"Rush Rush" is a song by American recording artist

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 ...

, taken from her second studio album, '' Spellbound'' (1991). It was released on April 24, 1991, by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

as the lead single from the album. Written by Peter Lord and produced by Peter Lord and V. Jeffrey Smith (both members of

the Family Stand The Family Stand is an American soul and R&B group based in New York City, active since the late 1980s, consisting of Sandra St. Victor, Peter Lord Moreland, and Vernon Jeffrey Smith. Early career ''Chain'' brought them their international h ...

), the song achieved success in the United States, where it topped the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, and became a worldwide hit.

Background

"Rush Rush" was a departure for Abdul stylistically, as it was her first

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

released as a single, following the six uptempo singles from her debut LP. Lyrically, "Rush Rush" is about the desire for a lover who will give their all in a relationship. First presented to Abdul as a demo by the Family Stand in 1990, she became intent on it becoming ''Spellbound'''s first single. In late 1990 at Studio Masters, Abdul laid down a

scratch vocal A scratch vocal or guide vocal is an audio recording made without the intention of keeping it. The recording is intended for reference only. These vocals can be used for music or animation. In music a singer may use a scratch recording to rerecor ...

for the track, which was never intended to make it to the song's final mix. However, the producers felt that its unpolished sound was needed to give the song its ingenuous tone, to match its subject matter and accompanying promotional video clip. The scratch vocal ended up on the final cut in March 1991.

Chart performance

"Rush Rush" debuted on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 36 on May 11, 1991, and reached number one five weeks later, on June 15, 1991, remaining there for five consecutive weeks. At the time, it was the longest-running number one since

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's " Like a Virgin" spent six weeks at number one during 1984 and 1985. The song also spent five weeks atop the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. The song was ranked as the 64th-most-successful song of the 1990s in the United States. On the Billboard All Time chart between 1958 to 2018, the song ranked as the 77th-most successful single of all time in the United States. In the United Kingdom, "Rush Rush" peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart.

Music video

The video reimagines the 1955

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...

film ''

Rebel Without a Cause ''Rebel Without a Cause'' is a 1955 American coming-of-age melodrama film, directed by Nicholas Ray. The film stars James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen and William Hopper. It is also the film debut of ...

'', including iconic

location In geography, location or place is used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ambiguous bou ...

shots at

Griffith Observatory Griffith Observatory is an observatory in Los Angeles, California, on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the sou ...

, a black 1949 Mercury, and a climactic street race. With

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor and musician. The recipient of numerous accolades in a career on screen spanning four decades, he is known for his leading roles in action films, his amiable public imag ...

filling James Dean's role of Jim, opposite Abdul as Judy, several scenes from the movie are duplicated shot-for-shot. The video was directed by Stefan Würnitzer in April 1991 and produced by Karen Rohrbacher for Lucasfilm Commercial Productions. The British ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' aired an alternate version of the video, re-edited to contain more "performance shots" and less story. Many more shots of Abdul dancing in the orange dress were present.

Track listings and formats

* 7-inch and cassette single # "Rush Rush" (7-inch edit) – 4:19 # "Rush Rush" (dub mix) – 5:56 * 12-inch single :A1. "Rush Rush" (dub mix) – 5:56 :B1. "Rush Rush" (album version) – 4:56 :B2. "Rush Rush" (7-inch edit) – 4:19 * CD single # "Rush Rush" (7-inch edit) – 4:19 # "Rush Rush" (album version) – 4:56 # "Rush Rush" (dub edit) – 5:56 * Japanese mini-CD single # "Rush Rush" – 4:20 # "Rush Rush" (dub mix) – 5:59

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

Cover versions

* Eliana recorded the song for her album "Primavera" with the title "Como um Beijo em Noite de Luar" ("Like a Kiss on a Moonlight Night"). It was released as a single.

References

{{Authority control 1990 songs 1990s ballads 1991 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Paula Abdul songs Pop ballads RPM Top Singles number-one singles Virgin Records singles