“It obviously didn’t work!”: Ann Wilson says Paula Abdul was hired to teach Heart choreographed dance moves “like Prince and the Revolution”

Ann Wilson has revealed how misguided record company executives called upon renowned pop star and choreographer Paula Abdul to teach Heart how to dance onstage.

Wilson made the remarks during the latest edition of her After Dinner Thinks with Ann Wilson podcast, which finds the Heart frontwoman in conversation with singer-songwriters Chappell Roan and Lucy Dacus. The conversation took place backstage in March at Heart’s Los Angeles show at the Crypto.com Arena.

“I’ve always kind of struggled against the idea that [live performance] should be a rehearsed act,” Wilson says. “And 30 years ago, in the ‘80s – I guess that would have been the 80s, kinda – that was at an all-time high.

“You know, one time we were getting ready to go out on tour and somebody at the record company had this big, bright idea to send Paula Abdul in to teach us dance moves, so that we could all – in some kind of synchronicity – do these dance moves like Prince and the Revolution. It obviously didn’t work. That was the pinnacle of what I always felt was wrong.”

“What? That’s crazy,” says Roan. “That’s amazing.”

“Oh my god,” adds Dacus. “I need the footage.”

It has not been revealed whether any such footage exists.

The next leg of Heart’s Royal Flush tour begins on May 31 at the Mark G Etess Arena in Atlantic City, NJ, before a run of shows in August with Todd Rundgren. Full dates below.

Heart: Tour dates 2025

May 31: Atlantic City Hard Rock – Mark G Etess Arena, NJ
Jun 01: Vienna Wolf Trap, VAJun 03: Lexington Rupp Arena, KY
Jun 04: Detroit Fox Theatre, MI
Jun 06: Highland Park Ravinia Festival, IL
Jun 07: Hinckley Grand Casino Hinckley Amphitheater, MN
Jun 10: Evansville Ford Center, IN
Jun 12: St Louis The Fabulous Fox, MO
Jun 14: Grand Prairie Texas Trust CU Theatre, TX
Jun 15: Cedar Park H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, TX
Jun 17: Sugar Land Smart Financial Centre, TX
Jun 18: Baton Rouge Raising Cane’s River Center, LA
Jun 20: Birmingham Legacy Arena at the BJCC, AL
Jun 22: North Charleston Coliseum, SC
Jun 24: Jacksonville VuStar Veterans Memorial Arena, FL
Jun 25: Estero Hertz Arena, FL
Jun 27: Orlando Kia Center, FL
Jun 28: Hollywood Hard Rock Live, FL

Aug 08: Quincy Gorge Amphitheatre, WA *
Aug 10: San Francisco Chase Center, CA ^
Aug 12: Bakersfield Dignity Health Arena, CA ^
Aug 13: San Diego Pechanga Arena, CA ^
Aug 15: Rancho Mirage The Show at Agua Caliente, CA #
Aug 16: Prescott Valley Findlay Toyota Center, AZ ^
Aug 18: Loveland Blue Arena, CO ^
Aug 19: Morrison Red Rocks Amphitheatre, CO ^
Aug 21: Kansas City T-Mobile Center, MO ^
Aug 23: Des Moines Des Moines Civic Center, IA #
Aug 24: Moline Vibrant Arena at the Mark, IL ^
Aug 26: Akron E.J. Thomas Hall: The University of Akron, OH #
Aug 27: Allentown The Great Allentown Fair, PA, #
Aug 29: Canandaigua Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center, NY *
Aug 30: Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, NY *

# ‘An Evening With Heart’ show
^ with Todd Rundgren
* support not yet announced

Tickets are on sale now.

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 39 years in music industry, online for 26. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.