Debbie Gibson

Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress.

Gibson was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 31, 1970, the third of Diane (née Pustizzi) and Joseph Gibson's four daughters.

Her father, who enjoyed singing, was originally named Joseph Schultz and was abandoned by his mother as a boy; his biological mother married a man with the surname Gibson before putting Joseph into an orphanage.

Gibson grew up in suburban Merrick, New York, on Long Island.

She describes herself as of "Italian/Sicilian and part German and possibly some Russian" descent.

She studied piano under American pianist Morton Estrin.

Gibson is a graduate of Sanford H. Calhoun High School.

In 1983, Gibson submitted a cassette recording of her original composition "I Come From America" to WOR for the station's song contest.

After she won a cash prize of US$1,000 from the contest, her mother convinced a relative to loan her US$10,000 to convert the family garage into a recording studio.

After years of writing and producing her own material, a demonstration tape of Gibson's submitted to a radio personality was eventually shared with an executive at Atlantic Records.

Based solely on Gibson's original song, "Only in My Dreams", she was signed to a development deal and began a promotional tour of club venues throughout the United States.

Gibson spent much of 1986 and the beginning of 1987 building her songwriting catalog, while continuing to play club dates.

During her promotional tour, Gibson continued attending classes at Calhoun High School in Merrick, New York, where she later graduated as an honor student.

Diane Gibson, Debbie's mother and manager, accompanied her daughter on many of these track dates.

"We played dance clubs, straight clubs, and gay clubs," Diane has said.

The single "Only in My Dreams" was released in December 1986 and landed in the Billboard Hot 100 chart beginning in May 1987, peaking at number four that September.

Atlantic Records and Gibson worked to complete her first album as a result of the good showing by the single.

Following the success of "Only In My Dreams", "Shake Your Love" was released as the follow-up single and reached the Billboard top five.

The "Shake Your Love" video was choreographed by Paula Abdul and was the first time MTV had visited Gibson on a video shoot.

Gibson released her debut album Out of the Blue (1987) at age 16, writing and largely producing the material.

The album spawned several international hits, later being certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

One of those singles, "Foolish Beat", made Gibson the youngest female artist to write, produce, and perform a Billboard Hot 100 number-one single.

In 1987, while performing at nightclubs throughout the United States, Gibson recorded her debut album, Out of the Blue.

Along with producer Fred Zarr, Gibson wrote, recorded, and produced it in four weeks.

Four singles from the album reached the top five of the Hot 100 chart: "Only in My Dreams", "Shake Your Love", "Out of the Blue", and the number-one hit "Foolish Beat", followed by "Staying Together", which performed more modestly, reaching number 22.

"Foolish Beat" set a record, making Gibson at 16 the youngest artist to write, produce, and perform a Billboard number-one single, as cited in the 1988 Guinness Book of World Records.

She remains the youngest female artist to have done so.

Out of the Blue became a hit album, and she had success in the UK and southeast Asia, filling stadiums with her Out of the Blue tour.

By the end of 1988, Out of the Blue had gone triple platinum.

The music video compilation Out of the Blue was certified platinum by the RIAA; the concert tour video was certified double platinum.

In October 1988, Gibson sang the national anthem for Game 1 of the Major League Baseball World Series.

Her double-platinum second album Electric Youth (1989) gave Gibson another U.S. number-one hit with "Lost in Your Eyes".

Gibson is the sole songwriter on all of her singles to reach the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.

She was recognized by ASCAP as Songwriter of the Year, along with Bruce Springsteen, in 1989.

Electric Youth was released in early 1989 and spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard 200.

The first single released, "Lost in Your Eyes", was number one on the Hot 100 for three weeks, garnering her another achievement as the youngest female to have both an album and single simultaneously at number one.

Gibson continued to record and release music throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

In 2006, she reached number 24 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart with "Say Goodbye", a duet with Jordan Knight, and in 2017 achieved her highest-charting hit in more than 25 years in her duet with Sir Ivan, "I Am Peaceman".

Gibson's 2020 single "Girls Night Out" became her first top five and highest-charting hit after 30 years.

In addition to music, she has gone on to starring roles on Broadway and touring musicals, including playing Eponine in Les Misérables and Sandy in Grease, as well as television and independent film work.