Everyone knows the name: Paula Abdul. Following her years as one of the original judges during American Idol’s shoot to popularity, she’s managed to parlay her celebrity into a consistent position as a judge/guest host/reality show creator/jewelry designer, rarely absent from some form of national prime time spotlight.
Though, as a child of the late 1980s, it’s easy for me to remember that Paula’s most creative era was when she reigned over pop radio. Following her post as the choreographer for the Los Angeles Lakers cheerleading squad and her work creating routines for Janet Jackson’s music videos, she turned around and recorded Forever Your Girl, the debut album with the songs, “Straight Up,” “Cold Hearted” and “Opposites Attract.”
First drawn to performing by watching musicals as a child, Paula Abdul was the total package – a pop singer with an edge to the wholesome Tiffanys and Debbie Gibsons. A dancer whose routines won her a Grammy for the “Opposites Attract” music video and an all-around entertainer whose icon status would land her Coke commercials and a Hollywood Walk Of Fame star.
On Sunday, Nov. 4, Paula Abdul will bring her Straight Up Paula! tour to the Reno Ballroom, with a stage show and set list that runs through the musical years that brought her from a behind-the-scenes choreographer to the pop world’s forefront as a total-package entertainer. Through it all, she’s continued to release new music and work as a dancer in different productions.
Expect this tour to bring the hits that made her “Forever Your Girl” album one of the most successful debuts in history, and a choreographed production up to the standards of someone who was tapped to lead the choreography of the Lakers and pop’s original nasty girl, Janet Jackson.
- Paula Abdul
When: 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4
Where: Reno Ballroom, 401 N Center St, Reno, NV 89501
Tickets:$72-$82 LINK; Meet and Greet VIP tickets available
