Head over Heels (Paula Abdul album)

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Head over Heels
Studio album by
Paula Abdul
ReleasedJune 13, 1995 (1995-06-13)
Recorded1994–1995
Genre
Length64:28
Label
Producer
Paula Abdul chronology
Spellbound
(1991) 		Head over Heels
(1995) 		Greatest Hits
(2000)
Singles from Head over Heels
  1. "My Love Is for Real"
    Released: May 30, 1995
  2. "Crazy Cool"
    Released: August 22, 1995
  3. "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up"
    Released: January 9, 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Billboard(favorable)[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[5]
Knoxville News Sentinel[6]
Los Angeles Times[7]
MTV(favorable)[8]
NME7/10[9]
People(mixed)[10]
Rolling Stone[11]

Head over Heels is the third studio album released by American singer Paula Abdul on June 13, 1995, under Virgin Records. The album features three singles "My Love Is for Real", "Crazy Cool" and "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up". To date, it is Abdul's last studio album release.

Background[edit]

In 1994, Abdul took a break from her music career to focus on her personal life. Her marriage to Emilio Estevez ended with them filing for divorce, and she sought treatment for bulimia. "I was so sad, I just needed to be filled up. It was like I was trying to fill this big empty hole", she said. This experience gave her strength to work on a third album, Head over Heels, her most honest and personal project. "I took all the stuff I was afraid to face, and put it in my music", the singer said.[12] Abdul also stated that, "It's a completely different space and time for me. I've experienced some spiritual growth that has allowed me to really get back to what I enjoy doing best. And that's being totally connected to the creative source as a recording artist and dancer".[13]

For Head over Heels, Abdul decided to work with an array of different producers. According to her: "I've now experienced both sides. On my first album, I worked with seven producers; on 'Spellbound' I worked with only a few. Going into my third album, I wanted to again experiment with many different people and flavors". At the same time, "I went into this album thinking I didn't want to be in any compromising situations, as I was at times, on my last two albums. Going into the studio and creating an album is a very intimate experience. I'm now more involved in the production end of my songs. I'm unafraid to state what my feelings and opinions are. All my producers were so open to my input and they were very honest. They said, 'Thank God you thought of that'. It was a good feeling."[13]

Composition[edit]

Head over Heels is primarily a pop and R&B album[1] with elements of funk, Motown soul, lite rap, latin pop, psychedelic soul, soul-pop, and Middle Eastern music.[14]

Commercial performance[edit]

Head over Heels did not do as well as Abdul's previous albums, peaking on the US Billboard 200 chart at number 18.[15] The album is currently certified gold.

Three singles were released from Head over Heels. The first single, "My Love Is for Real", was the only Top 40 single from the album, peaking at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.[16] The following single, "Crazy Cool" peaked at number 58.[16] However, both of them were more successful on the US Dance Club Songs chart, with the former topping it (her only song to do so).[17] The last single from the album, "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up", reached number 12 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100.[18]

Track listing[edit]

Head over Heels track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Crazy Cool"
  • Lord
  • Smith
4:42
2."My Love Is for Real"
Lawrence5:20
3."Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up"
Wolff3:53
4."Love Don't Come Easy"
  • Abdul
  • Robb Boldt
  • Da'Count
  • Howard Hersh
  • Iky Levi
  • Eric Monsanty
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
  • Cha'n André
  • Da' Count
  • Monsanty
4:07
5."If I Were Your Girl"
Lawrence3:55
6."Sexy Thoughts"
  • Boldt
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
4:09
7."The Choice Is Yours"
4:48
8."Ho-Down"
  • Abdul
  • Boldt
  • Calloway
  • Da'Count
  • Gaskill
  • Greer
  • Hersh
  • Mills
  • Wolff
  • Wolff
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
4:23
9."Under the Influence"
  • Worthy Davis
  • Oliver Leiber
Leiber4:29
10."I Never Knew It"Daryl SimmonsSimmons4:26
11."Get Your Groove On"
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
4:02
12."Missing You"Bernadette CooperLawrence3:52
13."It's All About Feeling Good"
  • Abdul
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
3:46
14."Cry for Me"Tim MinerMiner3:38
Total length:64:28
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Crazy Love"LeiberLeiber4:31
16."Highschool Crush"
  • Jon Lind
  • John Andrew Schreiner
  • Abdul
Lind4:36
Total length:73:35

