Keanu Reeves in Paula Abdul’s Rush Rush Music Video

Rush Rush was a massive hit for Paula Abdul, and the music video starred Keanu Reeves! Watch the extended music video from 1991.

HOW did I forget about this one?! “Rush Rush” was one of the most overdone, theatrical music videos in the 1990s, and it starred Keanu Reeves. I loved every second of the 1950s-themed soap opera of a video!

When I was kid, Paula Abdul was everywhere (and known for more than just her flaky onscreen persona on singing and dancing competition series). Abdul was the biggest pop star on the planet at one point in the 1980s; we were all dancing to “Straight Up” and “Opposites Attract” back then. (“Opposites Attract” with MC Skat Cat deserves its own look back at some point!) When Abdul released her second album, Spellbound, in 1991, it felt like she ruled the pop world. Although releasing her first major ballad, “Rush Rush,” as the first single was incredibly risky. Fortunately, it was coupled with an alluring music video.

The music video for “Rush Rush” is an homage to the classic movie Rebel Without a Cause starring James Dean and Natalie Wood. With that kind of hook, a huge budget, and Keanu Reeves as a co-star, there was no way the music video could fail. And it didn’t – it was everywhere, making Paula Abdul an even bigger star and making me fall in love with Reeves over and over again. Watch the extended version (and then the more mainstream version) below!

• image source