Head over Heels (Paula Abdul album)

studio album by Paula Abdul

Head over Heels is the third studio album by American singer and dancer Paula Abdul. It was released on June 13, 1995, by Virgin Records. The album features a mixture of Abdul's signature pop and R&B sound with heavy influences of hip hop music.

Head over Heels
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 13, 1995 (1995-06-13)
Recorded1994–1995
Genre
Length64:28
Label
Producer
Paula Abdul chronology
Spellbound
(1991)
Head over Heels
(1995)
Greatest Hits
(2000)
Singles from Head over Heels
  1. "My Love Is for Real"
    Released: May 30, 1995
  2. "Crazy Cool"
    Released: August 22, 1995
  3. "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up"
    Released: January 9, 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic2/5 stars[1]
Billboard(favorable)[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music2/5 stars[3]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[4]
Knoxville News Sentinel3/5 stars[5]
Los Angeles Times1/4 stars[6]
MTV(favorable)[7]
People(mixed)[8]
Rolling Stone2/5 stars[9]

Track listing

change
Head over Heels track listing
No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. "Crazy Cool"  
  • Lord
  • Smith
4:42
2. "My Love Is for Real"  Lawrence 5:20
3. "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up"  Wolff 3:53
4. "Love Don't Come Easy"  
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
  • Cha'n André
  • Da' Count
  • Monsanty
4:07
5. "If I Were Your Girl"  Lawrence 3:55
6. "Sexy Thoughts"  
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
4:09
7. "The Choice Is Yours"   4:48
8. "Ho-Down"  
  • Wolff
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
4:23
9. "Under the Influence"  Leiber 4:29
10. "I Never Knew It"  Simmons 4:26
11. "Get Your Groove On"  
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
4:02
12. "Missing You"  Lawrence 3:52
13. "It's All About Feeling Good"  
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
3:46
14. "Cry for Me"  Miner 3:38
Total length:
64:28
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No. TitleProducer(s) Length
15. "Crazy Love"  Leiber 4:31
16. "Highschool Crush"  Lind 4:36
Total length:
73:35

Personnel

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Adapted from AllMusic.[10]

  • 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

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Chart performance for Head over Heels
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 27
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[12] 21
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 74
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[14] 32
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 61
US Billboard 200[16] 18

Certifications

change
Certifications for Head over Heels
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[17] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

change
  1. AllMusic review
  2. "Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 26. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 1, 1995. p. 92. ISSN 0006-2510.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. pp. 32. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
  4. Farber, Jim (June 16, 1995). "Head Over Heels". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  5. Campbell, Chuck (June 23, 1995). "Bjork Returns With Lyrical Surprises". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  6. Hunt, Dennis (June 11, 1995). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  7. "MTV.com - Paula Abdul Album". MTV. Archived from the original on 2002-08-05. Retrieved 2002-08-05.
  8. "Picks and Pans Review: Head over Heels". People.
  9. Rolling Stone review
  10. Personnel list at allmusic
  11. "Australiancharts.com – Paula Abdul – Head over Heels". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  12. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7768". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Paula Abdul – Head over Heels" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  14. "ヘッド・オーヴァー・ヒールズ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  15. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  16. "Paula Abdul Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  17. "American album certifications – Paula Abdul – Head over Heels". Recording Industry Association of America.