"Opposites Attract" is a song by American singer Paula Abdul from her debut album, Forever Your Girl (1988). It was released on November 17, 1989, as the sixth and final single from the album through Virgin Records. The song was written and produced by Oliver Leiber, with additional vocals provided by Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn (the Wild Pair). The single version also features rap vocals by Derrick Delite. Lyrically, it depicts a romantic relationship between two people with contrasting personalities who are still drawn to each other. One of the final tracks completed on the album, Minneapolis musician Oliver Leiber developed the song quickly after being asked by Abdul's A&R representative Gemma Corfield to create new material. He constructed the track in less than an hour, using an Akai MPC drum machine for production. Fellow musician David Z suggested the song's potential as a duet. It was not originally intended to be a single and Leiber later expressed disappointment with the final result.
As Forever Your Girl spanned three number-one hits, Virgin Records grew concerned about potential overexposure and was initially hesitant to release another single before Abdul proposed a music video concept for "Opposites Attract" that helped secure the song's release. For the single version, the label requested a rap section. Leiber recruited DJ Derrick Stevens, whose lyrics were written by rapper and future actor Romany Malco. The music video was developed as a tribute to Gene Kelly and was inspired by the live-action and animation blending of Anchors Aweigh (1945), as well as characters from Hanna-Barbera's Top Cat. Animators Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger created the character MC Skat Kat, an anthropomorphic rapping cat, while stand-in dancers Michael Chambers and Bill Bohls were used during filming as performance references. Production took two days, with multiple takes required for both animated and non-animated sequences.
The music video features Abdul and MC Skat Kat in a neon-lit, noir-inspired setting, depicting their contrasting personalities as they initially clash before reconciling through dance and romance. The single became a major commercial success, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and making Abdul the fourth artist to achieve four number-one singles from a single album. It also topped the Cash Box Top 100 for two weeks and charted strongly on R&B and dance charts, while reaching number one in Canada on multiple charts and topping charts in Australia and Luxembourg. The video received six nominations at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards and won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video in 1991.
Background Before Paula Abdul's music career breakthrough, she was primarily known as a dancer and choreographer. She served as head choreographer for the Laker Girls, worked with the Jacksons on the "Torture" music video and their Victory Tour (1984), and conceptualized the choreography for various Janet Jackson music videos in the mid-1980s. Additionally, she choreographed the piano dance scene from the comedy film Big (1988), featuring Tom Hanks. On June 13, 1988, she released her debut studio album, Forever Your Girl (1988). The album took 64 weeks to top the Billboard 200, considered the longest climb in the chart's history. Preceding "Opposites Attract", the album generated three Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl" and "Cold Hearted", as well as the re-release of "The Way That You Love Me", which peaked at number three.
Production and composition Development and production
"Opposites Attract" was written and produced by Oliver Leiber, the son of pop songwriter Jerry Leiber and a figure in the Minneapolis sound scene. For Abdul's studio album Forever Your Girl (1988), Leiber wrote and produced "The Way That You Love Me" and the title track "Forever Your Girl", which later became a number-one hit. Around this time, Leiber purchased an Akai MPC drum machine and experimented with it until Abdul's A&R rep Gemma Corfield contacted him to request one additional track.
During the phone call, Leiber quickly developed the concept for "Opposites Attract" and played the beat over the phone. He reportedly took the song's title from a paperback book he found in a used bookstore. Although Abdul was primarily known as a choreographer and not a recording artist, Corfield urged Leiber to complete the song quickly. Leiber agreed and indicated he could finish it within a week. Initially, Leiber did not envision the song as a duet, until fellow Minneapolis musician David Z, known for producing the Fine Young Cannibals' "She Drives Me Crazy" (1988), suggested that the song would benefit from a vocal partner to emphasize its contrasting themes. Following this, Leiber wrote the lyrics in under an hour.
Leiber later recorded a demo of "Opposites Attract" with music duo the Wild Pair, consisting of Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn, who would provide MC Skat Kat's singing vocals in the music video. Around this time, the duo were members of band Mazarati, led by the Prince and the Revolution bassist Brownmark. The Wild Pair were recorded singing the entire song as Abdul was unavailable in Minneapolis to record. This led to Leiber traveling to Los Angeles to cut half of the Wild Pair's vocals and replace them with Abdul's vocals. The initial version from Forever Your Girl did not feature any rap vocals. Initially unintended as a single, Leiber would later admit on Songfacts that he was "embarrassed" and "bummed" at how "Opposites Attract" turned out.
Single version and composition By November 1989, Forever Your Girl had been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having produced multiple hit singles, including three that reached number one. Despite its commercial success, Virgin Records grew concerned about Abdul's increasing visibility and potential exposure. Abdul countered that concern by proposing a music video concept for "Opposites Attract", renewing the record label's interest and supported its release as a single.
Virgin Records requested Leiber to produce a new version of "Opposites Attract" with a rapper featured on it. Desiring to improve the song's quality, he enlisted keyboardist Jeff Lorber to rework certain parts. However, Leiber didn't personally know any rappers. Instead, he recruited Minneapolis radio DJ Derrick "Delite" Stevens from his interest in his voice, even before recognizing his ability to rap. Stevens recorded his vocals at Prince's Paisley Park studio weeks later. The rap lyrics were written by Romany Malco, who would later transition into a career as an actor.
Musically, "Opposites Attract" is a Minneapolis sound and R&B song with a runtime of four minutes and twenty-five seconds, while the single version trims approximately thirty-nine seconds of the song. Lyrically, the song centers on a couple whose personalities sharply contrast but remain romantically connected. Abdul prefers television, hates cigarettess and makes the bed, while the other prefers movies, smoking and "stealing the covers". Unlike the music video, the song doesn't explicitly identify the opponent as MC Skat Kat.
Release On November 17, 1989, "Opposites Attract" was released on 7-inch vinyl, 12-inch vinyl, and cassette through Virgin Records, as the sixth and final single from Abdul's debut album, Forever Your Girl (1988). On January 21, 1990, the single was released on Mini CD in Japan. On February 19, the single was issued in Australia across three formats: 7-inch vinyl, 12-inch vinyl, and cassette, followed by a release on CD two weeks later on March 5. In the United Kingdom, the single was first released in March 26, and on April 16, was released on 7-inch vinyl with a poster inside, 12-inch vinyl featuring a gatefold, CD and cassette.
Music video Pre-production Abdul proposed the idea of a "long-form video" for "Opposites Attract" to Virgin Records, though the label was initially hesitant due to concerns about potential overexposure following the success of Forever Your Girl (1988), as well as the idea of releasing a sixth single from the album. Abdul framed the concept as a tribute to actor and dancer Gene Kelly, which helped generate interest and support from the record label.
Virgin executive Jeff Ayeroff brought in animators Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger, known for their work on music videos such as A-ha's "Take On Me" (1984) and Suzanne Vega's "Luka" (1987). The pair developed the character MC Skat Kat, an anthropomorphic cat designed in a stylized, "Disney-like" animated aesthetic that blended musical theater influences with hip-hop culture. The project emerged during a period of growing experimentation in combining live action and animation in mainstream media, following films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and the increasing popularity of anthropomorphic cats in works like Oliver & Company (1988) and Garfield and Friends.
Abdul's background in choreography and dance heavily influenced the video's concept, as did her admiration for Kelly. Patterson and Reckinger also drew inspiration from Kelly's legacy, particularly his earlier live-action/animation sequence in Anchors Aweigh (1945), in which he performs alongside Jerry Mouse from Tom and Jerry. The animators reinterpreted this idea through a contemporary lens, combining it with hip-hop aesthetics and the growing visibility of rappers such as MC Hammer.
Conception of MC Skat Kat
Patterson drew inspiration for MC Skat Kat from the "cool, shifty felines" of Hanna-Barbera's 1960s animated series Top Cat. When asked about choosing a cat as the character's form, he simply stated that "cats are cool", citing their natural aloofness and the visual contrast alongside Abdul. During pre-production, Patterson and Candace Reckinger collaborated with animator Chris Bailey to refine MC Skat Kat's design, requesting additional hip-hop influences to the character. As hip-hop was an emerging scene at the time, they experimented with his design before making an "agreeable design". Once presented to Ayeroff, he suggested the character to resemble Patterson's street-influenced style, including "baggy pants held up with suspenders, worn over a tank top", a fade haircut and a earring, which helped finalize MC Skat Kat's design.
There is some dispute regarding the voice of MC Skat Kat. According to KMSP-TV, the character was voiced by Derrick "Delite" Stevens, a pioneer in Minneapolis' early hip-hop scene who performed under the name Derrick Delite and was among the first rappers to appear at the nightclub First Avenue. After Leiber heard Stevens on KMOJ radio, he recruited him to perform rap sections for "Opposites Attract". Stevens initially found the idea of voicing an animated cat surprising, later describing the experience as "ancient history" that he remembers fondly. However, Yahoo News attributed MC Skat Kat's voice to Malco, who at the time was pursuing a recording career with Virgin Records and working as a writer for other artists. Abdul reportedly approached Malco to contribute writing for the character, though he was initially hesitant, concerned it might affect his reputation within the hip-hop group R.M.G. Despite that, Malco's involvement in the production helped him transition into film and television, first being linked to comedian and actor John Leguizamo, who had the idea of rapping like MC Skat Kat in his film The Pest (1997).
Production