| Cold Hearted | |
| Cover: | Paula Abdul - Cold Hearted.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Paula Abdul |
| Album: | Forever Your Girl |
| B-Side: | One or the Other |
| Genre: | |
| Label: | Virgin |
| Producer: | Elliot Wolff |
| Prev Title: | Forever Your Girl |
| Prev Year: | 1989 |
| Next Title: | Opposites Attract |
| Next Year: | 1989 |
"Cold Hearted" is a song by American singer Paula Abdul, released in June 1989 as the fifth single from her debut album, Forever Your Girl (1988). It was written and co-produced by Elliot Wolff and reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the album's third song to top the US chart.
"Cold Hearted" is written in the key of G minor and follows a tempo of 122 beats per minute. The song follows a chord progression of GmEmaj7Dm7, and Abdul's vocals span one-and-a-half octaves, from F3 to B4.[3]
Paul Lester from Melody Maker wrote, "'Cold Hearted' has been fabulously cluttered up and fleshed out by Chad Jackson, weighed down with details yet buoyed up by a deliciously light, slippery beat. Simply irresistible."[4]
"Cold Hearted" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in September 1989, giving Abdul her third US number-one single. "Cold Hearted" was ranked sixth on Billboards Year-End Hot 100 ranking of 1989. It spent a total of 21 weeks within the Billboard Hot 100. In Canada, "Cold Hearted" peaked at number one according to The Record magazine and number two according to RPM magazine, while in Finland, in entered the top 20.
The official music video for "Cold Hearted" was directed by David Fincher and spent more than three weeks on top of MTV's video rotation list. The inspiration for the video came from Bob Fosse's choreography of the "Take Off with Us" scene in the movie All That Jazz.[5] Abdul dances for music executives with a group of semi-nude dancers. Abdul was wearing a black fishnet dress which exposed her belly button and was sporting a hat of the German "Kriegsmarine". The dance floor included scaffolding where Abdul and her dancers hang and dance suggestively. The video was filmed in Downtown Los Angeles where Christina Aguilera's music video for "What a Girl Wants" would also be filmed at.[6]
The video and its "late-'80s energy" served as a visual inspiration for the music video of Ariana Grande's 2024 single "Yes, And?".[7]
Non-UK 7-inch and cassette single[8] [9]
US 12-inch single[10]
A1. "Cold Hearted" (Quiverin' 12-inch) – 5:10
A2. "Cold Hearted" (7-inch edit) – 3:30
B1. "Cold Hearted" (Chillin' Bass dub) – 4:06
B2. "Cold Hearted" (a cappella) – 1:04
B3. "Cold Hearted" (instrumental) – 4:02
Canadian, European, and Australian 12-inch single[11] [12] [13]
A1. "Cold Hearted" (extended version) – 6:50
A2. "Cold Hearted" (Cold Hearted House mix) – 6:41
B1. "Cold Hearted" (dubstramental) – 5:41
B2. "Cold Hearted" (percapella) – 4:10
B3. "One or the Other" – 4:11
Japanese maxi-CD single[14]
Japanese mini-CD single[15]
UK 7-inch and cassette single[16] [17]
UK 12-inch single[18]
A1. "Cold Hearted" (Chad Jackson extended remix)
B1. "Cold Hearted" (Chad Jackson Ambient mix)
B2. "Cold Hearted" (Chad Jackson Breaks and Beats mix)
UK 12-inch picture disc[19]
A1. "Cold Hearted" (Cold Hearted House mix)
B1. "Cold Hearted" (dubstramental)
B2. "Cold Hearted" (US 7-inch version)
UK CD single[20]
| Chart (1989–1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[21] | 68 |
| Canada Retail Singles (The Record)[22] | 1 |
| Canada Retail Singles (RPM)[23] | 7 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[24] | 17 |
| Chart (1989) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[25] | 13 | |
| Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[26] | 15 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[27] | 6 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | June 2, 1989 | Virgin | |||
| Japan | September 21, 1989 | CD | [28] | ||
| United Kingdom | September 17, 1990 | Virgin America | [29] |
