Paula Abdul "Straight Up"

SIGN OF THE TIMES

"Straight Up" was successful on the radio long before Paula Abdul recorded a video to support the song on MTV.  Up to that point, Abdul spent most of her time as a backup dancer.  This led Abdul to choreograph the video.  Shot in black and white, the video featured Abdul's friend Arsenio Hall who had just launched his syndicated The Arsenio Hall Show.

Paula Abdul - "Rush Rush"

Paula Abdul released "Rush Rush" in 1991 -- her first ballad.  While the song was different from her previous upbeat pop singles, the soft violin-filled "Rush Rush" proved to be a huge success for the future American Idol judge -- the song topped the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary Charts for five consecutive weeks.  FUN FACT: Paula Abdul was the choreographer for the 1987 movie Can't Buy Me Love starring a very young Patrick Dempsey.