"Forever Your Girl" is a song by American singer Paula Abdul from her debut studio album, Forever Your Girl (1988). The song was written and produced by Oliver Leiber, with additional production by Keith "K.C." Cohen. Virgin Records released it as the album's fourth single on February 20, 1989.
| "Forever Your Girl" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Paula Abdul | ||||
| from the album Forever Your Girl | ||||
| B-side | "Next to You" | |||
| Released | February 20, 1989 | |||
| Recorded | November 1987–January 1988[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:58 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Oliver Leiber | |||
| Producer(s) | Oliver Leiber | |||
| Paula Abdul singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Forever Your Girl" spent two weeks at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 in May 1989, reached number 28 on the Dance Club Songs chart, and number 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Composition and lyrics
The song is about loyalty in a relationship. The female vocalist proclaims that, despite rumors that others may be interested in her, none of those matter because she will remain faithful to the man she loves; she will remain "forever his girl." The single version differs slightly from the album version, as it uses more of the background male vocal featuring the Wild Pair, Bruce DeShazer, and Marvin Gunn.
Critical reception
Eleanor Levy left an ironically negative review on this single for British music newspaper Record Mirror. She called it "a disappointingly predictable pop song".[3]
Music video
The accompanying music video for the song was directed by David Fincher, and features Abdul acting as a choreographer and director of a children's performance. A young Elijah Wood appears in the video, playing the kid in the suit.[4] It also parodies Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love video, with three girls dressed like the women of the aforementioned video.
Track listings
Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Forever Your Girl.[12]
- Oliver Leiber – songwriter, producer, arrangement, drum programming, keyboards, guitar
- Keith "K.C." Cohen – producer, mixing
- Steve Weise – engineering
- Paula Abdul – lead vocals, background vocals
- St. Paul – bass, organ
- Troy Williams – saxophone
- The Wild Pair – background vocals
- Tami Day – background vocals
- Lucia Newell – background vocals
- Jeff Lorber – additional drum programming, keyboards
- Dan Hersch – mastering
Charts
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[37] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | February 20, 1989 |
| Virgin | [citation needed] |
| United Kingdom | May 15, 1989 |
| Siren | [38][39] |
| Japan | May 21, 1989 | Mini-CD |
| [40] |