Deborah Ann "Debbie" Gibson
(born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter who was a teen pop icon. She was popular in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. At the age of 17, Gibson was the youngest female to write, produce, and perform a Billboard Hot 100 # 1 hit single (in the USA) with her song "Foolish Beat," effectively taking the crown from her then teen idol George Michael (who had, coincidentally, been asked to produce "Foolish Beat," but passed on the opportunity).
She appeared repeatedly on the covers of teen magazines (in the USA), such as Tiger Beat.
She has gone on to starring roles on Broadway and touring musicals, as well as independent film and television work. She continues to record, and reached the Billboard
Adult Contemporary chart as high as # 24 during 2006 in a duet with Jordan Knight titled "Say Goodbye."
|
DEBBIE GIBSON TICKETS
EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
---|
Long Island Music Hall of Frame: Mike DelGuidice, Blue Oyester Cult & Debbie Gibson Tickets 6/7 | Jun 07, 2024 Fri, 7:30 PM | | Debbie Gibson Tickets 7/19 | Jul 19, 2024 Fri, 8:00 PM | | Wilson Phillips & Debbie Gibson Tickets 7/21 | Jul 21, 2024 Sun, 8:00 PM | | Debbie Gibson Tickets 8/2 | Aug 02, 2024 Fri, 7:00 PM | | Debbie Gibson Tickets 8/3 | Aug 03, 2024 Sat, 7:00 PM | |
|
Early life
Gibson was born in
Brooklyn, New York.
[1] She grew up in the
Long Island suburb of
Merrick, New York. At the age of five, she began performing in community theater with her sisters and wrote her first song, "Make Sure You Know Your Classroom." When she was eight, she sang in the children's chorus at the
Metropolitan Opera House in New York. She began playing the
ukulele and taking piano lessons soon thereafter, including with noted American pianist
Morton Estrin.
[2] Gibson has stated that her household was probably the only one where you would hear kids fighting over piano playing time.
Music career
1987-90
Gibson spent years knocking on doors and handing her demos to every director, agent, and producer with whom she came into contact. Eventually, at the age of 16, with the help of manager Doug Breitbart, she caught the attention of
Atlantic Records, and thus began her successful pop music career.
While performing around the United States at nightclub venues, Gibson was also recording what would become her debut album, "Out Of The Blue." The album was recorded in 4 weeks.
Four singles from
Out Of The Blue
reached the Top 5 of the Billboard Top 100: "
Only in My Dreams," "
Shake Your Love," "
Out Of The Blue," and the # 1 hit "
Foolish Beat," followed by "Staying Together," which performed more modestly, reaching # 22. "Foolish Beat" set a record for Gibson, making her the youngest female artist ever to write, produce, and perform a Billboard # 1 single, a record which stands to this day. By the time
Out Of The Blue
was established as a hit album, and she'd had considerable success in the UK, as well as in Japan and
southeast Asia, with stadium tours.
In October 1988, Gibson sang the national anthem for Game One of the
Major League Baseball World Series. Throughout 1988 and early 1989, Gibson was racking up studio time recording her second album release.
Electric Youth
was released in March 1989, and spent five weeks at #1 on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart. The first single released, "
Lost in Your Eyes," held the #1 spot on the
Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. Gibson also achieved the additional honor of having both a #1 single and album charting simultaneously. She also shared
ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Award 1989 with
Bruce Springsteen. Subsequent singles from this album missed the Top 10: Electric Youth (#11), No More Rhyme (#17) and We Could Be Together (#71).
In tandem with the album, she created a
perfume called
perfume Electric Youth that was distrubuted by
Revlon, and various other makeup essentials for young girls that were distributed nationwide through Natural Wonder Cosmetics, another of her sponsors at the time.
1990-95
Gibson eventually recorded two more albums for
Atlantic Records:
Anything Is Possible
(1990), and
Body Mind Soul
(1992).
Atlantic compiled
Greatest Hits
as a 1995 release oddly in conjunction with her release of SBK album
Think With Your Heart
.
thumb
Also during this time, Gibson was part of a
supergroup that recorded the charity single
Voices that Care
which peaked at # 11 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
In 1995, she signed with EMI's
SBK Records division and recorded what would be her only album for the label,
Think With Your Heart
. This album is an
Adult Contemporary heavy album consisting of piano ballads and keyboard ballads, and is widely considered among her fans to be her best work. The album's producer,
Niko Bolas (usually
Neil Young's co-producer), was also producing the reunion album for veteran punk band
Circle Jerks, and invited Gibson to a recording session for that band's album. She subsequently ended up singing background vocals on the song "I Wanna Destroy You," as well as appearing at and participating in the Circle Jerks' performance at legendary punk venue
CBGB, wearing one of the band's t-shirts and sharing a microphone with frontman
Keith Morris.
Independent releases
After parting company with EMI, Gibson formed her own record label, Espiritu, to release her original material. Her sixth album,
Deborah
, marked her full return to dance-pop.
Deborah
includes the lead single "Only Words." "Only Words" (Dance Edit) became a Top 40
Hot Dance Music/Club Play hit. The album's other single is the ballad, "Naturally."
Deborah
was well received by fans and remains one of her most respected works, though it only sold 20,000 units in the US.
In 2001, Gibson released her seventh album on her then-new record label, Golden Egg, titled
M.Y.O.B.
(AKA
Mind Your Own Business
). It features the three singles, the sensual pop song "What You Want," the Latin-infused
Dance-pop song "Your Secret," and the bass heavy "M.Y.O.B." Highlights from the album include the sultry Latin favoured Smooth Jazz song "In Blue," her vintage style ballad "Wishing You Were Here," "Jaded," and a remix of "M.Y.O.B." Her single M.Y.O.B. also had the background vocals of her two nieces.
In 2005, Gibson co-wrote and recorded a song titled "Someone You Love" with the O'Neill Brothers. With the O'Neill Brothers, Gibson also released an updated, acoustic version of her former #1 hit "Lost in Your Eyes." There was a PBS special late 2005, and it was Emmy nominated in February 2006.
[3] [4]
Theater career
Gibson debuted on
Broadway in 1992, playing Eponine in
Les Misérables
. She then went to London, where she played Sandy in the West End production of
Grease
to sold out shows, breaking box office sales records. The single version of "
You're the One That I Want," a duet with Craig McLachlan, taken from the Original Cast Recording, reached #13 on the UK charts in 1993.
On returning to the States, she appeared in the Broadway touring production, this time playing Rizzo. She played
Fanny Brice in a revamped
Funny Girl
tour. She has had many successful theater credits; she was among the many actresses who took on the starring role of Belle in the Broadway production of
Beauty and the Beast
. She replaced
Kerry Butler in July 1997 and was in the show until 1998 when she was then replaced by Kim Huber. She also starred the critically lauded production of
Gypsy
(in a production staged at The Papermill Playhouse). She starred as Louise opposite Broadway legend
Betty Buckley. Additionally, she participated in the national tour of
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
, where she played the part of The Narrator, and starred as Cinderella in the national tour of
Rodgers & Hammerstein's famed musical with
Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother. In October 2002, she starred as Velma Kelly in the Boston production of
Chicago
. In 2003, she played Sally Bowles in the Broadway revival of
Cabaret
. From March to April 2004, she played the role of 'Marta' in the UCLA Reprise! production of
Company
.
Gibson recently starred as Anna Leonowens in the Cabrillo Music Theatre's production of the classic
Richard Rodgers and
Oscar Hammerstein II musical
The King and I
which began October 17, 2008 in the Kavli Theatre at the
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and ran through October 26.
[5]
Reality TV
In the summer of 2003, Gibson was a judge on the short-lived
American Idol
spin-off
American Juniors
.
In January 2006, she joined the cast of
Skating with Celebrities
on
Fox Television, partnered with former Canadian World Champion figure skater
Kurt Browning. She was voted out in the third episode.
2005–present
The March 2005 issue of
Playboy
featured a nude pictorial of Gibson, coinciding with the release of her single, "Naked." The single peaked #35 on the Billboard "Hot single sales" chart in March 2005.
Following her
Skating with Celebrities
appearance, she has had a resurgence of popularity in niche markets. Her single "Your Secret" came back from its dormant state and became popular on some radio stations including Super 91.7 WMPH in Wilmington, DE. "Your Secret" has been on their request show,
Total Control Radio,
for 12 months. "Your Secret" reached # 1 on its third week on that station's chart in May 2006. It charted along with a few of her other singles, "M.Y.O.B." and "Only Words" (Dance Edit) which is a Eurodance mix of the song. They all have become recurrent hits on the station since.
