Head over Heels (Paula Abdul album)

Head over Heels
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 13, 1995 (1995-06-13)
Recorded1994–1995
Genre
Length64:28
Label
Producer
  • Peter Lord
  • V. Jeffrey Smith
  • Rhett Lawrence
  • Elliot Wolff
  • Howie Hersh
  • Iky Levi
  • Robb Boldt
  • Cha'n André
  • Michael Stuart Ani or "Da'Count"
  • Eric Monsanty
  • Arnold Hennings
  • Dallas Austin
  • Oliver Leiber
  • Daryl Simmons
  • Tim Miner
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]

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.

Track listing

Head over Heels track listing
No.TitleWriter(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"
  • Abdul
  • Rhett Lawrence
Lawrence5:20
3."Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up"
  • Bryan Abrams
  • Mark Calderon
  • Howie Tee
  • Kevin Thornton
  • Curtis "Fitz" Williams
  • Elliot Wolff
Wolff3:53
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"Lawrence3:55
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
Leiber4:29
10."I Never Knew It"Daryl SimmonsSimmons4:26
11."Get Your Groove On"
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
4:02
12."Missing You"Bernadette CooperLawrence3:52
13."It's All About Feeling Good"
  • Abdul
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
  • Hersh
  • Levy
  • Boldt
3:46
14."Cry for Me"Tim MinerMiner3:38
Total length:64:28
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Crazy Love"LeiberLeiber4:31
16."Highschool Crush"
  • Jon Lind
  • John Andrew Schreiner
  • Abdul
Lind4:36
Total length:73:35

Personnel

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

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

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

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  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.