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Paula Abdul

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Paula Abdul

Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American television personality, jewelry designer, multi-platinum Grammy-winning singer, and Emmy Award-winning choreographer.

In the 1980s, Abdul rose from being a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team 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. According to Abdul, she has sold over 53 million records to date.[1] After her initial period of success, she suffered a series of reverses in her professional and personal life, until she found renewed fame and success in the 2000s as a judge on the highly rated television series American Idol.

Biography

Early life

Abdul was born in San Fernando, California, to Harry Abdul, who once worked as a livestock trader and owns a sand and gravel business in California, and Lorraine Rykiss, a former concert pianist who once worked as an assistant to film director Billy Wilder. Abdul's father was a Mizrahi Syrian Jew who immigrated with his family to Brazil and then to the U.S.,[2] while her mother is also Jewish and originally from Saint Boniface, an area of Winnipeg, Canada.

She and her sister, Wendy, who is seven years older, lived with their mother in the San Fernando Valley. As a small child Abdul's interest in a career as a performer was inspired by Gene Kelly in the classic film Singin' in the Rain as well as such entertainers as Debbie Allen, Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis Jr., Fred Astaire, and Bob Fosse. When asked in an interview about black influence:

Absolutely....As a young kid growing up, I admired the talent of so many [Black artists]. Black kids identified with me because we all danced together, and we shared that love for art. My favorite artists were Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, the O'Jays—that's what I grew up on. That was my consciousness.[3]

Abdul began dance lessons around the age of eight and showed a natural talent for it. She attended Van Nuys High School where she was on the cheerleading squad, and was an honors student. At 15, she received a scholarship to a dance camp near Palm Springs.

Abdul enrolled at California State University at Northridge to study broadcasting. In her freshman year, she tried out for the Los Angeles Lakers' famed Laker Girls squad and was selected from a pool of 700. Within three months she became head choreographer. She quit school six months later.

Dance and choreography

Abdul's high-energy, street-funk style delighted fans, including the Jackson family, who saw her perform at a game and hired the 20-year-old to choreograph a music video for their 1984 Victory (album).

Abdul went on to choreograph 1980s videos for singer Janet Jackson. She also choreographed music videos for Duran Duran, Heart, Prince, The Jacksons, Jermaine Jackson, Kool & the Gang, the Pointer Sisters, Steve Winwood, Luther Vandross, INXS, Debbie Gibson, ZZ Top, George Michael and Dolly Parton. She choreographed and appeared in the videos for Toto's "Till The End", Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl", Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done For Me Lately" and "Nasty" and Angela Winbush's "Run to Me". She also choreographed stage shows for Suzanne Somers and Toni Basil.

In film, Abdul choreographed the dance sequences in the films Coming to America, The Running Man and American Beauty, as well as Cuba Gooding Jr.'s touchdown celebration in Jerry Maguire, the giant keyboard sequence involving Tom Hanks’ character in Big, and The King's touchdown celebration, as seen in a string of popular Burger King television commercials that aired during the 2005-2006 NFL season.

In 1995, Abdul released a dance workout video entitled Paula Abdul's Get Up and Dance! (released on DVD in 2003), a fast-paced, hip-hop style workout. Subsequently she released another dance workout video in 1998 called Cardio Dance (released on DVD in 2000). In December 2005, Abdul launched a cheerleading/fitness/dance/dance DVD series called Cardio Cheer, which is marketed to children and teenage girls involved with cheerleading and dance.

Early Commercial Success 1987-1990

File:PaulaAbdulForeverYourGirl.jpg
Paula Abdul's successful debut album brought her widespread public attention.

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 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. It spent 10 weeks at #1. 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: "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me", and "Opposites Attract". Forever Your Girl was the first debut album ever to have four number one singles. 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. As a sign of Paula's enormous popularity, the cartoon cat scored his own record deal later that year, becoming the first artist signed to Abdul's own Captive Records. Abdul's voice was sampled on one track and she appeared in the video for the first single.

