The discography of American singer and dancer Paula Abdul consists of three studio albums, one remix album, six compilation albums, four video albums, sixteen singles, and three 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).
Abdul released the Shut Up and Dance: Mixes (1990) remix album to a positive commercial reaction, earning a platinum certification from the RIAA. She continued to find success with the release of Spellbound (1991), her second studio album. It debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, climbing to the top soon after it was released. The album's first two singles both topped the Hot 100 chart with the first, "Rush Rush" becoming first number-one single in six years to spend more than four weeks on top. Third single "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" reached the top ten. Despite the album's achievements, it failed to match the success of its predecessor. Following a musical hiatus while dealing with personal issues, Abdul returned with the release of Head over Heels (1995), her third studio album. The album was met with a mixed reaction from critics. Following the release of the album, Abdul entered a second musical hiatus.
Abdul released the single "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" (2008) with Randy Jackson, her first single in twelve years. She later released "I'm Just Here for the Music" (2009) the following year. Throughout her career, she has sold over 50 million records worldwide. Billboard listed her as the 92nd Greatest Artist of all Time. She is recognized as the reigning "Dance-pop Princess" by the media while others says she is the original "Pop Princess" of her generation. According to RIAA, She has sold 11.5 million certified albums in the United States.
Albums Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected details, chart positions, sales, and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US AUS CANFor peak positions of Abdul's albums in Canada, use a link depending on a title: FRAFor peak positions of Abdul's albums in France, use the link below searching her name in the field Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Classé: GER JPNhttp://ranking.oricon.co.jp/free_contents/search/ranking_list.asp?itemcd=298361&samecd=1&chart_kbn=11A&linkcd=30009423 NLD NZ SWE UK Forever Your Girl Released: June 13, 1988 Label: Virgin (#90943) Formats: LP, CD, cassette 1 1 1 12 24 95 19 19 6 3RIAA: 7× PlatinumFor sales certifications received by Abdul in the US, use the RIAA link: US – Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) ARIA: Platinum BPI: PlatinumFor sales certifications received by Abdul in the UK, use the BPI link: UK – British Phonographic Industry (BPI) MC: 7× PlatinumFor sales certifications received by Abdul in Canada, use the CRIA link: Canada – Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) RMNZ: Platinum Spellbound Released: May 14, 1991 Label: Virgin (#91611) Formats: LP, CD, cassette 1 3 6 36 17 12 45 14 6 4RIAA: 3× Platinum ARIA: Gold BPI: Gold MC: 2× Platinum Head over Heels Released: June 13, 1995 Label: Virgin (#40525) Formats: LP, CD, cassette 18 27 21 — — 32 74 — — 61RIAA: Gold "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Compilation albums + List of compilation albums, with selected details and chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions USR&B The Greatest Released: 1998 Label: Virgin (#VJCP 51044) Formats: CD — Greatest Hits Released: September 26, 2000 Label: Virgin (#48980) Formats: CD — Greatest Hits: Straight Up! Released: May 8, 2007 Label: Virgin (#90527) Formats: CD, digital download 86 10 Great Songs Released: June 14, 2011 Label: Virgin (#83249) Formats: CD, digital download 46 Straight Up! The Very Best of Paula Abdul Released: June 18, 2012 Label: Music Club Deluxe (#B006ZGDD5C) Formats: CD — Icon Released: October 8, 2013 Label: Virgin (#B0018870-02) Formats: CD — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Remix albums + List of remix albums, with selected details, chart positions, and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US AUS CAN FRA GER NLD NZ SWE UK Shut Up and Dance: Mixes Released: May 8, 1990 Label: Virgin (#91362) Formats: LP, CD, cassette 7 16 14 44 37 29 4 24 40 RIAA: Platinum MC: Platinum RMNZ: Gold
Video albums + List of video albums, with selected details and certifications Title Album details Certifications Straight Up Released: 1989 Label: Virgin (#VVD 639) Formats: VHSRIAA: 2× Platinum CRIA: Gold Captivated: The Video Collection '92 Released: June 29, 1992 Label: Virgin (#VIR 769) Formats: VHS, LDRIAA: Gold Under My Spell: Live Released: February 27, 1996 Label: Virgin (#6523) Formats: VHS Video Hits Released: January 11, 2005 Label: Virgin (#9771) Formats: DVD
Extended plays + List of extended plays with selected details Title EP details The Singles Released: January 1992 Label: Virgin (#VJCP 14038) Formats: CD (Japan exclusive)
Singles + List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album US AUSAustralian (ARIA) singles chart peaks: Top 50 peaks: "Cold Hearted": N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached. Top 100 peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: "Crazy Cool": CANFor peak positions of Abdul's singles in Canada, use a link depending on a title: FRA GER IRLirishcharts.ie Irishcharts.ie NLD NZ SWE UK "Knocked Out" 1988 41 — 27 45 — 17 — — — 21 Forever Your Girl "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" 3 76 5 — — — — 12 — 74 "Straight Up" 1 27 2 12 3 6 2 6 2 3RIAA: 2× Platinum BPI: Silver GLF: Gold MC: platinum "Forever Your Girl" 1989 1 51 1 — 17 21 13 11 — 24RIAA: Gold "Cold Hearted" 1 68 2 33 38 — 63 25 — 46RIAA: Platinum MC: Gold "Opposites Attract" 1 1 1 23 14 8 4 6 11 2RIAA: Gold ARIA: 2× Platinum BPI: Silver MC: Gold "Rush Rush" 1991 1 2 1 24 12 11 6 7 7 6RIAA: Platinum ARIA: Gold GLF: GoldSpellbound "The Promise of a New Day" 1 31 2 — 86 — 39 26 37 52 "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" 6 — 7 — — — — — — — "Vibeology" 16 63 19 — — 29 20 50 — 19 "Will You Marry Me?" 1992 19 54 6 — 74 — — — — 73 "My Love Is for Real" 1995 28 7 20 — 87 — — 20 — 28Head over Heels "Crazy Cool" 58 76 49 — 89 — — — — — "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" 1996 — — — — — — — — — — "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" 2008 62 — 68 — — — — — — —Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1 "I'm Just Here for the Music" 2009 87 — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Promotional singles +List of promotional singles, showing year released and album name Title Year Album "Dream Medley" 2012
Charity singles +List of charity singles, showing year released and album name Title Year Album "Check Yourself" 2014
Other appearances +List of songs, showing year released and album name Title Year Album "Bend Time Back Around" 1992 Beverly Hills, 90210: The Soundtrack. "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" 1993 For Our Children: The Concert "So Free" 2012 Realism
Music videos + List of music videos, showing year released and directors Title Year Director(s) "Knocked Out" (2 versions) 1988 Daniel Kleinman (original version) Candace Reckinger and Michael Patterson (remix) "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" (2 versions) David Fincher "Straight Up" 1989 "Forever Your Girl" "Cold Hearted" "Opposites Attract" Candace Reckinger and Michael Patterson "1990 Medley Mix" 1990 rowspan="2" "Skat Strut" 1991 "Rush Rush" Stefan Würnitzer "The Promise of a New Day" Big TV! "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" "Vibeology" (2 versions) 1992Stephen Wurnitzer "Will You Marry Me?" Big TV! "My Love Is for Real" 1995 Michael Haussman "Crazy Cool" Matthew Rolston "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" 1996 "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" 2008 Paula Abdul
Notes
See also List of best-selling remix albums Lists of Billboard number-one singles (United States) List of Billboard number-one dance club songs List of number-one adult contemporary hits (United States) Billboard Year-End number one singles List of number-one singles in Canada List of UK top-ten singles in 1991 List of Australian chart achievements and milestones
References
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