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Information about Straight Up (song)

"Straight Up"
Enlarge picture
"Straight Up" cover
Single by Paula Abdul
from the album Forever Your Girl
Released1988
FormatCD Single
GenrePop
Length4:11
Writer(s)Elliot Wolff
Producer(s)Elliot Wolff
CertificationGold (US)
Peak chart positions
Paula Abdul singles chronology


"(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me"
(1988)		"Straight Up"
(1988)		"Forever Your Girl"
(1989)




"Straight Up" is a 1989 hit single by American singer Paula Abdul, which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and brought her widespread public attention. It was written and produced by Elliot Wolff.

History

"Straight Up" was the third single released from her debut album Forever Your Girl, after "Knocked Out" and "(It's Just) the Way You Love Me". While the latter was enjoying success on the R&B charts, radio station KMEL in San Francisco started playing "Straight Up" from the album. The label decided to abandon "(It's Just) the Way You Love Me" and refocus its attention on "Straight Up". This strategy paid off, as "Straight Up" was followed by three more number-one hits from the same album. The 12" versions were remixed by L.A. "Powermixers" Chris Modig and Boris Granich, known for their special Powermixes at Power 106 during the 80's.

The record spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 from February 11, 1989 and was ranked fourth in the Top 100 hits of 1989, becoming one of the biggest hits of the year. It also reached number three in the UK and number three in Germany.

Music video

Enlarge picture
Paula Abdul in the "Straight Up" music video, directed by David Fincher.
The song itself became so popular that it ascended to the Hot 100 top 20 before a music video had even been shot for the song. The video, directed by David Fincher and choreographed by Paula herself, won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video. The video features a special appearance by Paula's friend, talk-show host and comedian Arsenio Hall. The video at the time went into very heavy rotation on MTV, it also made Abdul known for her exceptionally creative and distinct videos. It was shot in black and white in Los Angeles, California.

Irony in lyrics

Part of the chorus is
Straight up now tell me
Do you really want to love me forever oh oh oh
Or am I caught in a hit and run


On March 24, 2005, Abdul pleaded no contest and was fined and sentenced to two years' probation for a hit-and-run incident in Encino, California. (See article on Paula Abdul.)

Chart performance

Enlarge picture
Alternate cover


In the U.S., "Straight Up" reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 by February 11, 1989, where it stayed for three consecutive weeks. "Straight Up" was perhaps one of the most popular R&B and dance-pop singles of the entire year, remaining in the Top 10 for 7 weeks; in the Top 20 for 9 weeks; and in the Top 40 for 16 weeks. "Straight Up" is considered by many to be Abdul's signature hit.

Chart (1988/1989) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 1001
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales1
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play3
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks2
UK Singles Chart3
Australian Singles Chart27
German Singles Chart3

Track listings and formats

US 12" Record

  1. Straight Up - 12" Remix
  2. Straight Up - Power Mix
  3. Straight Up - House Mix
  4. Straight Up - Marley Marl Mix

US Cassette

  1. Straight Up - LP
  2. Straight Up - Power Mix

Official remixes

  • 12 Remix
  • Power Mix
  • House Mix
  • Marley Marl Mix

Covers

"Straight Up" was covered by punk band Halifax for the compilation Punk Goes 80's.

In the media

  • Both Full House and Family Matters had a brief instance of the song being referenced during the 1989-1990 season.
  • The Family Matters incident simply had Eddie Winslow listening to the video.
  • On the Full House episode "Honey, I Broke the House", both D.J. Tanner and Kimmy Gibbler listening to the song on their headphones, when Kimmy breaks out and sings the chorus briefly.
  • The song is featured in .
  • On VH1's "I Love the 80s: 3D" Paula Abdul introduces the "hearthrobs" of the 80s with this song in the background.
Preceded by
"When I'm with You" by Sheriff		Billboard Hot 100 number one single
February 11 1989- February 25 1989		Succeeded by
"Lost in Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson

See also

In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats.
  • Vinyl singles consist of one or more tracks on a traditional gramophone record.

