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Vibeology

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"Vibeology"
Single by Paula Abdul
from the album Spellbound
ReleasedOctober 21, 1991 (1991-10-21)
StudioStudio Masters (Los Angeles, California)[1]
Genre
Length
  • 5:16 (album version)
  • 3:20 (video edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Peter Lord
  • V. Jeffrey Smith
Paula Abdul singles chronology
"Blowing Kisses in the Wind"
(1991) 		"Vibeology"
(1991) 		"Will You Marry Me?"
(1992)
Alternative cover
Australian single cover
Music video
"Vibeology" on YouTube

"Vibeology" is a song by American singer Paula Abdul, taken from the singer's second studio album, Spellbound (1991). The house and new jack swing number was written by Peter Lord, Sandra St. Victor, and V. Jeffrey Smith and produced by Lord and Smith. It was first released on October 21, 1991, in Japan via Virgin Records and Abdul's vanity label Captive Records, becoming the album's fourth official single. In Europe and Australia, the track was released as the third single as "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" was not released in the former and would be released in the latter following "Vibeology".

Background

[edit]

Originally, Virgin Records had intended to release "Vibeology" as the third single from Spellbound following Abdul's performance of the song at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards; however, it was delayed in favor of "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" which was receiving airplay at the time, creating demand for the song.[4]

Critical reception

[edit]

Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson, in a 2004 retrospective review for Spellbound, named "Vibeology" one of the two best tracks off the album, describing it as an "underappreciated departure" for Abdul and that it is "topped off with Betty Boop–channeling affectations in what is surely Abdul's most gutsy vocal performance." Henderson also said the track "introduced fans used to tasteful, precise beat to the concept of dance music as a balls-out freak party."[5]

Commercial performance

[edit]
"Vibeology" broke Abdul's (pictured in 2007) streak of top ten singles on the United States.

North America

[edit]

"Vibeology" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 the week of January 18, 1992, at number 65, becoming the "Hot Shot Debut" of the week.[6] Three weeks later, the track reached its peak position of number 16, breaking Abdul's streak of eight top ten singles and becoming Abdul's first single to miss the top ten in the U.S. since the original release of "The Way That You Love Me" in 1988. It spent only 14 weeks in total on the chart.[7] "Vibeology" performed marginally better on component charts, peaking at number 17 on the Hot Dance Club Play and number two on the Dance Singles Sales charts.[8][9] It was the 34th best selling dance single of 1992.[10]

UK and Europe

[edit]

In the United Kingdom, "Vibeology" debuted on the UK Singles Chart the week of 12 January 1992, at number 29.[11] One week later, the track reached number 19, where it would peak. It stayed there for two consecutive weeks and overall spent 6 weeks on the chart.[11] It was Abdul's highest charting UK single since "Rush Rush" peaked at number 6 in early 1991. Elsewhere in Europe, the track peaked within the top forty in the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium (Flanders), and Switzerland; this lead to a number 40 peak on the European Hot 100 Singles chart.[12] "Vibeology" would achieve its greatest success on the European Dance Radio Chart, where it reached number three.[13]

Australasia

[edit]

Following its November 18, 1991, release in Australia,[14] "Vibeology" did not perform well in the country. It peaked at number 63 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[15] The track performed just slightly better, debuting and peaking at number 50 on the RMNZ Singles Chart the week of March 29, 1992 and spending a single week on the chart.[16]

Music video

[edit]

Stefan Würnitzer directed the video for "Vibeology";[17] he had previously directed the music video for "Rush Rush". It was filmed on December 10, 1991.[3] A video edit was used and would later be released as the single edit; this version would also be included on her Greatest Hits (2000) collection. Two videos were made for "Vibeology", one for North America and another for Europe and Australasia. The music video was released to MTV on December 21, 1991, as an "Exclusive".[18] It was shortly placed on heavy rotation.[19]

Synopsis

[edit]

The video for the North American version features Abdul and her dancers dancing in front of spotlights and red and white backdrops. During the chorus the word "Vibeology" scrolls across the screen with ghostly effects and at times Abdul herself is outlined with a white blur. For the international version, it was re-edited with clips of rehearsals of the Under My Spell Tour and was also utilized to cross-promote Abdul's tour.[20]

Track listings

[edit]

All tracks written by Peter Lord, Sandra St. Victor, and V. Jeffrey Smith.

