Singer/dancer/choreographer Paula Abdul hit the big time with the third single, "Straight Up," off this album, which sparked a string of hits that carried through to her follow-up. Despite having a slight voice, her voice is distinct and perfectly suited to this synthesized type of late-'80s dance-pop. "Cold Hearted" is insistent and catchy, "Forever Your Girl" is sweet and accessible, and "Opposites Attract" gives Abdul a chance to spar with the Wild Pair. There is some filler -- "Next to You," for example -- that hasn't aged as well as the better material, but overall this is a consistent album with some great dance-pop songs. Unfortunately, as Abdul and her material matured, her audience waned. ~ Bryan Buss, All Music Guide
Paula Abdul (Vocals), Paula Abdul (Vocals (Background)), Paula Abdul (Main Performer), Babyface (Keyboards), Babyface (Vocals (Background)), Babyface (Producer), Jesse Johnson (Drums), Jesse Johnson (Keyboards), Jesse Johnson (Producer), Pebbles (Vocals (Background)), Jeff Lorber (Keyboards), Jeff Lorber (Producer), Jeff Lorber (Engineer), Jeff Lorber (Drum Programming), St. Paul (Organ), St. Paul (Bass), St. Paul (Arranger), St. Paul (Keyboards), St. Paul (Vocoder), Kayo (Synthesizer), Kayo (Synthesizer Bass), Peter Arata (Mixing Assistant), Glen Ballard (Drums), Glen Ballard (Programming), Glen Ballard (Producer), Russ Bracher (Engineer), Patti Brooks (Vocals (Background)), Wally Buck (Engineer), Francis Buckley (Engineer), Francis Buckley (Mixing), Annette Cisneros (Assistant Engineer), Dave Cochran (Guitar), Dave Cochran (Vocals (Background)), David Cochrane (Guitar), Delissa Davis (Vocals (Background)), Jimmy Demers (Vocals (Background)), Eddie M. (Saxophone), Basil Fung (Guitar), Jon Gass (Engineer), Jon Gass (Mixing), Danny Grigsby (Assistant Engineer), Evelyn Halus (Vocals (Background)), Dann Huff (Guitar), Tim Jaquette (Engineer), Tim Jaquette (Mixing), Oliver Leiber (Guitar), Oliver Leiber (Arranger), Oliver Leiber (Keyboards), Oliver Leiber (Programming), Oliver Leiber (Producer), Oliver Leiber (Drum Programming), Pat McDougal (Assistant Engineer), Lucia Newell (Vocals (Background)), L.A. Reid (Drums), L.A. Reid (Producer), L.A. Reid (Percussion Programming), Angel Rogers (Vocals (Background)), Josh Schneider (Assistant Engineer), Daryl Simmons (Vocals (Background)), Bob Somma (Guitar), Kendal Stubbs (Engineer), Steve Weise (Engineer), Chuck Wild (Drums), Chuck Wild (Programming), Curtis "Fitz" Williams (Synthesizer), Curtis "Fitz" Williams (Arranger), Curtis "Fitz" Williams (Programming), Curtis "Fitz" Williams (Vocals (Background)), Curtis "Fitz" Williams (Producer), Elliot Wolff (Synthesizer), Elliot Wolff (Arranger), Elliot Wolff (Programming), Elliot Wolff (Producer), Elliot Wolff (Drum Programming), Bobby Gonzales (Guitar), Tami Day (Vocals (Background)), Yvette Marine (Vocals (Background)), Ricky P. (Keyboards), Wild Pair (Vocals), Wild Pair (Vocals (Background)), Troy Williams (Saxophone), Randy Weber (Synthesizer), Randy Weber (Programming), Keith "KC" Cohen (Producer), Keith "KC" Cohen (Mixing), Al Fleming (Assistant Engineer), Cliff Jones (Engineer), Cliff Jones (Assistant Engineer)
Forever Your Girl is the debut album from singer Paula Abdul. It was released on June 13, 1988 and took 62 weeks from its release to hit number one on the Billboard 200 album sales chart, the longest an album has been on the market before hitting number one[citation needed]. The album was eventually certified seven times Platinum in the US and sold 12 million worldwide.[1] It also included four number one Hot 100 singles - "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", and "Opposites Attract." This ties for second most #1 songs from a single album, and is tied for the most number ones in a debut album. "The Way That You Love Me" reached #3 and "Knocked Out" reached #41.
The album also reached #4 on the R&B album chart, while "Straight Up," "Opposites Attract," "Knocked Out," and "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" all reached the top 10 of the R&B tracks chart.
After a slow start, the album's third single "Straight Up" helped the album breakout in spring/summer 1989 after its initial summer 1988 release. Forever Your Girl hit number one for the first time on October 7, 1989. After the release of the single "Opposites Attract", it shot to number one spot again in February 3, 1990 and stayed there for nine consecutive weeks. At one point, Forever Your Girl sold reportedly 191,000 copies in a single day.[citation needed]
Paula Abdul wrote one song on the Album, "One or the Other".