Paula Abdul, Straight Up | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 127th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Straight Up” by Grammy-winning pop artist, Paula Abdul.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 127^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Straight Up” performed by Paula Abdul.

“I’ve been a fool before / Wouldn’t like to get my love caught in the slammin’ door / How about some information, please?” Paul Abdul didn’t want to be a fool again, hence she needed to know “Straight Up” about his intentions.  In the infectious, unforgettable chorus of her highlight from Forever Your Girl, she sings:

“Straight up, now tell me

Do you really wanna love me forever (Oh, oh, oh)

Or am I caught up in a hit-and-run?

Straight up, now tell me

Is it gonna be you and me together? (Oh, oh, oh)

Or are you just havin’ fun.”

Ooh-wee! “Straight Up” was written and produced by Elliott Wolff. It spent three weeks at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was certified double platinum by the RIAA. Abdul was nominated for the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female though lost to Bonnie Raitt ( “Nick of Time”).

“Straight Up” features quintessential 1980s sounds: drum programming, keys, synths, and guitar. Paula Abdul delivers playful vocals as she tries to confirm if she can trust him.  The melodies are also rhythmic. “If you are all that you seem / Then baby, I’m movin’ (movin’) way too slow,” she sings in the first verse. In the second, she asserts, “I keep getting chills / When I think your love (When I think your love) is true.” In the bridge, she states, “You are so hard to read / You play hide-and-seek / With your true intentions.” Last but not least, during the playful breakdown section, she asks, simply, “Do, do you love me?” “Straight Up” isn’t deep, but it is a fun, unforgettable classic from the ‘80s. Paula Abdul did that!

Paula Abdul // Forever Your Girl // Virgin // 1988

Paula Abdul, Straight Up: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 127 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Virgin; OpenClipart-Vectors, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]