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''Spellbound'' is the second studio album 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 May 1991. The album was an international success and spawned major radio hits with the singles "Rush Rush", "The Promise of a New Day", "Blowing Kisses in the Wind", "Vibeology" and "Will You Marry Me?". The album went triple platinum in the United States and peaked at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200. ''Spellbound'' won a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
for
Best Recording Package The Grammy Award for Best Recording Package is one of a series of Grammy Awards presented for the visual look of an album. It is presented to the art director of the winning album, not to the performer(s), unless the performer is also the art dire ...
. The album art was art directed by Melanie Nissen, designed by Inge Schaap, and lettered by Margo Chase.


Critical reception

In 2003, staff at ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...
'' included ''Spellbound'' in its list of "50 Essential Pop Albums".


Commercial performance

The album debuted at number five on the ''Billboard'' 200 in its first week and rose four spots to number one the following week. It stayed at the summit for two consecutive weeks, selling 88,000 and 89,000 units respectively. The album distinguished itself by becoming the lowest selling number-one album in the Nielsen SoundScan era at the time of its release—a distinction it held until 2004, when Outkast's ''
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below ''Speakerboxxx/The Love Below'' is the fifth studio album by American hip hop duo Outkast. It was released on September 23, 2003, by Arista Records. Issued as a double album, its length of over two hours is spread across solo albums from both ...
'' sold 86,000 copies while at number one. This was primarily due to the newly implemented SoundScan tracking system, which had not been implemented into every major music chain, thus sales were not entirely accurate. Nevertheless, the album became a best-seller and emerged as the best selling album for the month of June, spending 16 weeks within the top 10, and was certified three-times platinum by the RIAA in January 1992. Overall, the album spent 70 weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and was ranked as the 18th best-seller of the year.


Track listing

Notes * denotes a song mixed using QSound.


Production

*Produced by Peter Lord, Paisley Park, V. Jeffrey Smith, Jorge Corante and Don Was *Engineers: Wolfgang Aichholz, Ed Cherney, Don Feinerg, Arne Frager, Rod Hull, Michael Koppelman, Greg Laney, Dave Pensado


Personnel

*Paula Abdul - lead vocals,
Synclavier II The Synclavier is an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation manufactured by New England Digital Corporation of Norwich, Vermont. It was produced in various forms from the late 1970s into the earl ...
*Sweet Pea Atkinson, Sir Harry Bowens, Sally Dworsky, Colin England,
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 V. Jeffrey Smith. Evon Geffries & The Stand Their first incarnation was called ...
, Peter Lord, Arnold McCuller, Sandra St. Victor - backing vocals * Mike Campbell, Mark Goldenberg, Randy Jacobs, Clifford Moonie Pusey, V. Jeffrey Smith - guitar *Jorge Corante, Tom Hammer, Peter Lord,
Ivan Neville Ivan Neville (born August 19, 1959) is an American multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of Aaron Neville and nephew to members of The Neville Brothers. Career He has released four solo albums and had a Top 30 ...
, V. Jeffrey Smith - keyboards * Jamie Muhoberac - organ *
Tim Drummond Timothy Lee Drummond (20 April 1940 – 10 January 2015) was an American musician from Canton, Illinois. Drummond's primary instrument was bass guitar and he toured and recorded with many notable artists, including Conway Twitty, Bob Dylan, Jame ...
- bass *
Curt Bisquera Curt "Kirkee B." Bisquera is an American drummer known for his extensive work as a touring and session musician. Biography Bisquera has worked with Johnny Cash, Josh Groban, Mick Jagger, Seal, Sarah McLachlan, Elton John, Johnny Hallyday and To ...
, Rocky Bryant - drums * Paulinho Da Costa - percussion * Greg Adams - trumpet * Steve Grove - tenor saxophone * Stephen Kupka - baritone saxophone *
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...
- harmonica *
Stuart Canin Stuart Canin (born 1926 in New York City) is an American violinist and conductor. On December 30, 1936, at the age of 10, he performed on the Fred Allen radio hour.Alex Walsh, "STUART CANIN: "...An Excellent Violinist." — Harry Truman," Dec. 10, ...
- violin *Billy Heaslip - lighting director *Robert Lobetta - photography


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References

{{Authority control 1991 albums Paula Abdul albums Virgin Records albums New jack swing albums Hip hop soul albums Albums produced by Don Was Albums produced by Prince (musician) Albums recorded at Greene St. Recording Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders