Paula Abdul
The whole reality TV phenomenon has a lot to answer for (Big Brother, Kelly Osbourne and Will Young for starters), but there is one thing in its favour - it brought Paula Julie Abdul back into the spotlight in her position as a judge on American Idol. It is for her, not for the contestants or for Simon Cowell, that I will be tuning in to the second season when it's aired in the UK. She was a cutie in 1989 and she's a cutie now; she's still doing well behind the scenes as a choreographer (see Recommended viewing), but if she uses American Idol to relaunch her recording career, you won't hear me complaining. Who needs Holly Valance, Liberty X and (especially) Christina Aguilera anyway? Welcome back, Paula!
Recommended viewing: ALL her videos are classics... she's also dabbled in acting with TV movies like The Waiting Game, Touched By Evil and that one about Alan Freed, plus spots on sitcoms (Spin City, Cybill, The Wayans Bros., Sabrina the Teenage Witch), and her uncredited cameo in 1991's L.A. Story. Not to mention her choreography work on The Tracey Ullman Show (she also inspired the playlet "The Wave Girls" and appeared at the end of that episode) and movies from Coming to America, The Doors ("Select Choreography for Val Kilmer by Paula Abdul") and The Running Man to American Beauty and, er, Black Knight ...
Spellbound by Paula?
Jon Kallis' Paula Abdul Page
Paula Abdul.net
Nothing But Paula
The Paula Abdul Homepage
Paula Online
The Paula Abdul Website