Overview

Paula Abdul takes us inside the intense world of competitive cheerleading with Paula Abdul's RAH!, an elite invitational cheerleading event in which eight of the top collegiate cheerleading squads will go through a series of challenges in order to be crowned the RAH! champ by Paula herself.

Cheerleading has gained respect as a competitive sport and will be a part of the Olympic games in 2012. There's no better way to celebrate this feat than to expose the athleticism of Cheerleading to the entertainment world.

Paula has years of expertise under her belt. She's best known for her constructive criticisms on the top rated American Idol. As a former professional cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers, Paula knows what it takes to be a cheerleading. She has a natural eye for spotting talent and on RAH!, she will hold no punches. This competition is definitely about the team with the most heart, the most athleticism, and the most team spirit.

Abdul hand-picked the five elite college cheerleading squads to show off their talents in this exciting competition. They are the University of Montana, University of Arizona, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, the University of Miami at Ohio and the University of Hawaii.

Abdul acted as the coach and host while "Bring It On" choreographer, Hi-Hat, UMass Dartmouth head coach, Scott Bouchard and NJ Nets dancer, Brenna Klinger, judge the event. The judges critique the squads on creativity, teamwork, difficulty, and overall performance.

The big event took place at the New Balance Track and Field Center at the 168th Street Armory in New York City. In addition to be a cheerleading competition, the show feels like a big pep rally complete with a special live performance. The event was attended by students from all over the country.

The University of Hawai‘i cheer squad, led by head coach Mike Baker, won the first-ever “RAH! Paula Abdul’s Cheerleading Bowl”.

The competition originally aired on MTV on Jan 3, 2009 at 12 PM ET/PT and January 4, 2009 at 9:30 AM. The 90 minute show featured lots of cheerleading and gave the audience a behind-the-scenes view of the sport of cheerleading.

An original song recorded by Paula Abdul for her unreleased album titled “Boombox” was used throughout the show. The song was never released commercially.

In 2009, Abdul’s official web site promised fans that signed up for a paid membership to her fan club a free download of the song, though it never materialized to the disappointment of many excited fans. Radio DJ’s John Jay and Rich were also very supportive of the song being released as a single and even played an extended clip of it on their popular syndicated radio show.

After Kylie Minogue used a remix of “Boombox” on her 2008 remix album of the same name, Abdul scrapped the commercial release of “Boombox” in favor of “I’m Just Here for the Music,” another demo
recorded by Minogue.

”Boombox” was originally an unreleased track recorded during sessions for Kylie Minogue's ninth studio album Body Language.

Abdul's version of "Boombox" remains unreleased, though it is reported she played it during a meet-and-greet session for fans before a show during the Straight Up Paula tour in 2018.