Mary-Kate and Ashley have Wal-Mart. Martha has Kmart. And now, Paula Abdul has Sam's Club.
Last Thursday, a crowd gathered, waiting for the American Idol judge and former pop star to make an appearance at "The Club" (as it's known to insiders) at Tropical Parkway and Centennial to introduce Innergy, her new line of jewelry. It's a small array, with pendants holding one-quarter carat of diamonds, shaped as a music note, a wishbone and a star, among others. Next to them are small, shiny dogtags with motivational messages. "Take a chance," reads one tag. "Roll with it!" Or, "Find your inner peace." "Be who you are, be that completely." Next to a star are the words, "When you wish upon a star you just might become one."
The jewelry-making began during the first stage of American Idol, when Abdul gave the charms and pendants to contestants. She knew then that their lives would be forever changed, and the inspirational messages were a way to help remind them of who they are. They were a huge hit and the former Lakers' girl saw yet another creative opportunity.
But today, she's late. Not that it's such a problem at Sam's Club, where the sheer volume of Blow Pops you can get for a few bucks can keep you amused for quite a spell. Still, her fans are getting antsy. She's only set to be here from noon to 2 p.m., and a few dozen have lined up, holding flyers and notebooks for her to autograph.
Two women stand in front of the jewelry display that showcases her new pendants, which bear somewhat inspirational messages.
"Do you have all this already?" an economy-sized woman asks her friend, who says no. Then they point out some of the male employees and talk about whether they'd want any of that. "Too lanky," they conclude.
Observing the line, which includes carts carrying enormous bags of cat food and more vinegar than one person should ever buy, Gary Coleman (no, not that Gary Coleman), Sam's Club's buyer of diamonds and pearls, beams. To him, the store and Paula Abdul are a perfect fit. "There's no better place to be," he smiles. "In business for small business, a treasure hunt. Treasure hunt is what I'm doing in the jewelry department, things you wouldn't normally expect to find, surprises throughout The Club."
And Abdul is a way of bringing in the masses. Like Debra Sullivan, a teacher who has the year off. She's holding a camera and fliers she plans to have signed. She came to Sam's Club to get out of the house, and her stepdaughter's a huge fan.
"I was getting bored waiting for Kerry to come. I was going to watch him speak on TV, and this was five minutes away," she says. "I love her music," says another fan, who, when asked, doesn't have a favorite Paula Abdul song. "I think she's real classy and a real nice person, too."
And then, a half-hour behind schedule, the tiny Abdul arrives, dressed in a brightly colored sequined shirt, her neck surrounded in her own jewelry.
"Sorry I'm late!" she says quietly.
"We're just glad you got here safely," purrs the first woman in line. She proceeds to get autographs on three of Abdul's promotional photos and one on a picture she brought of her nephews, who are both in the military, stationed in Bosnia. "They wanted to know if they could be her boy-toy," says Denise Pfeifer. "Because, you know, Demi Moore has a young'un, so does Cameron Diaz, so they said could you please ask her? And she wrote back 'Yes,' so I thought that was cute."
Behind her, the soft-spoken Abdul is smiling at her fans, signing multiple autographs for each. About a hundred have now lined up, and curious shoppers smile in amusement as they pass. You can see on their faces that Abdul isn't something they'd expected to stumble upon at The Club. But after today, she hopes that mindset changes and she becomes as much a fixture here as those giant Blow Pop canisters.
"I wanted to get into the Sam's Club family and then into the Wal-Mart family, because who I really am, and who I've always been, is a licensing and branding dream, because I do many, many things. And people only know one little bit of Paula Abdul."
Now we'll know her in bulk.