Opposites Attract
"Opposites Attract" is a song by American singer Paula Abdul from her debut album, Forever Your Girl (1988). It was released on November 17, 1989, as the sixth and final single from the album through Virgin Records. The song was written and produced by Oliver Leiber, with additional vocals provided by Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn (the Wild Pair). The single version also features rap vocals by Derrick Delite. Lyrically, it depicts a romantic relationship between two people with contrasting personalities who are still drawn to each other.
One of the final tracks completed on the album, Minneapolis musician Oliver Leiber developed the song quickly after being asked by Abdul's A&R representative Gemma Corfield to create new material. He constructed the track in less than an hour, using an Akai MPC drum machine for production. Fellow musician David Z suggested the song's potential as a duet. It was not originally intended to be a single, and Leiber later expressed disappointment with the final result.
As Forever Your Girl spanned three number-one hits, Virgin Records grew concerned about potential overexposure and was initially hesitant to release another single before Abdul proposed a music video concept for "Opposites Attract" that helped secure the song's release. For the single version, the label requested a rap section. Leiber recruited DJ Derrick Stevens, whose lyrics were written by rapper and future actor Romany Malco. The music video was developed as a tribute to Gene Kelly and was inspired by the live-action and animation blending of Anchors Aweigh (1945), as well as characters from Hanna-Barbera's Top Cat. Animators Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger created the character MC Skat Kat, an anthropomorphic rapping cat, while stand-in dancers Michael Chambers and Bill Bohls were used during filming as performance references. Production took two days, with multiple takes required for both animated and non-animated sequences.
The music video features Abdul and MC Skat Kat in a neon-lit, noir-inspired setting, depicting their contrasting personalities as they initially clash before reconciling through dance and romance. The single became a major commercial success, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and making Abdul the fourth artist to achieve four number-one singles from a single album. It also topped the Cash Box Top 100 for two weeks and charted strongly on R&B and dance charts, while reaching number one in Canada on multiple charts and topping charts in Australia and Luxembourg. The video received six nominations at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards and won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video in 1991.
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