Paula Abdul Debuts "Here for the Music," Preps "Idol" Performance

In February 2008, Paula Abdul told Rolling Stone she was working on her first album since 1995's Head Over Heels when she premiered the video for "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow," and promised a second new track would drop in June. Nearly a year later, that second single has finally arrived: Abdul appeared on fellow American Idol personality Ryan Seacrest's KIIS FM radio show in Los Angeles this morning to debut "Here for the Music" and talk about performing the song on tomorrow's Idol.

"Here for the Music" (check out the track at the Kiis site), a bass-heavy dance track reminiscent of "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow," was produced by Oliver Lieber, who worked on "Dance" as well as Abdul hits like "Forever Your Girl" and "Opposites Attract." According to a press release, the song will appear on Abdul's new album, which is now slated for release on Filament Entertainment Group in the Fall. The single will be up for sale on paulaabdul.com later this month.

Abdul told Seacrest Idol producers invited her to perform on the show, but she was unsure about committing "because timing was of the essence." "I literally put everything together on Saturday, rehearsed Sunday and press came in to see a rehearsal yesterday," Abdul said. When pushed by Seacrest to share details about her performance — her first on Idol in her eight years judging the competition — all Abdul would reveal is, "There's a lot to see in less than three minutes. You'll see a whole bunch."

Abdul also remained cryptic on whether or not she'll return to the show for its ninth season, telling Seacrest, "Ryan, all I can tell you is, 'Do I ever know what's going to happen?' " while citing "wonderful opportunities" that have come her way. But with less than a month until this season's winner is crowned, Abdul added she'll be making her decision in a couple of weeks — meaning viewers should find out at the finale whether the judge lineup will remain the same next year.

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Song Stories

“Piano Man”

Billy Joel | 1973

Billy Joel’s first hit, “Piano Man,” was – ironically – an autobiographical lament about how his first album wasn’t a hit. When Cold Spring Harbor didn’t take off, Joel briefly became a lounge pianist in Los Angeles, and this song, about that experience, expressed his frustrations and fears at the time: “And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar/And say, ‘Man, what are you doing here?’” “It was all right,” Joel said later, about the gig. “I got free drinks and union scale, which was the first steady money I’d made in a long time.”

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