"Rush Rush" is a song by American recording artist Paula Abdul, taken from her second studio album, Spellbound. It was released on May 2, 1991, by Virgin Records as the lead single of the album. Written by Peter Lord, and produced by Peter Lord and V. Jeffrey Smith, the song achieved major success in the U.S. where it topped the BillboardHot 100.
Background
"Rush Rush" was a departure for Abdul stylistically, as it was her first ballad released as a single, following as it did the six uptempo singles from her debut LP, and was viewed by all observers as a rather risky strategy in kicking off her second album of new material Spellbound. But the decision was vindicated, as it was very well received at retail. First presented to Abdul as a demo by the Family Stand in 1990, she became intent on it becoming the first single. In fall of 1990 at Studio Masters, Abdul laid down a scratch vocal for the track, which was never intended to make it to the song's final mix. But the producers felt that its unpolished sound was what was needed to give the song its ingenuous tone, to match its subject matter and accompanying promotional video clip; it ended up on the final cut in March 1991. Lyrically, "Rush Rush" is about the desire for a lover who will give their all in a relationship.
Music video
The video reimagines the 1955 James Dean/Natalie Wood film Rebel Without a Cause, including iconic location shots at Griffith Observatory, a black 1949 Mercury, and a climactic street race. With Keanu Reeves 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 aired an alternate version of the video, re-edited to contain more "performance shots" and less story. Many more shots of Paula dancing in the orange dress were present.
Chart performances
"Rush Rush" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #36 on May 11, 1991, and hit #1 five weeks later, June 15, 1991, where it remained for five consecutive weeks. At the time of its five-week stint, it was the longest running #1 since Madonna's "Like a Virgin" spent six weeks at #1 during the winter of 1984-1985. The song also spent five weeks atop the U.S. adult contemporary chart. It peaked at #6 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is ranked as the 16th most successful song of the 1990s in the United States.