Abdul also went on a Club MTV tour where she performed the songs off her album. Several other acts were also on the tour. Overall the tour helped raise Abdul's popularity even more.

Artistic Development 1991-1992

Paula Abdul on the cover of her sophomore album Spellbound

Abdul's follow-up album, 1991's Spellbound, contained another string of hits, and went on to sell 8.5 million copies. Hits included "Rush, Rush" (which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, thanks to its music video and its Rebel Without a Cause motif featuring Keanu Reeves in the James Dean role), "Promise of a New Day", "Blowing Kisses in the Wind", "Vibeology", and "Will You Marry Me?". The first single, "Rush, Rush", was a ballad, which surprised many, as singers generally release an up-tempo song as a first single. The album Spellbound retained much of the dance-oriented formula heard on her debut album. The track "U" was written for Paula by Prince.

Abdul promoted the album through a tour called "Under My Spell Tour." This tour almost didn't happen because of an accident during rehearsal that was bad enough she almost had to cancel the tour. The tour went as scheduled anyway and ran from October 1991 to the summer of 1992.

Also in 1991, Abdul made a popular Diet Coke commercial in which through technology she danced with her idol, a young Gene Kelly.[4]

Abdul took a break from recording and resurfaced in 1995 with an exercise video, Get Up and Dance.

Personal Struggles 1993-1994

It was around this time when Paula's personal life began to cloud her career. In 1993 she confessed to suffering from the eating disorder bulimia and checked herself in to a clinic. Her reputation was also damaged when backing vocalist Yvette Marine claimed she sang on the Forever Your Girl album, not Paula. The case started in August, and lasted one month. Eventually Paula and Virgin records won the case. That same year Paula filed for divorce from Emilo Estevez. The divorce was finalized in 1994, but both remain friends to this day.

Career Woes 1995-1996

By 1995 Abdul had successfully overcome her obstacles and prepared to return to the spotlight with her new album Head Over Heels. Modest radio hits with the singles "My Love Is for Real", "Crazy Cool", and "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" showed that she was still able to create popular music while moving with the times. The first single off the album, "My Love Is for Real", featured a fusion of R&B and traditional Middle Eastern instruments, and was sung together with Yemenite-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 dance 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. The second single, "Crazy Cool", was accompanied by a music video wherein Abdul is seen riding a mechanical bull and spraying Champagne over her breasts.

Virgin Records, possibly counting on name recognition to move copies, did not put nearly as much muscle behind promoting the album, and Head Over Heels sold considerably less than her previous albums.

Although the album was commercially less successful, some fans considered it to be her best work to date.[citation needed] Some speculate that the album didn't sell well because of the amount of time taken between albums and the change in radio tastes in the mid-90s.[original research?]

That same year Abdul married Brad Beckerman, heir to a clothing giant.

Hiatus 1997-1999

Paula had ended her music career abruptly due to the failure of her third album and years of physical stress, and injuries. A year later Abdul filed for divorce from Berckman, citing irreconcible differences. The divorce was finalized in 1998.

In the late 1990s, she attempted to revitalize her career as a performer by accepting acting roles, starting with the 1997 television movie Touched by Evil, which she played a woman who discovers her boyfriend was her rapist. The film was rejected by both fans and critics. She later played Amy Fuentes in the 1998 made-for-TV film, The Waiting Game, which was released only in the UK, and received moderate reaction from viewers.[5] She also appeared in several TV shows including The Wayans Brothers and Spin City as well as the ABC Family made-for-TV movie Romy and Michele: In the Beginning.


Music comeback and American Idol 2000-Present

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 the "hit" singles singles as well as other noteworthy tracks. The song "Bend Time Back 'Round" had previously been heard only on the 1993 soundtrack for the hit television series Beverly Hills 90210. The album was not a commercial success, however it managed to sell more than 1 million copies worldwide.

