I'm Just Here For The Music" to the US iTunes Store.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times on July 18, 2009, Paula's manager David Sonenberg told the newspaper that, "Very sadly, it does not appear that she’s going to be back on ‘Idol’." This came about as a result of stalled negotiations between Paula and the show. Later on her Twitter page, Paula responded to her fans' messages of support by stating: "I’m actually moved 2 tears upon reading the enormous amount of tweets showing me your kindness, love, & undying support. God bless all of you!,” continuing, “If it weren’t for you, this specific time and situation would feel a whole lot worse!”

Personal life

Abdul was married to Emilio Estevez from April 29, 1992 to May 1994. In a June 19, 2005 interview with People magazine Abdul stated that they broke up over the issue of children; she wanted them to have a child together, while Estevez (who already had two children from a prior relationship) did not. She later married sportswear designer Brad Beckerman in 1996. They divorced in 1998.

Having recovered from her eating disorder after treatment in 1994, she later became a spokeswoman for NEDA, and was presented with the Profiles In Living Award in late 2005. She then continued her work by recording Public Service Announcements in 2006.

In April 2005, she revealed that she suffers from a rare neurological disorder called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (CRPS) that causes chronic pain.

Paula practices Judaism and is proud of her heritage. She once stated, "My father is a Syrian Jew whose family immigrated to Brazil. My mother is Canadian with Jewish roots. My dream is to come to Israel for a real holiday." In November 2006, Israeli Tourist Minister Isaac Herzog invited her to Israel, Abdul responding with a hug, adding, "I will come; you have helped me make a dream come true."

On Valentine's Day 2006, Abdul appeared on Dr. Phil as part of a prime time special on love and relationships. She was set up on two dates and Phil McGraw gave her advice.

Paula is also a dog lover who is currently raising awareness about National Guide Dog Month in May 2009 and she is teaming up with Dick Van Patten to help people with blindness to have more independence through the help of guide dogs.

In mid July 2007, Abdul announced that she had begun dating J.T. Torregiani, a restaurant owner 12 years her junior. She told Access Hollywood: "He is a good guy. Things are looking upwards. It's looking good right now. I wasn't even looking for someone and that's what usually happens." Paula and JT broke up in June 2008, citing their hectic work schedules.

Endorsements

Paula is currently endorsing G2 Fitness, a company that offers yoga, stretch, and golf stretch mats. "Paula uses the back mat, the yoga mat and other products all to help with her chronic back pain and to have the ability to continue on with what she loves, cheerleading and dancing."

Controversies

Corey Clark

In May 2005, ABC's news magazine Primetime Live reported claims by Season 2 American Idol contestant Corey Clark that he and Abdul had an affair during that season, and that she had coached him on how to succeed in the competition. The fact that Clark came forward at a time when he was marketing a CD and trying to get a book deal was seen as suspicious by some, but Clark maintains that his career was being prejudiced because of his relationship with Abdul and that is why he came forward with the information to clear his name. For the most part, Abdul refused to comment on Clark's allegations. At the height of the debacle, Abdul appeared in a Saturday Night Live skit, making light of the situation. While Fox launched an investigation, Abdul received numerous calls of support from celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey; Barbara Walters even addressed the camera during an episode of ABC's The View to say she was ashamed to be part of an operation that would report Clark's flimsy tabloid claims under the guise of a news story. In August 2005 the Fox network confirmed that she would be returning to the show, as the investigation had found "insufficient evidence that the communications between Mr. Clark and Ms. Abdul in any way aided his performance".

Legal issues

On December 20, 2004, Abdul was driving her Mercedes on an L.A.-area freeway when she changed lanes and hit another vehicle. The driver and passenger snapped a photograph with a cell phone camera and wrote down the license plate number of the car, which was traced to Abdul. On March 24, 2005, Abdul was fined $900 and given 24 months of informal probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor hit-and-run driving in Los Angeles. In addition to the fines she was ordered to pay $775 for damage to the other car.

On April 4, 2006, Abdul filed a report at a Hollywood police station claiming she had been a victim of battery at a private party at about 1 a.m. April 2, according to L.A.P.D. spokesman police Lt. Paul Vernon. "According to Abdul, the man at the party argued with her, grabbed her by the arm and threw her against a wall", Vernon said. "She said she had sustained a concussion and spinal injuries".

Substance abuse allegations

Substance abuse allegations arose as the result of what some described as "erratic behavior" by Abdul during episodes of American Idol. After reading these allegations on message boards, Abdul told People magazine in April 2005 that she suffered from chronic pain for years following a "cheerleading accident" at age 17 and was diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) in November 2004. Abdul says she is now pain-free following treatment, including the anti-inflammatory medication Enbrel.

Allegations arose again in January 2007 when videos circulated on the Internet of Abdul appearing to sway in her chair and slur her speech during a set of interviews. Abdul's publicist attributed this to fatigue and technical difficulties during the recording of the interviews. It was revealed on the Bravo show Hey Paula, which had followed Abdul with a video camera prior to the interviews, that Abdul had not been sleeping, perhaps suffering from some mild form of insomnia.

In February 2007, Abdul told Us Weekly that she had never been drunk or used illegal drugs and called the allegations "lies".

In a March 2007 appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Abdul joked that her scrutinized behavior was caused by her being "abducted by aliens".

In several interviews given in the late 2000s, Paula claimed to have been left in debilitating pain after a 1992 car accident and a 1993 plane crash that required 15 spinal surgeries and which left her dependent on pain medication for years. Media gossips reported that she had become an addict she continues to defend herself against allegations that she filmed the television show high on drugs. Paula is admitting that she's come to terms with her dependency and is determined to stay sober once and for all.

