Rush Rush

"Rush Rush"
Single by Paula Abdul
from the album Spellbound
B-side	Remix
Released	May 2, 1991
Format	Cassette, 7" single, CD maxi
Recorded	Fall 1990 Greene Street Recording[1] (New York City, NY) Studio Masters (Los Angeles, CA) Z Recording Studio (Brooklyn, NY)
Genre	Pop
Length	4:56
Label	Virgin
Writer(s)	Peter Lord
Producer(s)	Peter Lord & Vernon Jeffrey Smith
Paula Abdul singles chronology
"Opposites Attract" (1989) "Rush Rush" (1991) "The Promise of a New Day" (1991)

"Rush Rush" is a song by American recording artist Paula Abdul, taken from her second studio album, Spellbound (1991). It was released on May 2, 1991, by Virgin Records as the lead single of the album. Written by Peter Lord, and produced by Peter Lord and V. Jeffrey Smith (both members of The Family Stand), the song achieved major success in the U.S. where it topped the Billboard Hot 100.

Background

"Rush Rush" was a departure for Abdul stylistically, as it was her first ballad released as a single, following as it did the six uptempo singles from her debut LP, and was viewed by all observers as a rather risky strategy in kicking off her second album of new material Spellbound. But the decision was vindicated, as it was very well received at retail.

First presented to Abdul as a demo by the Family Stand in 1990, she became intent on it becoming the first single. In fall of 1990 at Studio Masters, Abdul laid down a scratch vocal for the track, which was never intended to make it to the song's final mix. But the producers felt that its unpolished sound was what was needed to give the song its ingenuous tone, to match its subject matter and accompanying promotional video clip; it ended up on the final cut in March 1991.

Music video

The video reimagines the 1955 James Dean/Natalie Wood film Rebel Without a Cause, including iconic location shots at Griffith Observatory, a black 1949 Mercury, and a climactic street race. With Keanu Reeves filling James Dean's role of Jim, opposite Abdul as Judy, several scenes from the movie are duplicated shot-for-shot. The video was directed by Stefan Würnitzer in April 1991,^[2] and produced by Karen Rohrbacher for Lucasfilm Commercial Productions.^[3]

Chart performances

"Rush Rush" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #36 on May 11, 1991, and hit #1 five weeks later, June 15, 1991, where it remained for five consecutive weeks. At the time of its five-week stint, it was the longest running #1 since Madonna's "Like a Virgin" spent six weeks at #1 during the winter of 1984-1985. The song also spent five weeks atop the U.S. adult contemporary chart. It peaked at #6 on the UK Singles Chart.

Track listings and formats

U.S. Cassette Single

1. "Rush Rush" (7" edit) - 4:22
2. "Rush Rush" (dub mix) - 5:54

U.S. Promo 5" CD

1. "Rush Rush" (LP version) - 4:56
2. "Rush Rush" (7" edit) - 4:22
3. "Rush Rush" (dub mix) - 5:54

UK 5" CD

1. "Rush Rush" (LP version) - 4:56
2. "Rush Rush" (7" edit) - 4:22
3. "Rush Rush" (dub mix) - 5:54

Official remixes

• 7" edit - 4:22
• Dub mix - 5:54
• Dub edit - 4:59

Cover versions

• Eliana recorded the song for his album "Primavera" with the title "Como um Beijo em Noite de Luar". It was released as a single.^[4]
• MYMP covered the song on their 2008 album "Now"
• Nicki Minaj used the strings piece from Rush, Rush in her song Grand Piano

Charts

Peak positions Chart (1991–92) Peak position Australian ARIA Singles Chart[5] 2 Austrian Singles Chart[5] 23 Canada RPM Top Singles 1 Dutch Top 40[6] 9 French SNEP Singles Chart[5] 24 German Singles Chart[7] 12 Irish Singles Chart[8] 11 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[5] 7 Norwegian Singles Chart[5] 9 Swedish Singles Chart[5] 7 UK Singles Chart[9] 6 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[10] 1 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[10] 1 U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles[10] 20

End of year charts End of year chart (1991) Position Australian Singles Chart[11] 19 Dutch Top 40[6] 50 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[12] 4 End of decade charts Chart (1990-1999) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100[13] 64 All-time charts Chart (1958-2015) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100[14] 74 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Australia[15] Gold 1991 35,000 Sweden[16] Gold November 21, 1991 10,000 U.S.[17] Gold June 24, 1991 500,000

Chart successions

References

1. http://crydee.sai.msu.ru/public/lyrics/asv-collection/Lyrics/Abdul_Paula/abdul.91
2. Anglicized spelling: Stephan Wuernitzer.
3. IMDb, mvdbase, Paula Abdul Captivated - The Video Collection '92, Sobo
4. UOL. "Como Um Beijo Em Noite De Luar (Rush Rush), de Eliana". Retrieved 16 February 2015.
5. "Rush Rush", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
6. "Single top 100 over 1991" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
7. German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
8. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
9. UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
10. Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved September 9, 2008)
11. 1996 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved September 8, 2008)
12. "Billboard Top 100 - 1991". Retrieved 2009-09-15.
13. Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
14. | title = Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Singles| publisher = Billboard | date = November 12, 2015 | accessdate = November 20, 2015
15. Australian certifications (Retrieved August 5, 2015)
16. Swedish certifications Ifpi.se (Retrieved September 11, 2008)
17. U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved September 9, 2008)

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics