"Opposites Attract" is a song by American singer Paula Abdul from her debut album, Forever Your Girl (1988). It was released on November 17, 1989, as the sixth and final single from the album through Virgin Records. The song was written and produced by Oliver Leiber, with additional vocals provided by Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn (the Wild Pair). The single version also features rap vocals by Derrick Delite. Lyrically, it depicts a romantic relationship between two people with contrasting personalities who are still drawn to each other.

One of the final tracks completed on the album, Minneapolis musician Oliver Leiber developed the song quickly after being asked by Abdul's A&R representative Gemma Corfield to create new material. He constructed the track in less than an hour, using an Akai MPC drum machine for production. Fellow musician David Z suggested the song's potential as a duet. It was not originally intended to be a single, and Leiber later expressed disappointment with the final result.

As Forever Your Girl spanned three number-one hits, Virgin Records grew concerned about potential overexposure and was initially hesitant to release another single before Abdul proposed a music video concept for "Opposites Attract" that helped secure the song's release. For the single version, the label requested a rap section. Leiber recruited DJ Derrick Stevens, whose lyrics were written by rapper and future actor Romany Malco. The music video was developed as a tribute to Gene Kelly and was inspired by the live-action and animation blending of Anchors Aweigh (1945), as well as characters from Hanna-Barbera's Top Cat. Animators Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger created the character MC Skat Kat, an anthropomorphic rapping cat, while stand-in dancers Michael Chambers and Bill Bohls were used during filming as performance references. Production took two days, with multiple takes required for both animated and non-animated sequences.

The music video features Abdul and MC Skat Kat in a neon-lit, noir-inspired setting, depicting their contrasting personalities as they initially clash before reconciling through dance and romance. The single became a major commercial success, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and making Abdul the fourth artist to achieve four number-one singles from a single album. It also topped the Cash Box Top 100 for two weeks and charted strongly on R&B and dance charts, while reaching number one in Canada on multiple charts and topping charts in Australia and Luxembourg. The video received six nominations at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards and won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video in 1991.

Before Paula Abdul's music career breakthrough, she was primarily known as a dancer and choreographer. She served as head choreographer for the Laker Girls, worked with the Jacksons on the "Torture" music video and their Victory Tour (1984), and conceptualized the choreography for various Janet Jackson music video in the mid-1980s. Additionally, she choreographed the piano dance scene from the comedy film Big (1988), featuring Tom Hanks. On June 13, 1988, she released her debut studio album, Forever Your Girl (1988). The album took 64 weeks to top the Billboard 200, considered the longest climb in the chart's history. Preceding "Opposites Attract", the album generated three number-one singles, "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", and "Cold Hearted", as well as the re-release of "The Way That You Love Me", which peaked at number three.

"Opposites Attract" was written and produced by Oliver Leiber, the son of pop songwriter Jerry Leiber and a figure in the Minneapolis sound scene. For Abdul's studio album Forever Your Girl (1988), Leiber wrote and produced "The Way That You Love Me" and the title track "Forever Your Girl", which later became a number-one hit. Around this time, Leiber purchased an Akai MPC drum machine and experimented with it until Abdul's A&R rep Gemma Corfield contacted him to request one additional track.

During the phone call, Leiber quickly developed the concept for "Opposites Attract" and played the beat over the phone. He reportedly took the song's title from a paperback book he found in a used bookstore. Although Abdul was primarily known as a choreographer and not a recording artist, Corfield urged Leiber to complete the song quickly. Leiber agreed and indicated he could finish it within a week. Initially, Leiber did not envision the song as a duet, until fellow Minneapolis musician David Z, known for producing the Fine Young Cannibals' "She Drives Me Crazy" (1988), suggested that the song would benefit from a vocal partner to emphasize its contrasting themes. Following this, Leiber wrote the lyrics in under an hour.

Leiber later recorded a demo of "Opposites Attract" with music duo the Wild Pair, consisting of Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn, who would provide MC Skat Kat's singing vocals in the music video. Around this time, the duo were members of band Mazarati, led by the Prince and the Revolution bassist Brownmark. The Wild Pair were recorded singing the entire song as Abdul was unavailable in Minneapolis to record. This led to Leiber traveling to Los Angeles to cut half of the Wild Pair's vocals and replace them with Abdul's vocals. The initial version from Forever Your Girl did not feature any rap vocals. Initially unintended as a single, Leiber would later admit on Songfacts that he was "embarrassed" and "bummed" at how "Opposites Attract" turned out.