Let's revisit some of the girls we saw in the 80s Ladies rate.
Paula Abdul. As you should know, she entered the 90s as one of the big girls. HUGE. officially ********.
But then, a backup singer by the name of "Yvette Marine" came out and 'admitted' she sang the lead vocals on many of the tracks on Forever Your Girl.
I don't know why anyone would ever admit to being the lead vocal on a Paula Abdul record - that's like bragging about being the best actor in adult entertainment. Or an ABC Family show.
As you can imagine, in the post-Milli Vanilli days, accusations of lip syncing were taken quite seriously.
How to remedy this? Lead your next album with a ballad. Enter Rush Rush, and it's Rebel Without a Cause inspired video.
An official contender for song of the summer 1991, RR ruled the top of the charts for FIVE WEEKS. People were hungry for their Paula.
But not that hungry, as - although it went to number one - Promise of a New Day really should not have. In actuality, it was more of a top five hit - but Billboard's inaccurate tracking methods gave it a higher position.
Then came SoundScan. Thanks Paula!
And, for good measure, here's the In Living Color spoof "Promise of a Thin Me" (as the video was Photoshopped before Photoshop was a thing):
In the next two years, Paula battled eating disorders, had injuries, and became engaged to/married/divorced Emilio Estevez. By 1995, she was ready to comeback.
Her comeback single, My Love is for Real, featured Paula in a funky way - and was also incredibly derivative of all the Middle Eastern flourishes Madonna/Janet/Kylie had recently put in their music.
Although it went to number seven in Australia, it peaked at #28 on the Hot 100.
Followup Crazy Cool didn't even go top forty - and with a controversy over MTV banning the video for being too suggestive!
She was done.
Rush, Rush
Promise of a New Day
Vibeology
My Love is for Real
Crazy Cool
As the eighties wound down, Anita Baker had reached a new high, both personally and professionally. The album and single Giving You The Best That I Got hit big on Pop and R&B charts, and she walked away with three Grammys. Additionally, she was newly married.
Talk to Me was the first single off of her next album, Compositions. Although it just missed the top forty, it peaked in the top five at R&B and Adult Contemporary radio.
But Anita was in a family way. After a few more singles, Anita took time off to have children. As we found out in Part One, two songs written for her actually kicked off Toni Braxton's career.
So iconic!
