Paula Abdul at the White Party
For Paula Abdul, her mutual love affair with the LGBTQ+ community started decades ago, and her recent appearance at White Party Palm Springs seems to be a culmination of those decades of mutual adoration. After keeping people (and herself) dancing for decades, Abdul headlined the legendary event at a particularly poignant time: it was the first White Party to occur following the death of White Party founder Jeffrey Sanker. I sat down with Paula for an exclusive chat where we discussed what it is like being tapped to headline this momentous occasion, her storied career, and the impact it has had on the LGBTQ community.
Michael Cook: You headlined this year’s White Party in Palm Springs. This is one of the most legendary weekends of the year for the LGBTQ community, and always for a worthy cause. This year also marked the return of the event after an extended hiatus, as well as marking the passing of acclaimed White Party founder and visionary Jeffrey Sanker. What did it feel like to be part of the event in such a pivotal year?
Paula Abdul: I had been wanting to do this for so long. I feel really blessed that one of Jeffrey’s wishes was for me to perform this year at White Party. In honor of Jeffrey, I feel like for me, this is a huge deal. It is an important time, when everyone is out living the new normal way and the new normal way of life. People want to celebrate and people want to have fun, and I was just thrilled that I got to kick that off.
MC: Your remixes continue to take your material to the next level, with the Shep Pettibone remix of “Knocked Out” being—for me—the first time I got to hear your music remixed on a dance floor. What is it like to hear your music remixed on a dance floor and see hundreds or thousands of men dancing to it, as happens at White Party?
PA: It’s exhilarating. It never gets old. It’s like the first time I’ve heard and seen people singing and dancing to my music. It is like a little bit of an out-of-body experience, because you forget that you’ve hung in there long enough that internationally, everyone knows my songs. It is such a blessed and humbling feeling. It also makes me smile, because I love to see different people’s interpretation of movement and see how they dance, so that makes it fun for me.
MC: The LGBTQ community absolutely adores you, for a myriad of reasons. When did it click to you that the relationship with the LGBTQ community was so strong and that there was so much love for you there?
PA: It is a mutual love affair. For me, it started way back when I was becoming a big choreographer. I was working with so many dancers who were my extended family. It was a beautiful thing to see that I got respect from the community, even when I was doing a job that didn’t have me front and center. I feel like it’s been going on for decades and decades and I certainly would not have the career that I have without the community. I have been so close with the community, and I have lost so many beautiful gems along the way.
There is a mutual love and appreciation and for me, no one started their career like I did. I started below the line working to help other artists to take flight. So to be able to witness behind the scenes and in front has been a career path that is different than most would take. I never had anyone that I could call up and say, “how was this like for you when this happened,” because it was very different and very strange in so many ways. The community, though, always stood behind me and it has been a beautiful, beautiful relationship. My family is filled with members of the LGBTQ+ community.
MC: You mention helping artists “take flight” but getting to watch artists like Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson become LGBTQ icons of their own with spectacular careers must be a beyond-surreal feeling.
PA: One hundred percent. There is no mistaking, I try to make it to every Idol’s first “big thing.” Whether it is their first big concert, their first play on Broadway, whatever it is. I am the proud mom, what can I say? On Kelly Clarkson’s wall at her tv studio before you walk on stage, I wrote on the wall, “After your own Mom, I am your second proudest Mom.”
MC: White Party was a phenomenal event, and with summer coming, there is no better time to have some brand-new Paula Abdul material for us to enjoy. What can you tell us is coming up for you?
PA: I am working on music right now; I have the bug. Now is the time for me to do that between projects. I am going to be heading back to Las Vegas as well and doing my residency. I have an HBO Max show that I am working on called Made for Love; I just filmed Season 2 and that will be airing soon. MC Scat Kat is also in a Disney movie with a cameo for Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers. In between all of that, I will be recording! ▼
Follow Paula Abdul at her website: paulaabdul.com.
Michael Cook has been a part-time resident of Rehoboth Beach for over a decade. He is currently a contributor to Instinct Magazine, World of Wonder’s WOW Report, and South Florida Gay News.