"Opposites Attract" | ||||
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Single by Paula Abdul | ||||
from the album Forever Your Girl | ||||
B-side | "One or the Other" | |||
Released | November 17, 1989 [1] | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | Oliver Leiber | |||
Producer(s) | Oliver Leiber | |||
Paula Abdul singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Opposites Attract" on YouTube |
"Opposites Attract" is a song by American singer Paula Abdul from her debut album, Forever Your Girl (1988). It was written and produced by Oliver Leiber. Vocals on the song, in addition to Abdul, were provided by Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn, also known as the Wild Pair. "Opposites Attract" was the sixth and final single from the album in November 1989 and achieved success in many countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, where it was a number-one hit. Lyrically, the song is about a couple who love each other despite being different in almost every way possible.
The song's accompanying music video was directed by Candace Reckinger and Michael Patterson, [4] in which Abdul dances with cartoon cat character MC Skat Kat, voiced by the Wild Pair, Bruce DeShazer and Marvin Gunn. [5] An additional rap, written by Romany Malco, was provided by Derrick "Delite" Stevens [6] for the Street mix version of the song, which was edited for the 7"/video.
The idea of MC Skat Kat came from the Gene Kelly film Anchors Aweigh , where Kelly dances with Jerry Mouse from the Tom and Jerry cartoon series. Paula even choreographed the animated character's moves to match her live-action dance moves in the video. MC Skat Kat was animated by members of the Disney animation team, working outside the studio between major projects, under the direction of Chris Bailey. [7] MC Skat Kat's movements were the result of rotoscoping animation, with Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers standing in for the character against a blue screen, then drawing the animated form over Chambers' dance moves. The Wild Pair Marvin Gunn and Bruce DeShazer did not appear in the video, although two other cats (also animated) did appear, possibly meant to represent them.
The video won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video and was nominated for Breakthrough Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards.
"Opposites Attract" initially rose from number 72 to number 47 the week of December 23, 1989, and landed at number one the week of February 10, 1990, where it remained for three weeks, matching the run of "Straight Up". It became Abdul's fourth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and made her the fourth artist in music history to score four number-one hits from a single album, after Whitney Houston, George Michael and Michael Jackson. (Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Usher and Katy Perry would later duplicate the feat). "Opposites Attract" also topped the charts in Australia and Canada and peaked at number two in the United Kingdom.
Melody Maker commented, "Lovely, lovely Paula released her fourth American Number One. This kicks off with a smart little rap then Paula jumps in and tip-taps her way through sounding happy, naive and full of herself, like the homecoming queen out on her first real date. She can do no wrong. It must be love." [8] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "For this release Abdul duets with the Wild Pair. The song also features a rap by Derrick Delite and is, of course, very danceable." [9] A reviewer from People Magazine described it as one of "the liveliest cuts" from the album. [10]
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Credits and personnel are adapted from Forever Your Girl album liner notes. [19]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA) [44] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada) [57] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [58] | Silver | 200,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [1] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | November 17, 1989 |
| Virgin | [1] |
Japan | January 21, 1990 | Mini-CD | [59] | |
United Kingdom | March 26, 1990 |
| Siren | [60] |
April 16, 1990 |
| [61] |
MC Skat Kat is an animated cat character who appeared with Paula Abdul in the video for her song "Opposites Attract" in 1989.
Forever Your Girl is the debut studio album by American singer Paula Abdul. It was released on June 21, 1988, through Virgin Records. The album was Abdul's breakthrough into the music industry after being a choreographer for high-profile clients including Kate Bush, The California Raisins, George Michael, ZZ Top, Duran Duran and most notably Janet Jackson. At the time of the album's release it was the most successful debut album of all time and was the first time an artist scored four US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles from a debut album. It is currently certified 7× platinum by the RIAA.
"Straight Up" is a song by American recording artist Paula Abdul from her debut studio album, Forever Your Girl (1988). The song is a mid-tempo dance-pop song with influence from new jack swing. Written and produced entirely by Elliot Wolff, the song was released as the album's third single on November 22, 1988, by Virgin Records.
"Forever Your Girl" is a song by American singer Paula Abdul from her debut studio album, Forever Your Girl (1988). The song was written and produced by Oliver Leiber, with additional production by Keith "K.C." Cohen. Virgin Records released it as the album's fourth single on February 20, 1989.
"Suicide Blonde" is the lead single from Australian rock band INXS's seventh studio album, X (1990). It was released on 22 August 1990 in the United States and on 3 September 1990 in the United Kingdom. The song reached number two in Australia, number nine in the United States, and number 11 in the United Kingdom. In Canada and New Zealand, the single peaked at number one for two and three weeks, respectively. At the APRA Music Awards of 1991, "Suicide Blonde" won the award Most Performed Australian Work Overseas.
"Rescue Me" is a song by American singer Madonna from her first greatest hits album, The Immaculate Collection (1990). Written and produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone, the song was released as the second single from The Immaculate Collection on February 26, 1991, in the United States, and as the third single on April 7 in the United Kingdom. A dance-pop and gospel-house track, the song is accompanied by the sound of thunder and rain, with the lyrics talking of romantic love rescuing the singer.
