"The Promise of a New Day" is the second single (and lead-off track) from American 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 choreograph ...
's album ''
Spellbound''. The song was written by Paula Abdul, Peter Lord and V. Jeffrey Smith. The single was released to radio while the hit "
Rush Rush" was still at the top of radio airplay and the pop charts. It is an upbeat pop song that lyrically finds the singer feeling optimistic about a relationship as well as the lives of future generations.
Chart performance
"The Promise of a New Day" debuted at 40 on the US ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' 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), radio play, and online streaming ...
chart, the week ending July 20, 1991, claiming the spot of Hot Shot Debut. The following week, the single climbed to No. 26, with this week claiming the Greatest Airplay Gainer. The song reached No. 1 on the chart on September 14, 1991 and ended the reign of
Bryan Adams' long-running No. 1 hit, "
Everything I Do (I Do It For You)". The following week, it fell to No. 5, and departed the Top 40 only four weeks later. It was Abdul's sixth chart-topping single, and her last No. 1 single to date.
Music video
The video, directed by Big TV! (Andy Delaney and Monty Whitebloom) was shot during the week of July 8, 1991.
Filming took place in two different locations with backgrounds for the video being shot in Hawaii, with Abdul and her backup dancers being filmed separately on a
sound stage and later composited through
blue screen. Abdul was unable to attend filming in Hawaii due to prior commitments.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Promise Of A New Day, The
1991 singles
1991 songs
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Cashbox number-one singles
Music videos directed by Big T.V.
Paula Abdul songs
Songs written by Paula Abdul
Songs written by Sandra St. Victor
Virgin Records singles