Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up

Not to be confused with Never Gonna Give You Up.
"Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up"
Single by Paula Abdul
from the album Head over Heels
ReleasedJanuary 9, 1996 (1996-01-09)
Recorded1994
Genre
Length3:30
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Elliot Wolff
Paula Abdul singles chronology
"Crazy Cool"
(1995) 		"Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up"
(1996) 		"Dance Like There's No Tomorrow"
(2008)

"Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" is a song by American singer and dancer Paula Abdul, released as the third and final single from her third studio album Head over Heels (1995).[2] The track features background vocals from the vocal group Color Me Badd. It was written by Bryan Abrams, Elliot Wolff, Howie Tee, Kevin Thornton, Mark Calderon, and Curtis "Fitz" Williams, with Wolff producing the track. It was released on January 9, 1996 by Virgin Records. Abdul has only performed the song once, performing it on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Following two lackluster singles, "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" was even less of a chart success. It became Abdul's first official single to miss the US Billboard Hot 100 altogether and had little airplay on both radio and MTV. A scheduled fourth single from Head over Heels, "If I Were Your Girl", was cancelled following the underperformance of the album and the commercial failure of "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up".[3] The track would be Abdul's last overall music release until her collaboration with American Idol judge Randy Jackson, "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow", in 2008, over 12 years later.

Critical reception

John Perry from NME noted "the spankin' summery smooch" of "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up".[4] Larry Flick of Billboard gave it a positive review saying, "Latest offering [...] is a springy pop/funk ditty that features a harmonious vocal appearance by Color Me Badd. The song is riddled with festive Staxx music references and amusing sing-along refrains."[5]

Track listing

US, Australian, European single[6][7][8][9]

  1. "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" (Single Edit) – 3:28
  2. "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" (Livingsting Remix) – 3:49
  3. "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" (Livingsting Club Mix) – 3:38
  4. "Love Don't Come Easy" – 4:03

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up"
Chart (1996) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 110
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[11] 12
US Top 40 (Gavin Report)[12] 36

References

  1. ^ Joseph, Mike (June 13, 2007). "Paula Abdul: Greatest Hits, PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  2. ^ Focus On: 100 Most Popular American Dance Musicians. December 19, 2017. p. 3488.
  3. ^ "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up single | paula-abdul.com". Paula Abdul Official Fan Site. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  4. ^ Perry, John (June 24, 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 56. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  5. ^ Flick, Larry (November 18, 1995). "Reviews & Previews: Singles". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 46. Nielsen Business Media. p. 100. ISSN 0006-2510.
  6. ^ Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up (US CD single liner notes). Paula Abdul. Virgin Records, Captive Records. 1996. 38528.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up (US cassette single sleeve). Paula Abdul. Virgin Records, Captive Records. 1996. 38528.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up (Australian maxi-CD single liner notes). Paula Abdul. Virgin Records, Captive Records. 1996. 8933542.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up (European CD single liner notes). Paula Abdul. Virgin Records, Captive Records. 1996. 7243 8 38528 2 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 2015-07-15". ARIA Charts. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  11. ^ "Paula Abdul Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  12. ^ "Gavin Top 40". Gavin Report. No. 2087. January 12, 1996. p. 10.