Knocked Out

"Knocked Out"
U.S. promotional cover
Single by Paula Abdul
from the album Forever Your Girl
ReleasedMay 4, 1988 (1988-05-04)
Recorded1987
Studio
  • Studio Masters
  • Silverlake
(Hollywood, CA)
GenreRhythm and blues[1]
Length3:52
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • L.A. Reid
  • Babyface
Paula Abdul singles chronology
"Knocked Out"
(1988) 		"(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me"
(1988)

"Knocked Out" is the debut single by American singer and dancer Paula Abdul, released on May 4, 1988 by Virgin Records from Abdul's first album, Forever Your Girl. The song was written by Babyface, L.A. Reid and Daryl Simmons, and produced by Babyface and Reid. Babyface and Simmons provide background vocals along with Pebbles and Yvette Marine.

Recording

[edit]

"Knocked Out" was the first song Abdul recorded for her debut studio album Forever Your Girl and the only to be produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface.[2] The recording did not go well as Reid and Babyface were used to working with more refined singers.[3] According to Oliver Leiber, who wrote and produced multiple of the album's singles, "They had basically told her, 'You can't sing, you can go home, we're gonna finish this song without you.' Like, you suck, get outta here, we'll finish this somehow. No need to keep singing and no need to come back. That was her first experience on this record, song number one that she recorded. She was devastated, because she had confidence issues to begin with, knowing she wasn't the strongest singer. And to have these two very successful producers basically say, 'Don't bother to come back,' she was not in a very confident place."[4]

Critical reception

[edit]

Paul Mathur from Melody Maker wrote, "Paula isn't as clever as Jessica but she's almost as accomplished in the art of artifice. When she sings, plastic takes on whole new forms, Madonna looks like Joni Mitchell and I'm humming for weeks. She cuts her soul pop jib with scissors the size of shears, but she doesn't give two hoots, and for that alone we should cherish her."[5]

Chart performance

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"Knocked Out" peaked at number 41 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the first of what would be fourteen charting entries through 1995.[6]

Music video

[edit]

Abdul's first music video was directed by Danny Kleinman and Limelight Film and Video Productions. The video features Abdul and her dancers working out choreography on the dance floor. It premiered to BET on June 11, 1988.[7]

Personnel

[edit]

Taken from the Forever Your Girl booklet.[8]

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1988–90) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9] 82
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[10]
Shep Pettibone remix version 		27
Canada Contemporary Hit Radio (The Record)[11] 18
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12]
Shep Pettibone remix version 		59
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 17
UK Singles (OCC)[14]
Shep Pettibone remix version 		21
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 41
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[16] 14
US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[17] 11
US Hot Crossover 30 (Billboard)[18] 4
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[19] 8
US Urban Contemporary (Radio & Records)[20] 6

Release history

[edit]
Release dates and format(s) for "Knocked Out"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States May 4, 1988 — Virgin [2]
United Kingdom September 5, 1988
[21]
August 14, 1989 (re-release) [22]
July 16, 1990 (2nd re-release) [23]
July 30, 1990 (3rd re-release) [24]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Knocked Out - Paula Abdul : Album : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Forever Your Girl album | Paula-abdul.com". Paula-abdul.com. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  3. ^ "Knocked Out by Paula Abdul - Songfacts". Songfacts. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  4. ^ "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me by Paula Abdul - Songfacts". Songfacts. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  5. ^ Mathur, Paul (September 3, 1988). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 28. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  6. ^ Warner, Jay (2008). Notable Moments of Women in Music. Hal Leonard Books. p. 269. ISBN 9781423429517.
  7. ^ "The Clip List". Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 24. Nielsen Business Media. June 11, 1988. p. 67. ISSN 0006-2510.
  8. ^ Forever Your Girl (album liner notes). Paula Abdul. Virgin Records. 1988. 90943.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 2014-01-17". imgur.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2015-08-29.
  10. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 972." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  11. ^ Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. p. 18. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
  12. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. August 4, 1990. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  13. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Paula Abdul". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  15. ^ "Paula Abdul Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  16. ^ "Paula Abdul Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  17. ^ "Paula Abdul Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  18. ^ "Radio: Hot Crossover 30". Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 31. Nielsen Business Media. July 30, 1988. p. 16. ISSN 0006-2510.
  19. ^ "Paula Abdul Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  20. ^ "The Back Page". Radio & Records. July 29, 1988. p. 112. ProQuest 1017204959.
  21. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. September 3, 1988. p. 35. ISSN 0265-1548.
  22. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. August 12, 1989. p. 32. ISSN 0265-1548.
  23. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. July 14, 1990. p. 37. ISSN 0265-1548.
  24. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. July 28, 1990. p. 27. ISSN 0265-1548.
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