Forever Your Girl


Forever Your Girl is the debut album by American singer Paula Abdul. It was released on June 13, 1988 through Virgin Records. The album was Abdul's breakthrough into the music industry after being a choreographer for high-profile clients including the California Raisins, George Michael, ZZ Top, Duran Duran and most notably Janet Jackson. At the time of its release, it was the most successful debut album and was the first time that a female artist scored four US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles from her first album. It is currently certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA.

Background

In 1987, Abdul, who had built up her professional reputation as a choreographer for the Los Angeles Lakers and high-profile artists including George Michael, ZZ Top, Duran Duran and Janet Jackson, recorded a demo using her savings. Soon thereafter, she was signed to Virgin Records by Jeff Ayeroff, who had worked in marketing at A&M Records with Janet Jackson. Although she was a skilled dancer and choreographer, Abdul's vocal abilities were unimpressive, and with Ayeroff's support, she underwent training for her mezzo-soprano voice. Ayeroff recalled signing Abdul to a recording contract years later, stating: "She said, 'I can sing, you know. I want to do an album.' Paula's in our industry. Here's someone with a personality and she's gorgeous, and she can dance. If she can sing, she could be a star. So she went into the studio and cut a demo record and she could sing." The album was made on a budget of $72,000.

Release and reception

On October 7, 1989, 64 weeks after its July 23, 1988, debut on the chart, Forever Your Girl hit number one on the Billboard 200 album chart, the longest an album was on the market before hitting number one. It returned to the number one spot in early 1990 for 9 weeks, the album spending 10 weeks in total at number one. The album was eventually certified seven times Platinum in the US by the RIAA and has sold over 12 million copies worldwide. It also includes four number one Billboard Hot 100 singles: "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", and "Opposites Attract", which places Forever Your Girl in a tie for second most number-one songs from a single album, and ties it for the most number ones in a debut album. Abdul is only one of three artists, the others being George Michael and Mariah Carey, to have four number-one singles from their debut album. The re-released " The Way That You Love Me" reached number three, and "Knocked Out" reached number 41.
The album also reached number four on the R&B album chart, while "Straight Up", "Opposites Attract", "Knocked Out", and " The Way That You Love Me" all reached the top 10 of the R&B tracks chart.
By 1998, Billboard magazine reported that Forever Your Girl was the most successful album released by the Virgin Records label.
The Los Angeles Daily News called the album "a fine starmaker vehicle", stating that Abdul "applies a come-hither whisper to a likable batch of melodies... What's frustrating is that Abdul's voice is buried beneath bustling arrangements on tunes like 'Opposites Attract' and 'Knocked Out'."

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.

Charts

Chart Peak
position
European Albums 13
Japanese Albums 94

Chart Position
Canada Top Albums/CDs 6
Dutch Albums 72
US Billboard 2003
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 24
Chart Position
Australian Albums 20
Canada Top Albums/CDs 9
European Albums 92
US Billboard 2006
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 79

Chart Position
US Billboard 20053

ChartPosition
US Billboard 200 10