In 2000, Abdul co-wrote "Spinning Around", a dance-pop track intended to be the lead single off her new album. The album never materialised and "Spinning Around" was given to Kylie Minogue as a comeback 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.

A second greatest-hits CD, entitled Greatest Hits: Straight Up!, was released by Virgin on May 8, 2007. The track listing is slightly different but, again, this album was put together by Virgin Records who no longer employs Abdul but nonetheless hopes to cash in on her American Idol success. At this time, they also released the music videos to all her six #1 singles to iTunes. She is also reportedly meeting with new record companies, to bounce around ideas for a new album.[citation needed]

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, was 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 when her critiques were compared against those of 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 walk off.[6] Now a bonafide television celebrity, Abdul accepted a second gig as reporter for Entertainment Tonight. She continued to attract attention during subsequent seasons of American Idol. Her knack of 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 feuled the belief among some that she is drunk during auditons. This rumor has been the subject of satire, especially by Amy Poehler on Saturday Night Live sketches.

In May 2005, ABC's news magazine Primetime Live reported claims by Season 2 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 black balled because of his relationship with Abdul and that's why he came forward with the information to clear his name of what idol said he was disqualified for previously. 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.[7] 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."[8]

On March 28, 2006 FOX announced that Abdul had signed to stay on American Idol as a judge for at least 3 more years.

The week of May 14th to 18th, 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 22nd performance and May 23rd finale. It has been suggested that Abdul actually didn't break her nose because of the chihuahua incident, but rather her throwing a glass at a nearby wall, proof behind this allegation has not yet been admitted to the general public or media.

Career Transition 2007- Present

Bravo announced a reality television series following Abdul through her day-to-day life, called Hey Paula. The series is produced by Scott Sternberg Productions and is scheduled to debut June 28, 2007.[9]


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".[10] Paula's first QVC appearance resulted in 15 sellouts of her first jewelry collection involving more than 34,000 pieces .[11]

Personal life

Although Abdul is Jewish[12] and of Mizrahi and Ashkenazi descent, she bears an Arabic surname and has frequently been mistaken as being part-black. Abdul told Ebony magazine: "I've had a lot of black kids come up to me and say, 'You are black! There's no way, no way [you are not black]', and that's all right with me."[3] African-American supermodel Tyra Banks recently admitted during Abdul's 2006 appearance on The Tyra Banks Show that she too had thought Abdul was black prior to their first meeting.[13]

  • 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 married sportswear designer Brad Beckerman in 1996; they divorced in 1998 citing irreconcilable differences.
  • Valentine's Day 2006, Abdul appeared on Dr. Phil as part of a primetime special on love and relationships. She was set up on two dates and Phil McGraw gave her advice.
  • 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 continued her work by recording Public Service Announcements in 2006.
  • In April 2005, she revealed that she suffers from a rare neurological disorder called complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) that causes chronic pain.[14]

On Judaism and Israel

Paula is proud of her Jewish religion. She has said, "Not many people know, but both my parents are Jewish, I am very excited about telling you this." She has said that it was her dream to visit Israel and said, "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." Israeli Tourist Minister Isaac Herzog invited her to Israel during a Hanukkah festival, to which Abdul responded with a hug, adding, "I will come; you have helped make a dream come true."[2]

  • 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 USD $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 USD $775 for damage to the other car.[15]
  • 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."[16]

Substance abuse allegations

Substance abuse allegations arose as the result of what some described as "erratic behavior"[17] 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 in November 2004.[17] Abdul says she is now pain-free following treatment, including the anti-inflammatory medication Enbrel.[17]

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.[18] Abdul's publicist attributed this to fatigue and technical difficulties during the recording of the interviews.[18]

In February 2007, Abdul told Us Weekly that she had never been drunk or used illegal drugs, and called the allegations "lies."[19] 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."[20]

Awards

Abdul won the 1989 Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography for her work on The Tracey Ullman Show and the same award in 1990 for The 17th Annual American Music Awards.

