"Cold Hearted" is a song by American singer

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...

, released in June 1989 as the fifth single from her debut album, ''

Forever Your Girl ''Forever Your Girl'' is the debut studio album by American singer Paula Abdul. It was released on June 13, 1988, through Virgin Records. The album was Abdul's breakthrough into the music industry after being a choreographer for high-profile cli ...

'' (1988). It was written and co-produced by Elliot Wolff and reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the album's third song to top the US chart.

Composition

"Cold Hearted" is written in the key of

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. The G natural minor scale is: Changes n ...

and follows a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 122 beats per minute. The song follows a

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

of GmEmaj7Dm7, and Abdul's vocals span one-and-a-half

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

s, from F₃ to B₄.

Critical reception

Paul Lester from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' wrote, "'Cold Hearted' has been fabulously cluttered up and fleshed out by Chad Jackson, weighed down with details yet buoyed up by a deliciously light, slippery beat. Simply irresistible."

Chart performance

"Cold Hearted" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for one week in September 1989, giving Abdul her third US number-one single. "Cold Hearted" was ranked sixth on ''Billboards Year-End Hot 100 ranking of 1989. It spent a total of 21 weeks within the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In Canada, "Cold Hearted" peaked at number one according to ''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...

'' magazine and number two according to ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' magazine, while in Finland, in entered the top 20.

Music video

The official

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Cold Hearted" was directed by

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. Often described as one of the preeminent directors of his generation, David Fincher filmography, his films, of which most are psychological thrillers, have collectiv ...

and spent more than three weeks on top of

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's video rotation list. It uses the album version of the song, with the rap section from the extended 12" version spliced in after the 3rd chorus. The inspiration for the video came from

Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and stage director. Known for his work on stage and screen, he is arguably the most influential figure in the field of jazz dance in th ...

's choreography of the "Take Off with Us" scene in the movie '' All That Jazz''. Abdul dances for music executives with a group of semi-nude dancers. Abdul was wearing a black

fishnet In the field of textiles, fishnet is hosiery with an open, diamond-shaped knit; it is most often used as a material for stockings, tights, gloves or bodystockings. Fishnet is available in a multitude of colors, although it is most often sport ...

dress which exposed her

belly button The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus; : umbilici or umbilicuses; also known as the belly button or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. Structure The u ...

and was sporting a hat of the German "

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

". The dance floor included

scaffolding Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other human-made structures. Scaffolds are widely u ...

where Abdul and her dancers hang and dance suggestively. The video was filmed in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

where

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

's music video for " What a Girl Wants" would also be filmed at. The video and its "late-'80s energy" served as a visual inspiration for the music video of

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

's 2024 single " Yes, And?".

Track listings

Non-UK 7-inch and cassette single # "Cold Hearted" – 3:34 # "One or the Other" – 4:10 US 12-inch single :A1. "Cold Hearted" (Quiverin' 12-inch) – 5:10 :A2. "Cold Hearted" (7-inch edit) – 3:30 :B1. "Cold Hearted" (Chillin' Bass dub) – 4:06 :B2. "Cold Hearted" (a cappella) – 1:04 :B3. "Cold Hearted" (instrumental) – 4:02 Canadian, European, and Australian 12-inch single :A1. "Cold Hearted" (extended version) – 6:50 :A2. "Cold Hearted" (Cold Hearted House mix) – 6:41 :B1. "Cold Hearted" (dubstramental) – 5:41 :B2. "Cold Hearted" (percapella) – 4:10 :B3. "One or the Other" – 4:11 Japanese maxi-CD single # "Cold Hearted" (extended version) # "

Knocked Out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

" (extended version) # "

Straight Up Various unique terms are used in bartending. Definitions and usage Straight, up, and straight up In bartending, the terms "straight up" and "up" ordinarily refer to an alcoholic drink that is shaken or stirred with ice and then strained and ...

" (extended version) # "

(extended version) Japanese mini-CD single # "Straight Up" # "Cold Hearted" UK 7-inch and cassette single # "Cold Hearted" (Chad Jackson 7-inch remix) # "Cold Hearted" (US 7-inch remix) UK 12-inch single :A1. "Cold Hearted" (Chad Jackson extended remix) :B1. "Cold Hearted" (Chad Jackson Ambient mix) :B2. "Cold Hearted" (Chad Jackson Breaks and Beats mix) UK 12-inch picture disc :A1. "Cold Hearted" (Cold Hearted House mix) :B1. "Cold Hearted" (dubstramental) :B2. "Cold Hearted" (US 7-inch version) UK CD single # "Cold Hearted" (Chad Jackson 7-inch mix) # "Cold Hearted" (Chad Jackson extended remix) # "Cold Hearted" (percapella) # "Cold Hearted" (7-inch edit) * Note: Track three is mislabeled as the 12-inch extended mix on the liner notes, and track four is not listed at all.

Personnel

* Paula Abdul: Vocals *

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer, studio guitarist, and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004 ...

: Guitars * Elliot Wolff: Keyboards, synthesizers, drum programming

Production

* Arranged and produced by Elliot Wolff; co-produced by Keith "KC" Cohen * Recorded and mixed by Keith "KC" Cohen

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 1989 songs 1989 singles Paula Abdul songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by Elliot Wolff Music videos directed by David Fincher Virgin Records singles