B-side "One or the Other" Length 3:45 | Released November 28, 1989 | |
Format CD maxi
7" single
12" maxi
cassette Recorded April 1988, Summer 1989 Genre Dance-pop
hip hop
new jack swing | ||
"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 and Australia, where it was a number one hit.
Contents
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 is directed by Candace Reckinger and Michael Patterson, in which Abdul dances with cartoon character MC Skat Kat, voiced by The Wild Pair, Bruce DeShazer and Marvin Gunn. The music video adds an intro rap performed by Romany Malco. An additional rap was provided by Derrick 'Delite' Stevens 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. Also shown in the video are Micetro, Taboo, and Fatz, yet their names weren't revealed, until the release of The Adventures of MC Skat Kat and the Stray Mob.
The video won Abdul a Grammy Award in 1991 for "Best Short Form Music Video". The Wild Pair did not perform in Video.
Cover versions and parodies
The song was covered by American indie band Mirror Ball Associates for the album Covers Vol. 1, which features Paul Durham (lead singer of Black Lab) on vocals.
In 1997, Abdul performed this song with Clifford during her guest appearance on Muppets Tonight.
This video was later parodied by the Family Guy episode "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz" with Peter Griffin "dressed like a cat", taking the place of MC Skat Kat. Paula herself actually appears in the sequence. According to the DVD commentary, Abdul rerecorded her vocals specifically for the episode.
The song was also featured in situation comedy Sabrina the Teenage Witch in the Season 4 episode "Aging, Not So Gracefully".
The Australian sketch comedy show Fast Forward parody of the song had Humphrey B. Bear in place of MC Skat Kat.
The song also appeared in the television version of the political thriller A Very British Coup.
The Protagonist and Pierce Washington sing this as a duet in Saints Row IV and it also appears on the in game radio station The Mix 107.77.
Chart performances
"Opposites Attract" became one of the most popular R&B and dance-pop singles of 1990. The single initially rose from #72 to #47 the week of December 23, 1989, and landed at #1 the week of February 10, 1990, where it remained for three weeks, matching the run of "Straight Up". It became Abdul's fourth #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and made her at that time only the fourth artist in music history to score four #1 hits from a single album, after Whitney Houston, George Michael, Michael Jackson and then, Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey. Although the single was released at the end of 1989, the song itself is considered one of the first popular songs of the 1990s. "Opposites Attract" also topped the charts in Australia, and peaked at #2 in the United Kingdom. It failed to enter the German Top 10, peaking at #13.