Opposites Attract

"Opposites Attract" is a song recorded by Paula Abdul, featured on her debut album Forever Your Girl. It was written and produced by Oliver Leiber. Vocals on the song, in addition to Abdul, were provided by Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn, also known as The Wild Pair. "Opposites Attract" was the sixth and final single from the album, and achieved success in many countries, including the United States, Canada and Australia, where it was a number-one hit. Lyrically, the song is about a couple who love each other despite being different in almost every way possible.

This article is about the Paula Abdul song. For the film, see Opposites Attract (film). For the instrumental by Clint Mansell, see Black Swan: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. For the song by Fat Joe, see Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.).
"Opposites Attract"
Single by Paula Abdul and The Wild Pair
from the album Forever Your Girl
B-side"One or the Other"
ReleasedNovember 28, 1989 (1989-11-28)
Studio
  • Creation Audio (Minneapolis)
  • Kren (Hollywood)
  • JHL (Palisades)
Genre
Length
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Oliver Leiber
Producer(s)Oliver Leiber
Paula Abdul singles chronology
"Cold Hearted"
(1989)		 "Opposites Attract"
(1989)		 "Rush Rush"
(1991)
Music video
"Opposites Attract" on YouTube

Music video

The song's music video was directed by Candace Reckinger and Michael Patterson,[1] in which Abdul dances with cartoon character MC Skat Kat, voiced by The Wild Pair, Bruce DeShazer and Marvin Gunn.[2] An additional rap, written by Romany Malco was provided by Derrick "Delite" Stevens[3] for the Street mix version of the song, which was edited for the 7"/video.

The idea of MC Skat Kat came from the Gene Kelly film Anchors Aweigh, where Kelly dances with Jerry Mouse from the Tom and Jerry cartoon series. Paula even choreographed the animated character's moves to match her live-action dance moves in the video. MC Skat Kat was animated by members of the Disney animation team, working outside the studio between major projects, under the direction of Chris Bailey.[4] MC Skat Kat's movements were the result of rotoscoping animation, with Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers standing in for the character against a blue screen, then drawing the animated form over Chambers' dance moves. The Wild Pair did not appear in the video.

The video won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video and was nominated for Breakthrough Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards.

Critical reception

Music & Media commented, "For this release Abdul duets with The Wild Pair. The song also features a rap by Derrick Delite and is, of course, very danceable."[5] People described it as one of "the liveliest cuts" from the album.[6]

Chart performance

"Opposites Attract" became one of the most popular R&B and dance-pop singles of 1990. The single initially rose from number 72 to number 47 the week of December 23, 1989, and landed at number one the week of February 10, 1990, where it remained for three weeks, matching the run of "Straight Up". It became Abdul's fourth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and made her only the fourth artist in music history to score four number-one hits from a single album, after Whitney Houston, George Michael and Michael Jackson. (Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Usher and Katy Perry would later duplicate the feat.) "Opposites Attract" also topped the charts in Australia and Canada and peaked at number two in the United Kingdom.

Track listings and formats

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel adapted from Forever Your Girl album liner notes.[27]

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[51] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[63] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[64] Silver 200,000^
United States (RIAA)[65] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
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  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 10, 2007. Retrieved October 28, 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Will the real MC Skat Kat please stand up?
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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  6. "Picks and Pans Review: Forever Your Girl". People. September 5, 1988. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
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