Profile of Deborah Gibson on Famous Like Me

Deborah Ann Gibson (usually called Debbie Gibson early in her career, and born August 31, 1970), is an American singer who was initially a teen idol appearing repeatedly on the cover of such teen magazines as Tiger Beat.

In contrast to the prevalence of the name "Debbie" in her teen-idol phase, she showed a preference for "Deborah" even then, and her fans had, before the release of Naked, signalled a departure from that image by using this name to refer to her.

Biography

Gibson was born in 1970 in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of five, she and her sisters began performing in a community theater, and she wrote her first song. When she was eight, she sang at the children's chorus in the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, where she got to meet such singers as Plácido Domingo and others. When she was 12, Gibson was already performing in Broadway, but as an actress.

When Gibson turned 16, she was signed to a recording contract by Atlantic Records, and soon she became the youngest person ever to write, record and produce a number 1 hit, with her single "Foolish Beat", going up to number one. Another single of hers, "Only In My Dreams", also made it to the top.

Her initial success was followed by another smash hit in "Out Of The Blue". By this time, she and Tiffany, with her remake of "I Think We're Alone Now", were fighting for the top position as teen queen of the United States. She also had considerable success in the UK, as well as Japan and south east Asia.

After her popularity as a pop singer waned, she returned to Broadway in 1992, playing Eponine in Les Misérables. She then went to London, where she played Sandy in a West End production of Grease. To go with her stage performance, she also helped record the soundtrack for the play, titled "Grease: The Original London Cast Recording". From that CD, came a hit single with Craig McLachlan: "You're the One That I Want", which reached #13 on the UK charts in 1993.

On returning to the States, she appeared in the Broadway version, but this time she played Rizzo. She also played Fanny Brice in the Funny Girl touring production. She appeared in the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast (as Belle), and Gypsy at The Papermill Playhouse (as Gypsy Rose Lee). She also participated in a national tour with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, where she played the character of The Narrator, and as Cinderella in the national tour of the play of the same name. In October 2002, she began work in the play Chicago in Boston.

In 1995, she signed with EMI Records' SBK Records division and recorded what would be her only album for the label, Think With Your Heart. The album's producer, Niko Bolas (usually Neil Young's co-producer), was also producing the reunion album for veteran punk band The 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's, wearing one of the band's t-shirts and sharing a microphone with frontman Keith Morris. (Unfortunately for posterity, the show, with the exception of photographs, wasn't recorded, nor was Gibson able to participate in the video the group shot for the song.)

After parting company with EMI, Gibson formed her own record label to release her original material.

Controversially for some of her fans who preferred her earlier wholesome image, the March 2005 issue of Playboy featured a nude pictorial with Gibson, the release of which co-incided with the release of her new single, "Naked."

Discography

Her discography includes:

Out of the Blue (1987) #7 US, #26 UK
Singles released:

• "Only in My Dreams" #4 US, #11 UK
• "Shake Your Love" #4 US, #7 UK
• "Out of the Blue" #3 US, #19 UK
• "Foolish Beat" #1 US, #9 UK
• "Staying Together" #21 US

Electric Youth (1989) #1 US, #8 UK
Singles released:

• "Lost in Your Eyes" #1 US, #34 UK
• "Electric Youth" #11 US, #14 UK
• "No More Rhyme" #17 US
• "We Could Be Together" #71 US; #22 UK

Anything Is Possible (1990) #41 US
Singles released:

• "Anything Is Possible" #26 US
• "One Hand, One Heart"
• "One Step Ahead"
• "This So-Called Miracle" #91 US

Body, Mind, Soul (1992) #109 US
Singles released:

• "Losin' Myself"
• "Shock Your Mama"

Grease: The Original London Cast Recording (1993) UK
Singles released:

• "You're the One That I Want" (1993, #13 UK)

Think with Your Heart (1995)
Singles released:

• "For Better or Worse"
• "Didn't Have The Heart"

Deborah (1997)
Singles released:

• "Only Words"

M.Y.O.B. (2001)
Singles released:

• "What You Want"
• "M.Y.O.B."
• "Your Secret"

Colored Lights: The Broadway Album (2004)

Naked (2005)

Trivia

• Mojo Nixon wrote a song called "Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant With My Two-Headed Love Child."
• She is the subject of a song titled "Make Believe" from The Pixies.
• She was a cheerleader in high school.
• As a child, she was friends with Ricki Lake.

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Deborah Gibson