Personnel

[edit]

Taken from the Spellbound booklet.

  • V. Jeffrey Smith – production, arrangement, vocal arrangement, programming, keyboards, sax
  • Peter Lord – production, arrangement, vocal arrangement, programming, keyboards, additional voices
  • Sandra St. Victor – vocal arrangement, background vocals
  • Paula Abdul – lead vocals
  • The Family Stand – additional voices

Charts

[edit]

Release history

[edit]
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Japan October 21, 1991 Mini-CD
[38]
Australia November 18, 1991
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Virgin [14]
United Kingdom January 6, 1992 [39]
United States January 21, 1992
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • cassette single
 [40]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Paula Abdul "Spellbound" 1991". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  2. ^ Breihan, Tom (December 10, 2021). "The Number Ones: Paula Abdul's "The Promise Of A New Day". Stereogum. Retrieved December 23, 2023. Apparently, the original plan was to follow "The Promise Of A New Day" with "Vibeology", a daffy and fizzy house track.
  3. ^ a b "Vibeology single: Paula-Abdul.com". Paula Abdul Official Fan Site. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  4. ^ "Paula Abdul's Vibeology". Entertainment Weekly.
  5. ^ Henderson, Eric (July 17, 2004). "Review: Paula Abdul, 'Spellbound'". Slant Magazine. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  6. ^ "The Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. January 18, 1992. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Paula Abdul Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Paula Abdul Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Paula Abdul Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "The Year in Music 1992: Dance". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 52. Nielsen Business Media. December 26, 1992. p. YE-48. ISSN 0006-2510.
  11. ^ a b c "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 6. February 8, 1992. p. 17.
  13. ^ a b "European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 5. February 1, 1992. p. 21. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "New Release Summary – Product Available from: 18/11/91 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 95)". ARIA. Retrieved August 14, 2016 – via Imgur.
  15. ^ a b Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 7.
  16. ^ a b "Paula Abdul – Vibeology". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  17. ^ "Paula Abdul: "Vibeology" — Production Credits and More". IMDb. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  18. ^ "The Clip List". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. Prometheus Global Media. December 21, 1991. p. 48. ISSN 0006-2510.
  19. ^ "The Clip List". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 3. Prometheus Global Media. January 18, 1992. p. 34. ISSN 0006-2510.
  20. ^ "Paula Abdul: "Vibeology" (International Version) — Production Credits and More". IMDb. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  21. ^ Vibeology (US 12-inch vinyl single sleeve). Paula Abdul. Virgin Records. 1992. 96107.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ Vibeology (European 7-inch vinyl single sleeve). Paula Abdul. Virgin Records. 1991. 114 849.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ Vibeology (Australian maxi-CD single liner notes). Paula Abdul. Virgin Records. 1991. VUSCD53.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ^ Vibeology (US cassette single sleeve). Paula Abdul. Virgin Records. 1992. 4-98737.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ Vibeology (Canadian cassette single sleeve). Paula Abdul. Virgin Records Canada. 1992. VS4 1571.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ^ "Paula Abdul – Vibeology" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  27. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1261." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  28. ^ a b Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. p. 18. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
  29. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Vibeology". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  30. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Paula Abdul" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  31. ^ "Paula Abdul – Vibeology" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  32. ^ "Paula Abdul – Vibeology". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  33. ^ "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. January 18, 1992. p. 20. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  34. ^ "Cash Box Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles". Cashbox. Vol. LV, no. 28. March 7, 1992. p. 4.
  35. ^ "Crossover Chart". Gavin Report. No. 1891. February 7, 1992. p. 20.
  36. ^ "the Gavin Report: Top 40". Gavin Report. No. 1893. February 21, 1992. p. 8.
  37. ^ "The Back Page: CHR". Radio & Records. No. 928. February 14, 1992. p. 84.
  38. ^ "ヴァイヴをちょうだい | ポーラ・アブドル" [Give Me a Vibe | Paula Abdul] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  39. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. January 4, 1992. p. 5.
  40. ^ "Billboard Top 10 Singles, Disks: New Releases". The Albany Herald. Albany, GA. January 16, 1992. p. 5B. Retrieved January 21, 2025 – via Google Books.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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