Forever Your Girl

Forever Your Girl
Studio album by
Paula Abdul
ReleasedJune 21, 1988
RecordedOctober 1987 – April 1988
Genre
Length44:35
LabelVirgin
Producer
Paula Abdul chronology
Forever Your Girl
(1988)		 Shut Up and Dance: Mixes
(1990)
Singles from Forever Your Girl
  1. "Knocked Out"
    Released: May 4, 1988
  2. "The Way That You Love Me"
    Released: August 2, 1988
  3. "Straight Up"
    Released: November 22, 1988
  4. "Forever Your Girl"
    Released: February 20, 1989
  5. "Cold Hearted"
    Released: June 15, 1989
  6. "Opposites Attract"
    Released: November 17, 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars
Christgau's Record GuideC
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music3/5 stars
Number One3.5/5 stars
The Rolling Stone Album Guide3/5 stars

Forever Your Girl is the debut studio album by American singer and dancer Paula Abdul. It was released on June 21, 1988, through Virgin Records. The music on the album is primarily dance-pop, new jack swing and R&B.

Accolades

Organization Country Accolade Year Result
MTV Video Music Awards United States Best Female Video (Straight Up) 1989 Won
Best Dance Video (Straight Up)
Best Choreography in a Video (Straight Up)
Best Editing (Straight Up)
Best New Artist in a Video (Straight Up) Nominated
Breakthrough Video (Straight Up)
American Music Awards Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist 1990 Won
Favorite Dance Artist
Favorite Pop Rock Album Nominated
Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist 1991
Billboard Music Awards #1 World Album 1990
Soul Train Awards Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Song of the Year (Straight Up) 1990 Nominated
People's Choice Awards Favorite Female Artist 1990 Won
Favorite All-Around Female Entertainer Nominated
Grammy Awards Best Vocal Performance, Female (Straight Up) 1990 Nominated
Best Music Video (Short Form) Opposites Attract 1991 Won
Juno Awards Canada International Single of the Year (Straight Up) 1990 Nominated
International Album of the Year 1990
Brit Award United Kingdom International Breakthrough Act 1990 Nominated

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Way That You Love Me"Oliver LeiberLeiber5:22
2."Knocked Out"
  • Reid
  • Babyface
3:52
3."Opposites Attract"LeiberLeiber4:24
4."State of Attraction"
Ballard4:07
5."I Need You"
Johnson5:01
6."Forever Your Girl"LeiberLeiber4:58
7."Straight Up"Elliot WolffWolff4:11
8."Next to You"
  • Curtis Williams
  • Kendall Stubbs
  • Sandra Williams
C. Williams4:26
9."Cold Hearted"WolffWolff3:51
10."One or the Other"
  • Paula Abdul
  • C. Williams
  • Duncan Pain
C. Williams4:10
Total length:44:22

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.

Charts

All-end chart performance for Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul
Chart Position
US Billboard 200 (Women) 10

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada) 7× Platinum 700,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) Gold 10,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ) Platinum 15,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA) 7× Platinum 7,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r131740
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1990). "A". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved August 16, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. pp. 32. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
  4. ↑ Martin, David (April 26, 1989). "Albums". Number One. p. 43. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  5. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 2. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. rolling stone paula abdul album guide.
  6. ↑ "Forever Your Girl - Paula Abdul | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9072". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Spellbound – Oricon", Oricon (in Japanese), archived from the original on May 5, 2019, retrieved February 21, 2009
  13. ↑ "Charts.nz – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Paula Abdul | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Paula Abdul Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Paula Abdul Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Top 100 Albums of 1989". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1989". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  24. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1990". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Top 100 Albums of 1990". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  26. ↑ Bakker, Machgiel (22 December 1990). "1990 REVIEW: Music & Media Year -End Awards . European Top 100 Albums 1990" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. pp. 29, 38. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  27. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  28. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  29. ↑ Mayfield, Geoff (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  30. ↑ "Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums By Women". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  31. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1990 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  32. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Paul Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Music Canada. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  33. ↑ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1990". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  34. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved August 2, 2016.[dead link]
  35. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Forever Your Girl')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  36. ↑ "British album certifications – Paul Abdul – Forever Your Girl". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 2, 2016. Select albums in the Formats field. Type Forever Your Girl Paul Abdul in the "Search:" field.
  37. ↑ "American album certifications – Paul Abdul – Forever Your Girl". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 2, 2016.