On her new single, "I’m Just Here for the Music," Paula Abdul’s singing voice is little more than an electronic squeak, Auto-Tuned into submission behind a thumping bass line that sounds inspired by Indeep’s disco classic "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life." And yet while the track, which premiered this morning on Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS-FM radio show and is streaming at PaulaAbdul.com, is the musical equivalent of a Funyun — wholly unorganic, void of nutritional value, likely to leave behind a trail of chemical flavoring — I cannot lie: I thoroughly enjoyed tilting my head backward and pouring every last worthless crumb down my gullet.
Interestingly, "I’m Just Here for the Music" is actually a remake of a leaked (but never released) recording from Kylie Minogue’s 2003 Body Language disc, and a definite improvement on the original. Not that the electronically enhanced squeak of one pint-size dance diva is necessarily better than the other, of course. It’s just that Abdul’s old cohort Oliver Lieber — who produced much of her breakthrough Forever Your Girl album — provides the kind of muscular production that transforms the track from album filler to viable single. Indeed, Abdul’s version gives you the feeling of rediscovering "The Way That You Love Me" or "Knocked Out" — pumped up with a regimen of post-millennial steroids. (I say that in the most complimentary way possible.)
Check out Abdul’s "I’m Just Here for the Music" as well as Minogue’s (both are embedded after the jump!), then tell us what you think. I’ll multi-task by reading your message-board postings and chair-dancing with abandon. (Yeah, I’m working from home today, so it’s a total no-shame zone.)
More on Paula Abdul, ‘Idol’:
EW.com’s ‘American Idol’ HQ
‘American Idol’: The Poetry of Paula Abdul
Elliott Yamin’s ‘Fight For Love’ video: Don’t try to hide your mullet, man. We can still see it.
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Funny Paula is doing a Kylie reject, as you remember Paula and wrote the Kylie hit song “Spinning Around” (written by Ira Shickman, Osborne Bingham, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul)
Fun!
Oops! I meant Paula and Kara, now Idol judges wrote that Kylie song!
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!! I love it. Though Kylie’s is WAY better
paula abdul is so much better !!
go paula !! i love it ..
Uhhh, for me for you for me, this doesn’t really tell me what kind of artist she’d be.
Ghastly. Please stop reporting on this hasbeen. Maybe she’ll actually go away.
paula !! very good , better than kylie
I am going to have to respectfully disagree that the Kylie version is 10x better!
Kylie is cute as a button, she has style and originality, Paula is a pilled-up, pathetic, ugly, no talent hack who never could sing. Has she ever written a song? GO AWAY PAULA, you make me sick.
Paula might have had her troubles, Kylie certainly has had hers too (loves lost, cancer in the middle of her best tour ever. “ShowGirl”)..BUT both are genuine entertainers. I think it’s facinating that both divas and Kara DioGuardia (who co-wrote “Spinning”) are all teaming up for Kylie’s 11th album. It’s rumoured that Kylie is going to invite Paula ON-this-MINI US tour (6 dates from Oakland to New York in October 09) and that would be FANTASTIC. Plus, for 47, Paula can still huff it, still as one of the better dancer/coreographers out there.
I’d love to see Paula and Kylie doing duos of “Spinning”, “Music”, and then finish with Kylie’s fave “Kids are Alright”. (PLUS, I think Kylie’s shows are needing some serious changes in choreography. Paula can do that)
welcome back paula! this is a great song to dance to and it’s miles better than the kylie demo version! i cannot wait for her to perform this on tomorrow night’s idol!
Michael, have to disagree — the Kylie version is better. And Kylie actually has the musical chops and SINGS LIVE. When’s the last time Paula has?
I’m a fan of both Kylie and Paula and I have to give this one to Paula. Her version has more energy by far.
OMG I have been waiting for this day for centuries,WOW Im so glad she´s back, hope she has a kick-ass performance tomorrow. I love her back into music, but all this rushed releases and rush last hour peformance gives me the feeling that she´s leaving Idol for good, so she´s milking the last episodes for her music career. Hope she releases a complete album.
this was only a demo 4 kylie, it wasent included in her in her album.
i suppose thats why paula has spiced it up because she uses it as a single.
Paula Abdul can do no wrong. She was my 5th grade crush and I’m happy to see her back. She always looks smoking still on Idol, will look forward to the performance of this. I have no idea who Kylie Minogue is and don’t really care.
Justin, Kylie Minogue is without a doubt, “THE” Dance Queen of the ENTIRE WORLD. She did like two weeks of SOLD-OUT Wembley Stadium shows in London. She has been everywhere. Except America. She and William Baker also incorporate “Doctor Who” in some fashion, in every show. She HAS been on “Doctor Who” (Christmas Special 2007 “Voyage of the Damned”). It is also rumoured she’ll share the lense with David Tennant (retiring Doctor Who) as DT has won the starring role in the LOR pre-quel “The Hobbitt”. She’s no strangers to film as she’s done several films. She was chosen as “The Green Fairy” in “Moulin Rouge” because the anmimated tinker bell just didn’t work.
You’ve heard her re-mixes, you probably just didn’t know that was her. She has re- and RE-RE invented herself a million times. I suggest you download her 14 videos, and watch some of her concerts “KylieFever 2002″, “Showgirl”, “Showgirl Homecoming”, “White Diamond”, and finally “Kylie-X”. Like Paula, she comes from a family with a history of dance but won a role as the tomboy mechanic on Australia’s favorite soap “Neighbors” (as “Charlene”). It was at a party, ate age 17, she got up and sang “Locomotion” that her whole singing career took off.
YES, sometimes the only place you could hear here in the US was in”gay discos” BUT it’s like she’s such a cutie, that all the gay men just adore her. That is until “Can’t Get you OUT of my Head”.
She might be disco, but the rocker’s love her too..Bono has done a few appearances. AND let’s not discount her dister Danii either…
If you like Paula, you’ll like Kylie. They’re about the same size too..(Kylie is ALL of 5ft 1/4 inch)..I think this trio of DioGuardia, Abdul, and Minogue is going to take the WORLD by a storm!
Although I enjoyed Paula’s song, there is some irony in her releasing an overly filtered electronically processed dance song while judging a contest where the contestants have to actually sing! With this much ‘producing,’ anyone in the top 36 has potential…
I love Paula and I love her version of the song.
I love Paula and I love her version of the song.
love the new song, Paula!
THIS TRACK SUCKS!!!!!
THIS TRACK SUCKS!!!!!
I listened to them both completely, side by side, with no bias…Kylie’s version is better…she most certainly has the better singing voice, that’s for sure…
These girls would be better off just listening to the music and chair dancing with you, the voices of both Oh Dear! Kylie edges Paula by a squeak, if I must.
Neither of these no-talents can sing.
The bigger question is, outside of 11 year old girls and diva-obsessed gay men, does anyone care? Most of us like singers who can, y’know, sing.
Seriously? Paula’s version is truly bad, slow and weak. Kylie’s version is miles ahead in every way – production, vocals, etc. Kylie’s version has so much energy that is severely lacking in Paula’s. Better luck next time.
yep, sounds good, can’t wait for the video
I’m a big fan of the Forever Your Girl album, but I honestly prefer Kylie’s version. Much sexier and authentic, while Paul’s is pretty cold and, yes, overly electronicized on the vocals.
Hasn’t she already done this with “Boombox”?
Paula’s version is sooo much better! I’m so looking forward to her album.
I like Kylie, but Paula wins here. Admittedly, I think Kylie has a stronger voice, but I like what Paula did with it, and somehow, I think her voice fits the song better.