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Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American multi-platinum selling Grammy Award-winning singer, dancer, television personality, jewelry designer, and Emmy Award-winning choreographer.
..... Click the link for more information.
Forever Your Girl (1988) ''Shut Up and Dance (1990)

Forever Your Girl is the debut album from singer Paula Abdul. It was released on June 13, 1988 and took 62 weeks from its release to hit #1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart, the longest an album
..... Click the link for more information.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s  1960s  1970s  - 1980s -  1990s  2000s  2010s
1985 1986 1987 - 1988 - 1989 1990 1991

Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII
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A CD single is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s. Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" (1985) is reported to be the world's first CD single, issued in the UK in two
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A music genre is a term that describes the process of dividing popular music into categories. Some treat the terms genre and style as the same, and state that genre should be defined as pieces of music that share a certain style or "basic musical language.
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This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details.
This article has been tagged since October 2007.

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A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. That is to say, a songwriter is a lyricist, a composer, or both.
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In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering
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Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has sold a certain number of copies.

Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories, which are named after the precious materials gold, platinum
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highly specialized aspect of its associated subject.
Please help [ improve this article] by adding more general information.


"RIAA" redirects here. You may also be looking for RIAA equalization.

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__NOEDITSECTION__ A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of record charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40.
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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UK Singles Chart is currently compiled by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine, and published online at Yahoo! Music UK (formerly Dotmusic)
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The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia.
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Anthem
"Das Lied der Deutschen" (third stanza)
also called "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit"
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Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American multi-platinum selling Grammy Award-winning singer, dancer, television personality, jewelry designer, and Emmy Award-winning choreographer.
..... Click the link for more information.
Released 1988
October 2, 1989 (re-release)
Format CD, cassette
Genre Pop
Length 5:25
Label Virgin
Certification Gold (US)

Paula Abdul singles chronology

"Knocked Out"
..... Click the link for more information.
Format CD Single
Genre Pop
Length 05:00
Label Virgin Records America
Writer(s) Oliver Leiber
Producer(s) Oliver Leiber
Certification Gold
Peak chart positions
  • #1 (U.S.

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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s  1960s  1970s  - 1980s -  1990s  2000s  2010s
1986 1987 1988 - 1989 - 1990 1991 1992

Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX
..... Click the link for more information.
Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American multi-platinum selling Grammy Award-winning singer, dancer, television personality, jewelry designer, and Emmy Award-winning choreographer.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay
..... Click the link for more information.
Forever Your Girl (1988) ''Shut Up and Dance (1990)

Forever Your Girl is the debut album from singer Paula Abdul. It was released on June 13, 1988 and took 62 weeks from its release to hit #1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart, the longest an album
..... Click the link for more information.
Rhythm and blues (also known as R&B or RnB) is a popular music genre combining jazz, gospel, and blues influences, first performed by African American artists.
..... Click the link for more information.
KMEL

City of license San Francisco, California
Broadcast area San Francisco Bay Area
Branding "106 KMEL"
Slogan The People's Station, The Bay Area's Home for Hip Hop and R&B
Frequency 106.
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A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings.
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David Fincher

Birth name David Leo Fincher
Born July 28 1962 (1962--) (age 45)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
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The following is a list of the MTV Video Music Awards winners for Female Artist of the Year. From 1984 to 2006, it was known as Best Female Video. It acquired its recent name in 2007.
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Arsenio Hall (February 12, 1955) is an American comedian, talk show host, and actor. He is best known for his talk show The Arsenio Hall Show and stint as host of Star Search.

The son of a Baptist minister, Hall performed as a magician when he was a child.
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Availability
Satellite
DirecTV Channel 331
Dish Network Channel 160
Cable
Available on many cable systems Check local listings for channels

MTV (Music Television) is an American cable television network based in New York City.
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