Personnel[edit]

Adapted from AllMusic.[19]

  • Paula Abdul – all vocals
  • Bryan Abrams, Cha'n Andre, Robb Boldt, Robbie J. Brown, Mark Calderon, Cindy & Janie Cruse, Valerie & Worthy Davis, Bruce DeShazer, Ofra Haza, Marva King, Tanya Smith, Sandra St. Victor, Kevin Thornton, Sam Watters, Monalisa Young – backing vocals
  • Dallas Austin – various instruments
  • Charlie Barnett – percussion
  • Rocky Bryant – keyboards, synthesizers, drums, percussion
  • Keith Carlock – drums, percussion
  • Vince Denham – tenor saxophone
  • Walt Fowler, Ralph Rickert, Dan Savant – trumpet
  • Ronnie Garrett, Tracy Wormworth – bass guitar
  • Grant Geissman – banjo
  • Lili Haydn – violin
  • Howard Hersh, Peter Lord Moreland, John Andrew Shreiner, V. Jeffrey Smith – keyboards
  • Eric Jorgenson – trombone
  • Shaun LaBelle – electric bass guitar, synthesizers
  • John Leftwich – horns
  • Oliver Leiber – keyboards, synthesizers, guitars, electric sitar, drums, percussion
  • Iki Levy – percussion
  • Keith Lewis – percussion and various programming
  • Karl Messerschmidt – tuba
  • Tim Miner – electric bass, keyboards, backing vocals
  • Michael Patterson – synthesizers
  • Paul Peterson – electric piano
  • Harihar Rao – sitar, tamboura
  • John Shanks, Andy Timmons, Bill Wiseman – guitars
  • Rick Sheppard – synthesizers, samples
  • Daryl Simmons – keyboards, programming, drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • Ralph Stacey – electric and bass guitars
  • Gerri Sutyak – cello
  • Albert Wing – tenor and alto saxophone, clarinet

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Head over Heels
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 27
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[21] 21
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] 74
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[23] 32
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 61
US Billboard 200[15] 18

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for Head over Heels
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[25] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Harrison, Quentin (June 11, 2020). "Revist & Listen to Paula Abdul's 'Head Over Heels' (1995)". Albumism.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023. With a cunning, club-friendly aesthetic inset with a seamless blend of pop and R&B, Abdul was able to situate herself at a central location on that same genre spectrum to court both white and black consumers.
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 26. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 1, 1995. p. 92. ISSN 0006-2510.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
  5. ^ Farber, Jim (June 16, 1995). "Head Over Heels". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  6. ^ Campbell, Chuck (June 23, 1995). "Bjork Returns With Lyrical Surprises". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  7. ^ Hunt, Dennis (June 11, 1995). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  8. ^ "MTV.com - Paula Abdul Album". MTV. Archived from the original on 2002-08-05. Retrieved 2002-08-05.
  9. ^ Perry, John (June 24, 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 56. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  10. ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Head over Heels". People.
  11. ^ Rolling Stone review
  12. ^ "A Brave New Song".
  13. ^ a b "Paula_Abdul". Archived from the original on 1997-04-13. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  14. ^ "MTV.com - Paula Abdul Album". www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2002. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Paula Abdul Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  16. ^ a b "Paula Abdul Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  17. ^ "Paula Abdul Chart History: Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  18. ^ "Paula Abdul Chart History: Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  19. ^ Personnel list at allmusic
  20. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Paula Abdul – Head over Heels". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  21. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7768". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  22. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Paula Abdul – Head over Heels" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  23. ^ "ヘッド・オーヴァー・ヒールズ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  24. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  25. ^ "American album certifications – Paula Abdul – Head over Heels". Recording Industry Association of America.
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