Head over Heels (Paula Abdul album)

Head over Heels
Studio album by Paula Abdul
Released	June 13, 1995
Recorded	1994-1995
Genre	Pop dance R&B
Length	64:28 73:35 (Japan)
Label	Virgin Captive
Producer	Peter Lord V. Jeffrey Smith Rhett Lawrence Elliot Wolff Howie Hersh Iky Levi Robb Boldt Cha'n André Da'Count Eric Monsanty Arnold Hennings Dallas Austin Oliver Leiber Daryl Simmons Tim Miner
Paula Abdul chronology
Spellbound (1991) Head over Heels (1995) Greatest Hits (2000)
Singles from Head Over Heels
"My Love Is for Real" Released: May 30, 1995 "Crazy Cool" Released: August 22, 1995 "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" Released: January 9, 1996

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

Background

Head over Heels was released after Abdul's four-year hiatus while battling bulimia. The album was hoped to bring Abdul back into the limelight and was considered Abdul's comeback album. However, this would be the last album Abdul would release in her career before she took a second hiatus from music.

Head over Heels showcased a new direction and style of music for Abdul, including a more R&B and "sensual" feeling to her songs. The first single released from the album, "My Love Is for Real", was a taster of her new-found sound, however reviews were mixed.

Reviews

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]

Head over Heels received mixed reviews. Many reviewers claimed it diverted from Abdul's pop music roots, however some reviews said the album was Abdul's most creative and exciting work to date. The iTunes review of the album was mixed, saying that Head over Heels included songs which "lack strong hooks" yet praised the album for being "more mature and seductive than previous efforts". The review mainly concentrated on the length of the album and how it "spends too much time on lesser songs".

Commercial reception

Head over Heels did not do as well as Abdul's previous albums in terms of chart performance and sales. It was Abdul's weakest selling album to date, only going gold; it was also Abdul's lowest peaking album on the Billboard 200 to date, peaking at #18, and it quickly fell off the charts soon after. The album managed to become her lowest selling studio album (in terms of international sales) in her career. After the relative failure of the album, Abdul left the music scene and ventured into acting.

Three singles were released from Head over Heels. The first single, "My Love is for Real" peaked at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was Abdul's first single to not reach the Top 20 and was considered a flop. However, the song went to #1 on the U.S. dance charts (her only song to do so). The following single, "Crazy Cool" peaked at #58 and was considered another flop, probably due to bad publicity about the song and its video. The last single from the album "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" tanked and failed to chart. However, it did peak at #12 on Bubbling Under Hot 100. A fourth single, "If I Were Your Girl" was due to be released, but was cancelled after disappointing album sales and the failure of "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up".

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Crazy Cool"	Peter Lord • Sandra St. Victor • V. Jeffrey Smith	Lord • Smith	4:42
2.	"My Love Is for Real" (with Ofra Haza)	Abdul • Rhett Lawrence	Lawrence	5:20
3.	"Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" (with Color Me Badd)	Byran Abrahms • Mark Calderon • Howie Tee • Kevin Thornton • Curtis "Fitz" Williams • Elliot Wolff	Wolff	3:53
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"	Crystal Bernard • Lawrence	Lawrence	3:55
6.	"Sexy Thoughts"	Boldt • Hersh • Levy	Hersh • Levy • Boldt	4:09
7.	"The Choice Is Yours"	Arnold Hennings • Debra Killings	Hennings • Dallas Austin	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	Leiber	4:29
10.	"I Never Knew It"	Daryl Simmons	Simmons	4:26
11.	"Get Your Groove On"	Hersh • Levy • Boldt	Hersh • Levy • Boldt	4:02
12.	"Missing You"	Bernadette Cooper	Lawrence	3:52
13.	"It's All About Feeling Good"	Abdul • Hersh • Levy • Boldt	Hersh • Levy • Boldt	3:46
14.	"Cry for Me"	Tim Miner	Miner	3:38
Total length:				64:28

Japanese edition (bonus tracks)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Crazy Love"	Leiber	Leiber	4:31
16.	"Highschool Crush"	Jon Lind • John Andrew Schreiner • Abdul	Lind	4:36
Total length:				73:35

Personnel

Adapted From allmusic[4] Paula Abdul: All Lead 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: Multi-Instruments Charlie Barnett: Percussion Rocky Bryant: Keyboards, Synthesizers, Drums, Percussion Keith Carlock: Drums, Percussion Vince Denham: Tenor Sax Walt Fowler, Ralph Rickert, Dan Savant: Trumpet Ronnie Garrett, Tracy Wormworth: Bass 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, Synthesizers John Leftwich: Horns Oliver Leiber: Keyboards, Synthesizers, Guitars, Electric Sitar, Drums, Percussion Iki Levy: Percussion Keith Lewis: Percussion & 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 & Bass Guitars Gerri Sutyak: Cello Albert Wing: Tenor & Alto Sax, Clarinet

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1995) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[5] 27 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[6] 21 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[7] 74 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[8] 32 UK Albums (OCC)[9] 61 US Billboard 200[10] 18

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/Sales United States (RIAA)[11] Gold 500,000^^ ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Entertainment Weekly review
3. Rolling Stone review
4. Personnel list at allmusic
5. "Australiancharts.com – Paula Abdul – Head over Heels". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
6. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7768." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
7. "Dutchcharts.nl – Paula Abdul – Head over Heels" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
8. "Head over Heels – Oricon", Oricon (in Japanese), retrieved February 21, 2009
9. "Paula Abdul | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved September 27, 2016.
10. "Paula Abdul – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Paula Abdul. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
11. "American album certifications – Paula Abdul – Head over Heels". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH