Forever Your Girl

Forever Your Girl is Paula Abdul's debut studio album that was released on June 21, 1988 by Virgin Records.
==Tracklisting==
#The Way That You Love Me	5:21
#Knocked Out	3:53
#Opposites Attract	4:24
#State Of Attraction	4:07
#I Need You	5:01
#Forever Your Girl	4:58
#Straight Up	4:11
#Next To You	4:26
#Cold Hearted	3:51
#One Or The Other	4:10
==Album Background==
In 1987, Paula Abdul (once a choreographer for Los Angeles Lakers and high-profile artists including George Michael, ZZ Top, Duran Duran and most notably Janet Jackson) used her savings to make a singing demo.
Soon thereafter, she was signed to the newly formed Virgin Records by Jeff Ayeroff, who had worked in marketing at A&M Records with Janet Jackson. 
Although she was a skilled dancer and choreographer, Abdul was a relatively untrained singer. She worked with various coaches and record producers to develop her vocal ability, with her vocal range defined as mezzo-soprano.
Ayeroff recalled signing Abdul to a recording contract years later, stating: "She said, 'I can sing, you know. I want to do an album.' Paula's in our industry. Here's someone with a personality and she's gorgeous, and she can dance. If she can sing, she could be a star. So she went into the studio and cut a demo record and she could sing."
==Chart Performance==
After spending 64 weeks on the chart, "Forever Your Girl" hit #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the longest that an album has been on the market before hitting number-one.
It was certified 7x platinum by the RIAA and has sold over 18 million copies worldwide. The album also peaked at #4 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.
The album spawned four number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", and "Opposites Attract."
After a slow start, the album's third single "Straight Up" helped the album breakout in spring/summer 1989 after its initial summer 1988 release. The album hit number one for the first time on October 7, 1989. 
After the release of the single "Opposites Attract", the album shot to #1 again on February 3, 1990 and stayed there for nine consecutive weeks. At one point, "Forever Your Girl" reportedly sold 191,000 copies in a single day.
By 1998, Billboard Magazine reported that "Forever Your Girl" was the most successful album released by the Virgin Record Label, with all five of its top 20 hits also appearing on the same chart ranking Virgin's singles.
==Critical Reception==
Bryan Buss of AllMusic gave the album a four-star rating, writing: "Despite having a slight voice, her voice is distinct and perfectly suited to this synthesized type of late-'80s dance-pop."
Robert Christgau gave the album a "C" grade, saying: "She's less imitator than imitation, short on tokens of self-creation--her only writing credit is also the only time she threatens to play around."
Category:1980s albums
Category:Dance-Pop
Category:R&B