[6]
Gibson continues to tour and has become a popular attraction at
Gay Pride parades and various charity and music festivals around the US. Her 2006 single, "Say Goodbye," featuring dance-pop artist
Jordan Knight, has made a good impression on the
Soft AC and
Hot AC radio formats, becoming the third-most added single on the format during summer 2006. It debuted at # 35 on the
Billboard magazine Hot Contemporary chart, peaking at # 24 in early September through late November. The same year, Gibson appeared in the independent film
Coffee Date
with
Wilson Cruz and
Jonathan Silverman.
Recent activity
On November 14, 2006, Gibson released the song "Famous" on her official website. The song was written by Gibson and Tiziano Lugli, and the recording was produced by T. Lugli. On May 2007 the world premiere of
Electric Youth: The Musical
was unveiled at The Starlight Theatre in Orlando, FL. The musical featured 14 of Gibsons's songs and was directed by Dean Parker.. On August 24, 2007, Gibson and
Frankie Avalon hosted
Time Life Presents Dick Clark's American Bandstand 50th Anniversary Collection
.
On September 2007, Gibson started to consider the idea of creating a camp on the West Coast. She is the founder and creator of Camp Electric Youth, a children's summer day camp which ran from July 7-18, 2008. It claims to be the first camp of its kind in the LA area. The camp was reportedly attended by "over 120 talented singers, actors and dancers" from around the world. There are currently plans for a five-day "winter camp" to run from December 26-30, 2008.
Gibson was also a judge for the online talent competition, Total Pop Star , along with Andrew Van Slee (producer and judge), and Joey Lawrence (from
Blossom
). The first season ran from Nov 12,2007-May 30,2008, though it was later extended to June.
In January 2008, Gibson announced that she would revive and perform her 80s hits—along with her Broadway role songs—during a three-run week in May 2008 at Harrah's in Atlantic City.
[7] Later that month, on January 6, Gibson appeared on
Deal or No Deal
along with
Corey Feldman as part of an '80s special.
She later appeared on the April 2008 cover of
Lavender Magazine
(a
GLBT magazine in Minnesota) and was interviewed about her career and upcoming projects. Then on the 24th, Gibson hosted and performed on Spotlightlive 80's Karaoke Experience in New York singing songs such as "Only in My Dreams", "Out of the Blue", "
Love Shack" (an original hit for
the B-52's) and "
9 to 5" (made famous by
Dolly Parton).
She performed with
Samantha Fox,
Tiffany, &
Rick Astley at the
Colisee Pepsi in
Quebec City,
Canada on April 10, 2009.
Gibson co-starred with actor
Lorenzo Lamas in the low-budget action/adventure film
Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus
, produced by
The Asylum and released on May 19, 2009.
[8] The film's trailer has become a viral hit, scoring over one million hits on MTV.com and
YouTube.
[9] The film premiered at the
2009 Cannes Film Festival. Ironically, Gibson's former music rival Tiffany had her film
Necrosis
(a.k.a.
Blood Snow
) premiere at the Cannes as well.
[10]
Personal life
Gibson has been romantically linked to American actor
Lorenzo Lamas,
[11] since September 2009}}" style="white-space: nowrap;">[
dead link]
former
Beverly Hills 90210
actor
Joey Gian,
[12] and actor/singer
Chris Bruno.
[13]
Over the years, Gibson has been the subject of stalkers. Robert Bardo, who was convicted for murdering actress
Rebecca Schaeffer in 1988, had a wall in his house adorned with pictures of Gibson and Tiffany.
[14] On May 1998, Michael Falkner, a disgruntled fan from Eau Claire, WI, was arrested outside Manhattan's Palace Theater, where Gibson was performing in the live musical adaptation of Disney's
Beauty and the Beast
. This was after Gibson received threatening letters, emails and faxes from Falkner.
[15] On April 15, 2008, Gibson filed a restraining order against Bassas Jorge Puigdollers, a fan club member from
Spain who had been allegedly stalking her since 2002.
