Chart entered : 4 March 1989
Chart peak : 3
Number of hits : 11
By 1989 British groups had lost the competitive advantage gained through MTV in the U.S. and the Americans were able to produce their own video stars. Paula Abdul is perhaps the best example of an artist who owed their success to use of the medium.
Paula was born in California in 1962 to Jewish parents. She took dancing lessons from an early age and won a scholarship to a dance camp. She appeared in one or two minor films. While studying broadcasting at California University she was selected as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers cheerleading team and soon became their choreographer. She was spotted by The Jacksons at a game and invited to choreograph their 1984 single Torture. Impressed by her work she then choreographed their Victory tour. When the brothers dispersed again she was taken on by sister Janet and was a key factor in her rise to major stardom.
Perhaps influenced by the fact that Jackson had succeeded despite not being a particularly strong singer, Paula decided to enter the performing business herself using the contacts made through her top client. Babyface, LA Reid and Daryl Simmons wrote her first single "Knocked Out" which was released by Virgin America in May 1988. A slightly softer take on Jackson's spiky R & B sound, the track has a decent hook and doesn't make too many demands on Paula's limited voice. It reached a respectable 41 in the US paving the way for the release of her debut album "Forever Your Girl" a month later. It missed the chart in the UK the first time round but later became her third hit reaching number 45 in 1989 and then 21 with a Shep Pettibone remix a year later.
Paula then released the rather weak "The Way That You Love Me" which made number 88 in the US . Her UK label, Siren, decided not to follow suit though it was later a very minor ( number 74 ) hit here.
The next single released in the US was "Straight Up" . It was written by Elliott Wolff who'd worked with Chaka Khan and Peaches & Herb. The song is a demand for commitment from a fickle lover . Musically it's very much in the Janet Jackson mould with a little more rock guitar than Jackson was wont to use at this point and a naff but insistent keyboard hook. The track has a jerky staccato feel , perhaps to suit a singer with little breath control, and it's Paula's squeaky robot vocals that undo it for me. Still, it went all the way to the top in the US , the first of her quartet of number ones from the album and the UK fell into line.
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