Paula Abdul at ASU+GSV!

She’s lit up stages around the world for decades. Now, Paula Abdul is coming to StageX at the Shell for the 2024 ASU+GSV Summit!  

With 60 million records sold, dozens of awards, record-breaking singles, and culture-making television shows, Paula Abdul has become a legendary artist and household name. From her start as an original Laker girl, her career has skyrocketed from dancer and choreographer to multi-hyphenate performer, presenter, and philanthropist.

Paula has choreographed music videos and live shows for the likes of Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, George Michael’s Faith tour, Dolly Parton, ZZ Top, and more, including films like Can’t Buy Me Love, Coming to America, and Jerry Maguire. Her own music exploded onto the scene with her first studio album, Forever Your Girl (1988), which included four #1 hits: “Forever Your Girl,” “Cold Hearted,” “Opposites Attract,” and “Straight Up.” With that album, she set the record for the most #1 Billboard charted singles from a debut album.

In 2002, she became part of television history as one of the original judges on American Idol, which pioneered the contemporary trend of talent competition shows. After seven years, she left that show and has since become a judge on The X Factor and So You Think You Can Dance, as well as a panelist on The Masked Dancer. This year, she’s heading back on tour after a stunning solo tour and Las Vegas residency, this time hitting the road with Boyz II Men and New Kids on the Block.

Among her other philanthropic endeavors, Paula has partnered with Turnaround Arts, a signature program of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, to adopt a school in Brooklyn, New York, and to help foster arts education in impoverished schools across the nation.

We are elated to welcome Paula Abdul to the ASU+GSV community for a fireside chat with Makeda Mays Green. Don't miss the conversation on Wednesday, April 17th, at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park during the ASU+GSV Summit closing program and celebration!

‍