In May 2009, Ladies' Home Journal posted an article on its Web site that said Abdul told them she attended the La Costa Resort and Spa the previous year to recover from physical dependence on prescription pain medications. The medications, prescribed due to injuries and her RSD diagnosis, included a pain patch, nerve medication, and a muscle relaxant. According to the article, Abdul said the medications made her "get weird" at times and that she suffered from physical withdrawal symptoms during her recovery.

Later that same week, though, in an interview with Detroit radio station WKQI, Abdul rejected the article's accuracy. She told the radio station she never checked into a rehab clinic and never had a drug abuse problem.

Tours

• The Club MTV Tour
• The Under My Spell Tour

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions						Certifications (sales threshold)
		US	US R&B	UK	AUS	NOR	SWE
1988	Forever Your Girl Released: Released: June 13, 1988 Label: Virgin Records	1	4	3	1	17	6	US: 7× Platinum UK: Platinum CAN: 7× Platinum
1991	Spellbound Released: May 14, 1991 Label: Virgin Records	1	5	4	3	—	6	US: 3× Platinum UK: Gold CAN: 2× Platinum
1995	Head Over Heels Released: June 13, 1995 Label: Virgin Records	18	31	61	18	—	—	US: Gold
"—" denotes the album failed to chart or not released

Compilations

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions					Certifications (sales threshold)
		US	US R&B	UK	AUS	SWE
1990	Shut Up and Dance Released: May 8, 1990 Label: Virgin Records	7	65	40	16	24	US: Platinum CAN: Platinum
2000	Greatest Hits Released: September 26, 2000 Label: Virgin Records	—	—	—	—	—
2007	Greatest Hits: Straight Up! Released: May 8, 2007 Label: Virgin/EMI	—	86	—	—	—
"—" denotes the album failed to chart or not released

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions									Album
		US	US R&B	US Dance	US AC	UK	AUS	IRE	CAN	GER
1988	"Knocked Out"	41	8	14	—	41	—	17	—	—	Forever Your Girl
	"(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me"	88	10	18	—	—	—	—	—	—
1989	"Straight Up"	1	2	3	—	3	27	1	1	3
	"Forever Your Girl"	1	54	28	11	24	51	21	1	17
	"Cold Hearted"	1	—	19	—	46	68	—	1	38
	"(It's Just) The Way You Love Me" (re-release)	3	—	—	—	74	76	—	9	—
	"Opposites Attract" (with The Wild Pair)	1	3	24	—	2	1	8	1	13
1990	"Straight Up" (Ultimix Mix)	— align="left" rowspan="2"|	— Knocked Out	—	—	—	21	—	—	—	Shut Up and Dance
	"1990 Medley Mix"	—	—	—	—	—	33	—	—	—
1991	"Rush Rush"	1	20	—	1	6	2	11	1	12	Spellbound
	"The Promise of a New Day"	1	—	—	26	52	31	—	1	86
1992	"Blowing Kisses in the Wind"	6	—	—	5	—	—	—	4	—
	"Vibeology"	16	—	17	—	19	63	29	7	—
	"Will You Marry Me?"	19	—	—	17	73	54	—	—	74
1995	"My Love Is for Real"	28	96	1	—	28	7	—	23	87	Head Over Heels
	"Crazy Cool"	58	—	13	—	—	76	—	16	89
1996	"Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up"	112	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2008	"Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" (with Randy Jackson)	62	—	2	29	—	—	—	68	—	Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1
2009	"I'm Just Here for the Music"	87	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	TBD
Number-one songs		6	—	1	1	—	1	1	6	—
Top-ten hits		8	4	3	2	3	3	2	9	1
Top-forty hits		11	5	10	6	7	6	6	11	5
"—" denotes the single failed to chart or wasn't released to that country

Filmography

Film and television

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1978	Junior High School	Sherry
1987	Can't Buy Me Love	Dancer (uncredited)
1997	Touched By Evil	Elle Collier	TV Movie
1998	The Waiting Game	Amy Fuentes	TV Movie
	"Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV series)"	Herself	1 Episode
1999	The Wayans Bros.	Sasha	1 Episode
	Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story	Denise Walton	TV Movie
2002 - 2009	American Idol	Judge
2004	That's So Raven	Undercover Judge	1 Episode
2005	Romy and Michele: In the Beginning	Herself	TV Movie
	Less Than Perfect	Kathleen	1 Episode
	Robots	Watch
2007	Hey Paula	Herself	7 Episodes, also Executive Producer
2009	RAH! Paula Abdul's Cheerleading Bowl	Herself	Host
	Brüno	Herself	Uncredited

As choreographer

Year	Film	Notes
1983	Private School
1986	A Smoky Mountain Christmas
1987	The Tracey Ullman Show	Won 1989 Emmy Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Choreography"
	Can't Buy Me Love
	The Running Man
1988	Action Jackson
	Big
	Coming To America
1989	She's Out of Control
	Dance To Win
	The Karate Kid, Part III
1990	17th American Music Awards	Won 1990 Emmy Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Choreography"
1991	The Doors	Val Kilmer's choreographer
1996	Jerry Maguire
1999	American Beauty
2001	Black Knight
2002	The Master of Disguise

"Roses" Music Video Outkast- herself

See also

• List of Jews from the Arab World
• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)
• List of artists by total number of USA number one singles
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
• List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart

External links

• Paula Abdul at IMDb
• Paula Abdul at AllMovie
• Paula Abdul official Site for her New Album
• A Direct Interview with Paula Abdul

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