EXCLUSIVE: Paula Abdul on Performing Her Hits in Concert for the First Time in 26 Years: 'It Was Awesome!'
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Paula Abdul gave fans a long overdue treat at the Mixtape Festival in Hershey, Pennsylvania, over the weekend when she performed her hits in concert for the first time in nearly 30 years.
"It's been 26 years," Abdul told ET. "Let me tell you something, it's different today than 25 or so years ago, but it's evolution ... It's what I was born to do."
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The 54-year-old pop icon has teased fans with one-offs in the past, such as her performance of "I'm Just Here for the Music" in 2009 on American Idol and a medley of her most popular hits for Dancing With the Stars in 2012, but this was her first full headlining set in more than two decades.
Abdul's highly choreographed dance numbers were reminiscent of her classic music videos like "Straight Up" and "Opposites Attract."
"I am just so happy to be able to come back out and do what I love to do and to have such a warm welcoming reception. It was awesome!" she said. "If I can still can do it, why not?"
Prior to the Mixtape Festival, Abdul's most recent on-stage performance was on Lip Sync Battle in January, when she made a surprise appearance during Jenna Dewan-Tatum's rendition of her 1988 smash, "Cold Hearted."
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Her latest performance might have given her the bug again to get up on stage more often.
"I wanted to leave my fans with a good feeling and to remember that I really am always forever their girl," she said.
In addition to Abdul, New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, 98 Degrees, O-Town, Ryan Cabrera and the girl group Dream also performed at the festival.