Straight Up

"Straight Up" is a song by American recording artist Paula Abdul from her debut studio album Forever Your Girl (1988). The song is a mid-tempo dance-pop song with influence from the pop rock and new jack swing genres. Written and produced entirely by Elliot Wolff, the song was released as the album's third single on November 22, 1988, by Virgin Records. "Straight Up" eventually became a breakthrough success for Abdul in the United States, earning her first chart-topper on the Billboard Hot 100, further catapulting its parental album to reach the top 20 on the Billboard 200 chart, before it finally reached number one after a record-setting 64 weeks on the market. "Straight Up" was also one of Abdul's signature hits, brought her to widespread public attention, and remained as her biggest international hit to date, reaching the top-10 region in over 11 countries. The song was then included in all of her six compilation albums, released sometimes between 1998 and 2013. The song also received positive reviews from music critics, with Daniel J. Levitin's This Is Your Brain on Music praising the song as "hold[ing] a certain appeal over many, many listenings." It also earned Abdul several nominations in the US, most notably including her first Grammy Awards nomination in the category of Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1990, and six other nominations for its music video at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards.