"Foolish Beat" is the fourth single released by American singer and songwriter

Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...

, originally recorded in late 1987 for the ''Dream Tour'', months prior to its inclusion on Gibson's debut album, '' Out of the Blue'' (1987). The single topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on June 25, 1988, giving Gibson the record for the youngest person to write, produce, and perform a number-one single entirely on her own, at age 17. In the United Kingdom, "Foolish Beat" reached number nine on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The song also reached the top five in Canada and Ireland and the top 10 in the Netherlands and Switzerland. The single was released in Japan as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to " Out of the Blue" on Atlantic Japan 10SW-15. In 2010, Gibson re-recorded the song as an extra track for the Deluxe Edition release of the Japan-exclusive album ''

Ms. Vocalist ''Ms. Vocalist'' is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Debbie Gibson. Released on November 3, 2010 exclusively in Japan by Sony Music Japan, the album features Gibson's English-language covers of popular male-oriented Japanese so ...

''.

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' described "Foolish Beat" as "a moody mid-tempo song, self written and self-produced in a classy, sophisticated style. After a few hearings it certainly sticks in your head."

Music video

In the

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

for "Foolish Beat", Gibson typecasts herself as a young performer who recently broke up with her boyfriend; although she now regrets jilting him and wants to make amends, he brushes off her efforts to do so. The video ends with him debating about seeing her show having brought a bouquet of flowers for her; he drops the flowers in a trash can deciding that he did not want to get hurt again, then walks off into the distance. The music video was shot in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and directed by Nick Willing, who directed music videos for bands such as

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...

Swing Out Sister Swing Out Sister are a British pop group best known worldwide for the 1986 song " Breakout". Other hits include "Surrender", " Twilight World", " Waiting Game", and a remake of the Eugene Record soul composition "Am I the Same Girl?" Histor ...

, and others. Some scenes were shot at South Street Seaport during Saint Patrick's Day in March 1988. The outfit Gibson wore belonged to her elder sister Michele.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

* Saho Nozaki recorded a Japanese-language cover of the song titled in 1988. * Voices of Extreme recorded a metal cover of the song, with the music video featuring Gibson herself.

References

External links

* * {{authority control 1987 songs 1988 singles 1980s ballads Debbie Gibson songs Songs written by Debbie Gibson Atlantic Records singles Pop ballads Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles