Head over Heels (Paula Abdul album)

Head over Heels
Studio album by Paula Abdul
Released	June 13, 1995 (1995-06-13)
Recorded	1994-1995
Genre	Pop
Length	64:28
Label	Virgin
Producer	Howie Hersh, Rhett Lawrence, Oliver Leiber, Peter Lord Moreland, Michael Patterson, V. Jeffrey Smith, Elliot Wolff
Paula Abdul chronology
Spellbound (1991) Head over Heels (1995) Paula Abdul: Greatest Hits (2000)
Singles from Head Over Heels
"My Love Is for Real" Released: 1995 "Crazy Cool" Released: August 22, 1995 "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" Released: January 9, 1996 "If I Were Your Girl" Released: July 12, 2001

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

Album information

The album 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. First single "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
Entertainment Weekly	C+
Rolling Stone

"Head over Heels" received mixed reviews. Many reviewers claimed the album diverted from Abdul's pop music roots, however some reviews said the album was Abdul's most creative and exciting work to date. iTunes review on the album was mixed saying that the "Head over Heels" has 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".

Success

The album did not do as well as Abdul's previous albums in terms of chart performance and sales. The album was Abdul's weakest selling album to date, only going gold; the album was 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 had managed to sell just under 3 million copies worldwide, 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 the album. The first single,"My Love is For Real" was a moderate hit peaking at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was Abdul's first single to not reach the Top 20 and was considered her last hit in her career. 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 a 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" failed to chart and was considered another flop for her, due to lack of promotion. However, it did peak at #12 on Bubbling Under Hot 100. A fourth single, "If I Were Your Girl" was 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"	Paula 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
15.	"Crazy Love (Japan bonus track)"			4:31
16.	"Highschool Crush (Japan bonus track)"			4:36

Personnel

• • Adapted From allmusic
• 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 Shepard: 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

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart	27
Canadian Albums Chart	21
Dutch Albums Chart	74
Japanese Oricon Albums Chart	32
UK Albums Chart	61
U.S. Billboard 200	18

Certifications

Country	Certification	Sales/Shipments
United States	Gold	500,000+