[16]
Discography
Studio albums
- Out of the Blue
(1987)
- Electric Youth
(1989)
- Anything Is Possible
(1990)
- Body Mind Soul
(1992)
- Think With Your Heart
(1995)
- Deborah
(1997)
- M.Y.O.B.
(2001)
- Colored Lights: The Broadway Album
(2003)
Charted singles
The following singles charted in the
U.S., the
United Kingdom,
Canada,
Australia,
Japan,
Switzerland and/or the
Netherlands.
Year
| Single
| Album
| Peak positions
|
U.S.
| Hot Dance Music/Club Play
| U.S. AC
| UK [17]
| CAN
| AUS
| JPN
| SWI
| NET
|
1987
| "Only in My Dreams"
| Out of the Blue
| 4 [18]
| 12
| 31
| 11
| 6
| —
| —
| —
| 46
|
"Shake Your Love"
| 4
| 6
| —
| 7
| 10
| 27
| —
| 19
| 24
|
1988
| "Out of the Blue"
| 3
| 44
| 16
| 19
| 21
| 71
| —
| —
| 88
|
"Foolish Beat"
| 1
| —
| 8
| 9
| 1
| 49
| —
| 10
| 8
|
"Staying Together"
| 22
| —
| —
| 53
| 29
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
1989
| "Lost in Your Eyes"
| Electric Youth
| 1
| —
| 3
| 34
| 5
| 8
| —
| —
| 45
|
"Electric Youth"
| 11
| 3
| —
| 14
| 15
| 17
| —
| —
| 35
|
"No More Rhyme"
| 17
| —
| 13
| —
| —
| 59
| —
| —
| —
|
"We Could Be Together"
| 71
| —
| —
| 22
| —
| 53
| —
| —
| —
|
1990
| "Without You"2
| Single only (Japan)
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 26
| —
| —
|
"Anything Is Possible"
| Anything Is Possible
| 26
| —
| 48
| 51
| 17
| 63
| —
| —
| —
|
1991
| "One Step Ahead"
| —
| 18
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
"In His Mind"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 90
| —
| —
|
"Losin' Myself"
| Body, Mind, Soul
| 86
| 49
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
1993
| "Shock Your Mama"
| —
| —
| —
| 74
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
1993
| "You're the One That I Want" Duet with Craig McLachlan
| Grease - The Original London Cast Recording
| —
| —
| —
| 13
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
2006
| "Say Goodbye" Duet with Jordan Knight
| Jordan Knight - Love Songs
| —
| —
| 24
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
Filmography
Film
- Ghostbusters
(1984) (uncredited) [19]
- My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
(1999)
- Wedding Band
(2001)
- Soulkeeper
(2001)
- Celeste in the City
(2004)
- Coffee Date
(2005)
- Body/Antibody
(2007)
- Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus
(2009)
Television
- Beverly Hills 90210
(1991)
- Street Justice
(1991)
- That '80s Show
(2002)
- Skating with Celebrities
(2006)
Active supporter of charities
- Pediatric AIDS Foundation
- The Make-A-Wish Foundation
- St. Mary's Children & Families Foundation
- Red Cross Clothes Drive
References
- Biography at official site of Deborah Gibson
- Morton Estrin - Concert Pianist. Recording Artist. Master Teacher
- http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20081113/SHE04/811130429/1097
- http://pianobrothers.com/news/EmmyAward.asp
- Deborah Gibson Will Be Anna in Cabrillo's King and I
- Total Control Radio schedule from WMPH's website
- Stuck in the '80s | tampabay.com: Archives
- The Asylum - Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus
- People.com - Deborah Gibson Becomes a Viral Video Star
- Yahoo! News: Indie Films "Blood Snow" and "Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus": Tiffany and Deborah Gibson Rivals at Cannes Film Festival in 2009?
- http://www.deborah-gibson.com/press/debstarb.jpg
- Anne Carlini - Exclusive Magazine
- Deborah Gibson - TV.com
- Exposay - Deborah Gibson Files Restraining Order on Stalker, April 18, 2008
- Rolling Stone - Gibson Stalker Stopped on Street, May 27, 1998
- AOL Music - Gibson Wants Restraining Order for Fan, April 16, 2008
- British Hit Singles & Albums
- Billboard Hot 100 link for single Only In My Dreams
- Filmography at the IMDB