Paula Abdul chatted with Billboard on the red carpet of the 2023 CMA Awards.
Category
đ”
MusicTranscript
00:00 --We're here with the iconic, the legendary Paula Abdul. How's it going
00:03 tonight? --Well, you're a sweetheart. I'm I'm still buzzing. I was guest judging
00:09 Dancing with the Stars last night, and then took a red eye here. And I'm so
00:13 excited to be here. I always say country music pierces the heartstrings, and I
00:20 love that melodies are still so important and storytelling is so
00:25 important. And the hooks are beautiful. I feel like you know that gets oftentimes
00:30 lost in pop music. It's just nice and refreshing to be able to, I don't have
00:36 to judge anyone. I get to be front and center watching the magnificent talent
00:42 collaborations and tributes. I'm very excited. And also excited. I'm sorry I
00:48 just had to say. And also to see my girl Carrie Underwood.
00:53 --Oh yes. We love her. --I'm so very very proud of her. She's handled her whole
00:58 career with such dignity, grace, and she's relentless. I call her the
01:04 bullet train. She keeps going. --Putting you on the spot, do you have a
01:08 favorite song of hers? --Oh my gosh. Well, for me, it'll always be Jesus Take the
01:14 Wheel because that was from the moment she won to you know going into that song.
01:20 It was, it will always be sentimental, but I'm a huge fan of hers.
01:24 --Yeah, of course. They're all hits, right? --Yes. I'm a huge fan of so many. Like my
01:29 idols are here tonight, so I'm so excited. --That's so awesome. We're so happy to
01:33 have you here. --Thank you.
01:35 --I need to ask about the Magic Summer Tour. --Yes!
01:37 --How cool is that? What can you tell us?
01:39 --Well, me and my buddies, New Kids on the Block, were hitting the road in June,
01:44 July, and August, and I believe we're doing 47 cities. And what's so cool is
01:53 that both both of us are celebrating our 35th anniversary of our first albums.
01:59 Theirs Hanging Tough and mine Forever You're a Girl. So, it's gonna be nostalgic and
02:02 everyone will be singing every lyric of every song, and it's just gonna be fun.
02:07 I'm also producing my very first Broadway show.
02:11 --Oh my gosh! --It's called How to Dance in Ohio, and it's based off of the HBO
02:16 critically acclaimed documentary of the same name, How to Dance in Ohio. And they
02:21 made it into a musical, and this is my first time. And I'm so proud to be
02:25 aligned with this. It's it's wonderful. It's about young adults who are on the
02:29 autistic spectrum getting ready for their first formal dance. And they made
02:34 it into a musical, and it's history-making because never before on
02:38 Broadway, the lead cast of all seven of them are on the autistic spectrum.
02:43 --Congratulations! That's beautiful. --I'm so excited. It's gonna leave everyone's
02:47 heart completely full.
02:49 --And then I'd need to ask before we let you go, you're a big
02:51 Taylor Swift fan. You congratulated her on 1989.
02:54 --I certainly did. --When was last time you saw her?
02:56 Did you get to go to the Eras tour?
02:58 --I went to the Eras tour, and I was literally blown away.
03:02 There was so much beautiful sensory overload. Everything was so gorgeous. She
03:08 was magnificent. She had the entire stadium in the palm of her hands. And to
03:13 see her growth as an entertainer and her confidence, it's just... I'm just so proud
03:22 of her. She's incredible.
03:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]