Paula Abdul | From Rejection to Leading the Laker Girls & Choreographing The Jacksons (Part 1)

Описание: Before Paula Abdul became a pop icon, she was an underdog kid born three months premature with lung complications and hip dysplasia, told in every way that her body wasn’t built for the stage. In this Part 1 conversation, Paula walks through the origin story that shaped her — from growing up idolizing Gene Kelly and Bob Fosse, studying jazz and tap dance, and refusing to accept rejection, to the moment she shocked everyone by taking over the Laker Girls and stepping into the center of the Showtime Lakers era.

She shares the real timeline of how resilience turned into opportunity: getting cut twice at auditions, becoming head choreographer, dancing in front of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, catching the attention of music executives courtside, and landing her first professional job choreographing The Jacksons — including her work connected to their Victory Tour. This episode is the rise of Paula Abdul before the records, before American Idol, before global fame — the dancer, the fighter, and the underdog who refused to be counted out.

00:00 Paula Abdul Joins On That Note + Shawn’s Legendary Introduction
03:51 Tour Life, Health, and Finding Balance as Artists
07:05 Gene Kelly, “Opposites Attract,” and the Power of Preparation
10:28 The Night Boyz II Men Got Discovered — Paula Was There
21:53 Born Premature, Hip Dysplasia, and Becoming the Ultimate Underdog
25:46 Old-School Work Ethic, Performing Through Pain, and Why It’s a Privilege
29:40 Dance Styles and Finding Your Lane — Fosse, Ballet vs. Jazz, and Hip Dysplasia
33:20 Mixing Disciplines, Library Research, and Beating Impostor Syndrome
37:54 Laker Girls Audition Chaos — Cut Twice… Then Sneaking Back In
42:55 “No Is the Beginning of a Negotiation” — Rejection, Belief, and Doing the Work
45:34 Making the Team and Becoming Head Choreographer
49:32 The Big Break — From Courtside to Choreographing the Jacksons’ “Torture”
54:47 Showtime Lakers Memories, Celebrities, Championships, and the Ring Story