"This House" is a song by American singer–songwriter Tracie Spencer. This song was the second single released from Spencer's second album, Make the Difference (1990). Issued via the Capitol Records label, the single was released on November 7, 1990 when Spencer was just 14 years old.
"Disappear" is a song by Australian rock band INXS, released as the second single from their seventh studio album, X (1990), in November 1990. The song was written by Jon Farriss, Michael Hutchence and Garry Gary Beers while they were living together in Hong Kong in 1989.
"Most Girls" is a song by American singer Pink, released as the second single from her debut album, Can't Take Me Home (2000). It was released on June 6, 2000, and, after spending 16 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaked at number four on November 25. The song also reached number one in Australia, where it was certified platinum, number two in Canada and New Zealand, and number five in the United Kingdom.
"Cold Hearted" is a song by American singer Paula Abdul, released in June 1989 as the fifth single from her debut album, Forever Your Girl (1988). It was written and co-produced by Elliot Wolff and reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the album's third song to top the US chart.
"Rush Rush" is a song by American recording artist Paula Abdul, taken from her second studio album, Spellbound (1991). It was released on April 24, 1991, by Virgin Records as the lead single from the album. Written by Peter Lord and produced by Peter Lord and V. Jeffrey Smith, the song achieved success in the United States, where it topped the Billboard Hot 100, and became a worldwide hit.
"(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" is a song recorded by American singer Paula Abdul for her debut album Forever Your Girl (1988). Written and produced solely by producer Oliver Leiber, the song was originally released in its remix form as the second single from the album on August 2, 1988, by Virgin to minor success in the States. Following the breakthrough success of her next three singles, the song was re-released on September 15, 1989, under its original version to commercial success, becoming Abdul's fourth consecutive top three entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and to date, tying with "Straight Up" as her longest charting performance on the chart. The song, however, did not replicate the same success in the UK where it managed to peak at number seventy-four on the UK Singles Chart, thus becoming her lowest charting single in the region to date.
The Wild Pair, whose real names are Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn, was a singing duo and voice actors who were primarily known for their 1989 hit duet with Paula Abdul, "Opposites Attract". They have also provided background vocals on her other hits, "Forever Your Girl" and "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me."
"The Promise of a New Day" is the opening track and second single from American artist Paula Abdul's second studio album, Spellbound (1991). The song was written by Paula Abdul, Peter Lord and V. Jeffrey Smith. It became Abdul's sixth and final number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"My Love Is for Real" is a song by American singer and songwriter Paula Abdul with backing vocals from Israeli singer Ofra Haza. It was released on May 30, 1995 by Virgin and Captive, as the first single from Abdul's third studio album, Head over Heels (1995). Intended as Abdul's comeback single, "My Love Is for Real" reached number one in Hungary and the top 20 in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, but it stalled outside the top 20 in the United States, peaking at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, and failed to make a major impact in Europe. The song's music video was directed by Michael Haussman.
"I Don't Want to Wait" is a song written, recorded, and produced by American singer-songwriter Paula Cole. Cole wrote the song in mid-1996 and released it as second single from her second studio album, This Fire (1996), on October 14, 1997. The single release was successful, reaching no. 11 in the United States and no. 5 in Canada. VH1 ranked "I Don't Want to Wait" as one of the 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s at no. 81. The song later served as the opening theme for the American teen drama television series Dawson's Creek, which ran from 1998 to 2003.
"Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" is a song by American singer Paula Cole. It was released on March 25, 1997, as the lead single from her second studio album, This Fire. The song is Cole's only top-ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching number eight, and was her first top-ten hit in Canada, where it reached number seven. It was additionally a critical success, earning nominations for three Grammy awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
"I Wish It Would Rain Down" is a song by English musician Phil Collins from his fourth solo studio album, ...But Seriously (1989). The song was a chart success in early 1990, peaking at No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles chart; in the latter country, it was the most successful song of 1990. Collins felt that it was as close as he had ever got, at the time, to writing a blues song.
The discography of American singer and dancer Paula Abdul consists of three studio albums, one remix album, five compilation albums, eight video albums, eighteen singles, and seven other appearances. Having found success as a choreographer for artists such as Janet Jackson, Abdul launched her own music career with the release of her debut studio album Forever Your Girl (1988). The album topped the Billboard 200 chart, and to date holds the record for the longest climb to number one for an album. The project spawned a number of successful singles, and is one of only nine albums to have four singles top the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It went on to earn a seven-times platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"Sunchyme" is the debut single of British electronic music trio Dario G. It was released on 15 September 1997 as the lead single from their debut studio album, Sunmachine (1998), although early editions were stated to be from an album named Super Dario Land. The song heavily samples the track "Life in a Northern Town" by dream pop band the Dream Academy.
...Paula Abdul's "Opposites Attract," a bubbly take on Minneapolis funk...
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