Energy has always been Paula Abdul’s trademark — now she’s bringing it to The X Factor.
by bonnie siegler
photographer: elisabeth caren/www.ecarenphoto.com
photographer assistants: shane o’donnell and liz bretz
stylist: lovey dash
make up: kristen bernard/ephiphany
hair: roque/tracey mattingly
videographer: steven silpa
location: eveleigh www.theeveleigh.com
Paula Abdul is on the move again.
She is trading in her Los Angeles area home for a larger one in the same neighborhood. She has also moved with Simon Cowell to his brand new reality show, The X Factor, as judge and mentor to contestants vying for the coveted $5 million prize. At 49, the multi-Grammy and Emmy Award winner seems to be in constant motion, having just returned from seven weeks on the road searching for talent above and beyond the idol level. “I’m like a little dervish,” comments the 157 cm (5’2”) talent. “I have a lot of energy. The energy in music and movement has saved my life. It gets me to that real happy place, makes me feel fearless and connected.” The singer-dancer-choreographer-hit maker did not expect to find herself aligning with Cowell on another entertainment reality show. “It’s very, very intense,” she explains about the show debuting mid-September. “The judges aren’t just mentoring; we’re picking out their songs, their wardrobe, and that is totally in my wheelhouse. I’m sure Simon will throw in some real challenging acts for me, so he can keep the cameras rolling.” Behind the girlish grin, there’s a seasoned performer who is enjoying every minute of her hectic schedule that only allows an average of five hours of sleep a night. The former Lakers cheerleader seems to have found the keys for maintaining general wellbeing and balance in her life. Raised in the sprawling San Fernando Valley outside Los Angeles by her Jewish parents (her dad from Syria and mom from Minnedosa, Manitoba), spirituality is something she believes plays a critical role in creating balance. “My dad is born again now, and my mom is still in the Jewish faith, so I’ve been brought up kind of all over the place. It’s all about keeping a healthy mind, acceptance of who I am and where I’m at, and to be gentle on myself because there is no such thing as perfection. Balance is a real tough thing when you’re a professional – or mom – and balance is what can really save you. I try and strike a balance even if I’m working 18-hour days.” Mini breaks throughout the day help Abdul recharge. “Sometimes I need to just get some energy going and rather than reaching for a sugary treat, I’ll get my iPod and listen to a song, dance in place, just to get my mind working again. Music, dancing and free form is really where I find my happy place. It’s not me trying to achieve a certain step – it’s just spending time with the music.”
From Sade and Australia’s The Wintercoats for Pilates to Outkast and David Bowie for strength training and Lil Wayne for dance, Abdul says, “I have different playlists for different styles of my workout.” She tries to work out five to six days a week, however “when I’m on the road, it’s a challenge. I just started swimming, which is really cool, and I’m always incorporating some dance three times a week.” Having given up on scales, Abdul adheres to a clean, simple way of eating. “Nonfat milk, nonfat plain Greek yogurt, vegetables for salad making at any time,” she begins ticking off what we might find in her fridge: “fruit juice, Pellegrino, olives – I love olives – and batteries.” At the thought of the last item, the little woman lets out a contagious laugh. “I love laughing,” she readily admits. “It’s so good for your heart health. Simon and I play practical jokes on each other all the time and laugh out loud hysterically.”
The diminutive diva who has parlayed her innate choreography and upbeat voice into a million dollar career has proven her staying power in show business by finding the upside in even the most abysmal tabloid situations and welcoming consistent change into her world. “As human beings, we are constantly evolving, and being able to acknowledge and be grateful for that evolution is something very important. We can never be stuck in our ways because things change – opinions, dreams – everything that you aspire to or are inspired by. For me, I have to be adaptable and resilient at any given moment. That’s what gives me some perfect days.” The performer has enjoyed a long string of such days and has watched her career blossom from the early ‘80s into becoming a powerful woman in the entertainment field. “I do consider myself a powerful woman, however, I’m soft; I don’t have tough and rough edges,” she admits. “Yet, I’ve been able to stand up for many decades in this business, be relevant, have a voice, help create trends, spot talent and I hope that talent goes on to huge heights. I feel I’ve been able to transcend generations – hey, I’m on my fifth separate and distinct career and still able to make my mark.” She credits gratitude in her heart and that stick-to-it mentality for empowerment: “I just don’t give up.”
With her physical health blooming and career soaring, there are the admitted stresses of X Factor’s 12-to 14-hour days. That’s where “me time” comes into play. “If you are working hard and putting yourself out there, you have to balance it all with nurturing the rest of your body — mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally,” she says. “Sometimes I grab 10 minute pockets of time – sometimes five. I might meditate or take a quick power nap. On weekends, I’ll take one full day off and visit with family and friends.” Other simple pleasures include going for a drive, getting a facial or massage, hiking or entertaining at her home. Her sensible health program has also helped with her reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, which she revealed five years ago. The disease is an incompletely understood response of the body to an external stimulus, resulting in pain that is usually non-anatomic and disproportionate to the inciting event or expected healing response. “Knock on wood,” she says and visibly does, “I have not had an outbreak for quite some time. The trouble with RSD is there is never a surefire sign of when it’s going to attack. Most definitely it usually occurs when I’m exhausted or overexerted for too many days at a time or involved in a stressful situation…your immune system says, you know what – it’s time, and the whole body fires up.” Abdul admits the care of the pain tests her patience like nothing else. “It’s about being able to breathe, get with the pain and tempering my own anxiety, even though I’m hurting. Visualizing that I’m helping alleviate and eliminate the pain is the only way to get through it because there is no cure for RSD and no medication really helps.”
Through all of her ups and downs, Abdul seems to have emerged a stronger, happier woman whose personal journey has brought her to a beautiful state of mind. “I’m having the time of my life and I think happiness is a decision you make,” she explains of her personal odyssey. “I have a tremendous amount to be grateful for. I’m having fun in my life and it’s wonderful to feel this way; I have the ability to have good people around me and when I go to work I know it’s going to be challenging, however, I’m loving it all.” Comfortable in her own skin, beauty seems to come from within, a result of living life to the fullest. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become way more comfortable in my skin. I think that’s the benefit and the gift you can look forward to as you mature. I think I’m in a really good place. I’m comfortable with the fact that I’ve kept myself healthy and fit and I’m working hard. I’m always a student and willing to learn. That’s what keeps me young at heart. I’m proud of my age and what comes with it. I consider myself a full-time student. What it does, in turn, is it allows me and prepares me to be a better teacher. I love working with young women and young girls, teaching them self esteem and about their body.” So what’s the best thing Abdul learned recently? “I take the good with the bad,” she says. “I’ve learned that anything that comes into my life which is uncomfortable or maybe doesn’t give me the best feeling, I’ll take a deep breath, count to 10 and by the time I’ve hit 10, I realize how grateful I am for that situation that I’ve turned into gratitude. It sounds silly, yet it’s very powerful.”
With dreams of focusing on philanthropic work in the future and possibly fitting in a greatest hits tour in the next year or so, Abdul realizes every ambition, every dream, won’t be a giant success. “You can’t always get a home run, however, when you start collecting the base hits, they turn into the home runs. If you stay in the game, you inevitably love the fact that you’re sticking to something. Just stick to it and decide what’s important in life.” The self-described “passionate, transparent and communicative” woman adds, “Life is good. I don’t have to make any apologies for being kind or silly…I’m proud of myself and I like me — that’s all that really matters.”
