Head over Heels (Paula Abdul album)

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

Head over Heels
Studio album by Paula Abdul
Released	June 13, 1995 (1995-06-13)
Recorded	1994–1995
Genre	Pop R&B^[1]
Length	59:40
Label	Virgin Captive
Producer	Peter Lord V. Jeffrey Smith Rhett Lawrence Elliot Wolff Howie Hersh Iky Levi Robb Boldt Cha'n André Michael Stuart Ani or "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

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Billboard	(favorable)^[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[4]
Entertainment Weekly	C+^[5]
Knoxville News Sentinel	^[6]
Los Angeles Times	^[7]
MTV	(favorable)^[8]
NME	7/10^[9]
People	(mixed)^[10]
Rolling Stone	^[11]

Background

In 1994, Abdul took a break from her music career to focus on her personal life. Her marriage to Emilio Estevez ended with them filing for divorce, and she sought treatment for bulimia. "I was so sad, I just needed to be filled up. It was like I was trying to fill this big empty hole", she said. This experience gave her strength to work on a third album, Head over Heels, her most honest and personal project. "I took all the stuff I was afraid to face, and put it in my music", the singer said.^[12] Abdul also stated that, "It's a completely different space and time for me. I've experienced some spiritual growth that has allowed me to really get back to what I enjoy doing best. And that's being totally connected to the creative source as a recording artist and dancer".^[13]

For Head over Heels, Abdul decided to work with an array of different producers. According to her: "I've now experienced both sides. On my first album, I worked with seven producers; on 'Spellbound' I worked with only a few. Going into my third album, I wanted to again experiment with many different people and flavors". At the same time, "I went into this album thinking I didn't want to be in any compromising situations, as I was at times, on my last two albums. Going into the studio and creating an album is a very intimate experience. I'm now more involved in the production end of my songs. I'm unafraid to state what my feelings and opinions are. All my producers were so open to my input and they were very honest. They said, 'Thank God you thought of that'. It was a good feeling."^[13]

Composition

Head over Heels is primarily a pop and R&B album^[1] with elements of funk, Motown soul, lite rap, latin pop, psychedelic soul, soul-pop, and Middle Eastern music.^[14]

Commercial performance

Head over Heels did not do as well as Abdul's previous albums, peaking on the US Billboard 200 chart at number 18.^[15] The album is currently certified gold.

Three singles were released from Head over Heels. The first single, "My Love Is for Real", was the only Top 40 single from the album, peaking at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[16] The following single, "Crazy Cool" peaked at number 58.^[16] However, both of them were more successful on the US Dance Club Songs chart, with the former topping it (her only song to do so).^[17] The last single from the album, "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up", reached number 12 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100.^[18]

Track listing

Head over Heels 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"	Abdul Rhett Lawrence	Lawrence	5:20
3.	"Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up"	Bryan Abrams 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:				59:40

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.^[19]

• Paula Abdul – all 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 – various instruments
• Charlie Barnett – percussion
• Rocky Bryant – keyboards, synthesizers, drums, percussion
• Keith Carlock – drums, percussion
• Vince Denham – tenor saxophone
• Walt Fowler, Ralph Rickert, Dan Savant – trumpet
• Ronnie Garrett, Tracy Wormworth – bass guitar
• 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 guitar, synthesizers
• John Leftwich – horns
• Oliver Leiber – keyboards, synthesizers, guitars, electric sitar, drums, percussion
• Iki Levy – percussion
• Keith Lewis – percussion and 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 and bass guitars
• Gerri Sutyak – cello
• Albert Wing – tenor and alto saxophone, clarinet

Charts

Chart performance for Head over Heels

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[20]	27
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[21]	21
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[22]	74
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[23]	32
UK Albums (OCC)^[24]	61
US Billboard 200^[15]	18

Certifications

Certifications for Head over Heels

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[25]	Gold	500,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Harrison, Quentin (June 11, 2020). "Revist & Listen to Paula Abdul's 'Head Over Heels' (1995)". Albumism.com. Retrieved August 24, 2023. With a cunning, club-friendly aesthetic inset with a seamless blend of pop and R&B, Abdul was able to situate herself at a central location on that same genre spectrum to court both white and black consumers.
2. AllMusic review
3. "Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 26. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 1, 1995. p. 92. ISSN 0006-2510.
4. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
5. Farber, Jim (June 16, 1995). "Head Over Heels". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
6. Campbell, Chuck (June 23, 1995). "Bjork Returns With Lyrical Surprises". Knoxville News Sentinel.
7. Hunt, Dennis (June 11, 1995). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
8. "MTV.com - Paula Abdul Album". MTV. from the original on 2002-08-05. Retrieved 2002-08-05.
9. Perry, John (June 24, 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 56. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
10. "Picks and Pans Review: Head over Heels". People.
12. "A Brave New Song".
13. . Archived from the original on 1997-04-13. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
14. . www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2002. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
15. "Paula Abdul Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
16. "Paula Abdul Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
17. "Paula Abdul Chart History: Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
18. "Paula Abdul Chart History: Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
19. Personnel list at allmusic
20. "Australiancharts.com – Paula Abdul – Head over Heels". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
21. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7768". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Paula Abdul – Head over Heels" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
23. "ヘッド・オーヴァー・ヒールズ" (in Japanese). Oricon. from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
25. "American album certifications – Paula Abdul – Head over Heels". Recording Industry Association of America.