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.

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
Format
Genre
Length3:45
4:25 (album version)
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Oliver Leiber
Producer(s)Leiber
Paula Abdul singles chronology
"Cold Hearted"
(1989)		 "Opposites Attract"
(1989)		 "Rush Rush"
(1991)

Lyrics and music video

The lyrics are about a couple who love each other despite being different in just about every way possible.

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] M. C. 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.

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

Official mixes
  • Album version – 4:23
  • 7" mix / 7" Edit – 3:46 (Keith Cohen)
  • Street mix – 4:35 (as above)
  • Magnetic mix – 4:33 (as above)
  • Dub version – 6:26 (as above)
  • 1990 mix – 6:48 (as above)
  • 12" mix – 5:39 (Steve Beltran)
  • Club mix – 6:04 (Chris Cox for Hot Tracks remix service)
  • Party dub – 3:10 (as above)
  • Shep's Special mix – 6:43 (Shep Pettibone)

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[26] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[38] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[39] Silver 200,000^
United States (RIAA)[40] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Miranda, Carolina A. (April 26, 2017). "Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger turn animation into a wild sensory art installation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  2. Stransky, Tanner (February 19, 2010). "20 Years Ago: Paula Abdul hits No. 1 with 'Opposites Attract'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
  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)
  5. "Australian-charts.com – Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  6. "Austriancharts.at – Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  7. "Ultratop.be – Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  8. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9210." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  9. "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 9207." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  10. Danish Singles Chart 30 March 1990
  11. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  12. "Lescharts.com – Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Opposites Attract". Irish Singles Chart.
  14. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 10, 1990" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  16. "Charts.nz – Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  17. "Norwegiancharts.com – Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract". VG-lista. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  18. "Swedishcharts.com – Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract". Singles Top 100. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  19. "Swisscharts.com – Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  20. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  21. "Paula Abdul Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  22. "Paula Abdul Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  23. "Paula Abdul Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  24. "Paula Abdul Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  25. "Offiziellecharts.de – Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  26. "1990 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  27. "Jaaroverzichten 1990" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  28. "Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  29. "Top 50 Dance Tracks of 1990". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  30. "Eurochart Hot 100 of 1990" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7 no. 51. 22 December 1990. p. 60. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via American Radio History.
  31. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1990" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  32. "Single top 100 over 1990" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  33. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1990" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  34. "End of Year Charts 1990". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  35. "1990 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. March 2, 1991. p. 41.
  36. Nielsen Business Media, Inc (December 22, 1990). "1990 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. 102 (51): YE-14.
  37. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  38. "Canadian single certifications – Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract". Music Canada. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  39. "British single certifications – Paula Abdul with The Wild Pair – Opposites Attract". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 21, 2019. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Opposites Attract in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  40. "American single certifications – Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 21, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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