Paula Abdul - Crazy Cool

JUL 01 1995 · 12:00

Paula Abdul - Crazy Cool (1995) Director: Matthew Rolston Era: Post-New Jack Swing / Mid-90s Dance-Pop Transition (1995) - An era where late-era MTV dance-pop collided with R&B sensuality, club culture, and choreography-driven spectacle, marking the twilight of Paula Abdul's chart dominance before millennial pop reshaped the landscape. High curatorial value as a documented MTV censorship case study, a choreography-showcase artifact from a transitional moment in Paula Abdul's career, and a strong example of Matthew Rolston's glamour-inflected visual direction applied to mid-90s dance-pop. The video's production history, studio location, crew credits, controversy, and edited vs. unedited versions, is unusually well-documented for the era, making it a research-rich primary source for scholars of 1990s music video culture, broadcast standards, and pop performance aesthetics. Context: Released in August 1995 as the second single from Paula Abdul's third studio album Head over Heels (Virgin Records), 'Crazy Cool' arrived during a pivotal and commercially difficult period for Abdul. While the single failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 (peaking at #58), it thrived on the dance charts and in Canada, reflecting a broader mid-90s bifurcation between radio pop and club culture. The video's MTV censorship controversy, documented in People Weekly and widely discussed, encapsulates the era's tensions between mainstream broadcast standards and the increasingly provocative aesthetics of R&B and dance-pop music video production. Shot at the storied A&M Studios in Hollywood, the video exemplifies the high-production-value choreography showcase that defined Abdul's visual identity since her late-80s breakthrough. Director notes: The 'Crazy Cool' video was directed by Matthew Rolston and shot at A&M Studios in Hollywood at the end of July 1995. Choreography was by Barry Lather. Executive Producers were Sharon Oreck and Alexa Balatsos; produced by Elison Miller; edited by Haines Hall for O Pictures, Inc. A 'Single Remix Version' of the track was used for the video. MTV initially refused to air the clip due to its sexually suggestive content, including Abdul riding a mechanical bull while pouring beer on herself, demanding an edited version. Rolston and Abdul ultimately complied and edited the video. The controversy was reported in a People Weekly article dated September 4, 1995, titled 'MTV Deems Crazy Cool Too Racy for TV.' The video was never released commercially on VHS or DVD.