Paula Abdul Brought Nostalgic Electrifying Performance to 2019 Billboard Music Awards

Having been a force in the music industry since her debut album Forever Your Girl hit the charts in 1988, Paula Abdul is the first female to ever receive four No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 singles off a debut album. One of those singles, and arguably Abdul’s most recognized hit, “Straight Up,” is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. After first making her mark as a Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader and choreographer, Abdul has long courted success on Billboard‘s charts. Her debut album, Forever Your Girl, hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 1989, completing a record 64-week climb to the top spot. The set also generated four No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 singles in 1989-90, a first for a debut. Her 1991 LP, Spellbound, also topped the Billboard 200 and spun off two more Hot 100 No. 1s. As she gained a new generation of fans as a judge on American Idol, she added a No. 2 hit, “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow,” on the Dance Club Songs chart in 2008 with then-fellow judge Randy Jackson. In Abdul’s 30-plus year career, she has earned six No. 1 songs, eight Top 10, and 15 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

Always a fan favorite, the Billboard Music Awards create a nostalgic moment each year with performances and musicians of our pop culture past for the Billboard Music Awards Throwback. Past Throwback’s include Salt-N-Pepa’s 2018 performance to commemorate the 30th anniversary of becoming the first female rappers to crack the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, Celine Dion’s moving 2017 performance of the Oscar-winning song, “My Heart Will Go On” to mark the 20th anniversary of the film Titanic, the Go-Go’s 2016 performance of their smash hit “We Got The Beat” to celebrate the song’s 35th anniversary, and in 2015 Molly Ringwald introducing the band Simple Minds who performed their hit single “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” on the 30th anniversary of the film The Breakfast Club.

Paula Abdul brought fans a montage of her classic hit songs on the 2019 Billboard Music Awards and fans were loving the hits whilst still showcasing that she still has her signature dance moves that they adored throughout her career while performing live. Singing a montage of her hit songs like “Straight Up,” “The Way That You Love Me,” “Opposites Attract,” “Cold Hearted,” and “Forever Your Girl.”

Wowing the crowd when she jumped from a balcony and was thrown around before being dragged across the stage to have a choreographed dance routine with her dancers. Abdul’s performance ended the awards show.

Straight Up, yes @PaulaAbdul. We do want to love you forever. #BBMAs pic.twitter.com/rME3fzCybC

— Billboard Music Awards (@BBMAs) May 2, 2019