Discography

Albums

Year Album U.S. U.S. R&B UK RIAA Cert. WW sales
1988 Forever Your Girl 1 10 3 7x Platinum 20 mil.
1990 Shut Up and Dance (remix album) 7 65 40 Platinum 5 mil.
1991 Spellbound 1 31 4 3x Platinum 13 mil.
1995 Head Over Heels 18 - 61 Gold 5 mil.
2000 Paula Abdul: Greatest Hits - - - - 2 mil.
2007 Greatest Hits: Straight Up! - 86 - - 1 mil.

Singles

Year Song U.S. U.S. R&B U.S. Dance UK AUS Album
1988 "Knocked Out" 41 8 14 98 - Forever Your Girl
1989 "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" 88 10 18 - -
"Straight Up" 1 2 3 3 27
"Forever Your Girl" 1 54 28 24 -
"Cold Hearted" 1 - 19 46 -
"Knocked Out" (Remix) - - - 45 -
"(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" (Remix) 3 - - 74 -
"Opposites Attract" (with The Wild Pair) 1 3 24 2 1
1990 "Knocked Out" (remix) - - - 21 - Shut Up and Dance
1991 "Rush Rush" 1 20 - 6 2 Spellbound
"Promise of a New Day" 1 - - 52 31
1992 "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" 6 - - - -
"Vibeology" 16 - 17 19 -
"Will You Marry Me?" 19 - - 73 -
1995 "My Love Is for Real" 28 96 1 28 7 Head Over Heels
"Crazy Cool" 58 - 13 - -
1996 "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" 112 - - - -

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Paula Abdul dishes on Antonella Barba, 'Idol,' and her media portrayal, RealityTVWorld.com, 2007-03-14. Retrieved on 2007-04-11
  2. ^ a b Itamar Eichner (2006-11-17). "Israeli minister, American Idol". YNetNews.com. Retrieved 2006-11-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b Lynn Norment (May 1990). "The many talents of Paula Abdul". Ebony.
  4. ^ Commercial with Gene Kelly
  5. ^ Reviews of The Waiting Game at IMDB
  6. ^ Cowell, S (2003): I don't mean to be rude, but..., page 116-117, Random House. ISBN 0-7679-1741-3
  7. ^ AP., Abdul pokes fun at sex scandal on ‘SNL’, MSNBC.com (2005-05-11), Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
  8. ^ AP., After probe, Paula Abdul to remain on ‘Idol’, MSNBC.com (2005-08-24), Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
  9. ^ http://www.movieweb.com/tv/news/78/16978.php MovieWeb.com News]
  10. ^ Paula Abdul Jewelry homepage on QVC, retrieved May 13, 2007.
  11. ^ GuyoutBrothers.com Jewelry Industry News
  12. ^ "CNN.com". CNN LARRY KING LIVE. Retrieved October 14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ 2006 interview with Tyra Banks
  14. ^ Paula Abdul Falls Straight Down, E Online News, 2007-05-21. Retrieved on 2007-05-21
  15. ^ AP., 'Idol' Judge Fined For Hit-And-Run, CBSnews.com, 2005-03-24, Retrieved on 2007-02-10.
  16. ^ AP, Paula Abdul Tells Police She Was Assaulted, MSN.com, 2006-04-06, Retrieved on 2007-02-10.
  17. ^ a b c Abdul says odd behavior not drug-related, USA Today, 2005-04-20. Retrieved on 2007-04-09
  18. ^ a b Paula Abdul seen slurring in TV interview, Reuters via MSNBC.com, 2007-01-15, Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
  19. ^ Paula Abdul claims she’s ‘squeaky clean’, Associated Press via MSNBC.com, 2007-02-13, Retrieved on 2007-02-15
  20. ^ Clip of 2007 interview on Letterman, provided by CBS to YouTube.

References

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