That time I interviewed DEBBIE GIBSON

The girl you took to the prom
Pop queen Deborah Gibson is still the perfect date for a gay boy to bring home to mom

LITTLE DEBBIE, ALL GROWN: Gibson says if she had a daughter of her own, she’d let her kid explore gay discos the same as straight ones. [Photo via Twitter.]

By DANIEL KUSNER | Aug. 7, 2001

It’s a little difficult to take Deborah “Debbie” Gibson too seriously as a trailblazing artist.

Now 31, the former “Shake Your Love” princess of bubble-gum pop is out with a new album, M.Y.O.B. (Mind Your Own Business). 

And during a recent phone interview, it was a huge relief to find that she doesn’t take herself all that seriously either.

“I’m not that angst-ridden. I dance. And I’m really theatrical. Musically, I’m a pop fan — I stand behind that and always have,” she shrugs. “Look at Alanis Morissette. She was doing the exact same thing I was doing at 16. And then she did a complete 180. I really don’t foresee that ever happening with me. I see my music progressing but kind of staying within the same genre.”
 

Neither is Gibson an overwrought diva. In fact, she’s a total charmer. 

But underneath the giddy “puppy-dogs and ice cream” exterior lies a savvy businesswoman who’s done very well with her money (selling more than 16 million albums worldwide) and has smartly kept her career going strong.

“I constantly put a lot of money into my career. I have my own label [Golden Egg Records]. I’m a writer and a producer — as well as an artist. And I make more money as the writer than as the artist. I’m the rare case of someone who started out as a teenager and remained in this business for 15 years and still has her money,” she says without too thickly pouring on her ego.

Not only is there Gibson’s unwavering pop career, she’s also an old Broadway pro who was recently in Dallas rehearsing for the lead role in the touring production of “Cinderella” co-starring Eartha Kitt.

And Gibson is a good sport who bursts out laughing when I suggest that the headline for this interview could’ve been called “Debbie does Dallas.”

“Actually, I kind of want to use that myself. I keep joking that some day my Broadway album will be called ‘Debbie Does Broadway.’ But I don’t go by Debbie anymore,” she pouts.

When she was “Little Debbie,” the teeny-bopper from Long Island, NY, appeared as a regular on the gay-club circuit promoting “Only in My Dreams.”

“Sometimes I was playing strictly lesbian clubs. And at 16, I met my first drag queen. It was great. Because at the gay clubs, I felt like it was better that the straight clubs. Like the people were more into the music and the performance. And there was always a great energy,” she remembers.

DEBBIE ’N’ DRAG: April 2018 — when Gibson was honored with a Palm Springs Walk of Fame Star.

“I’ve always felt very connected to the gay community — even on Broadway. You’ll be hard-pressed to find more than two straight men in any musical production,” she laughs.

On the new album, Gibson co-wrote “Your Secret” with her old boyfriend Jerry Sharell, who’s now gay.

“When I was younger, I was the perfect girlfriend for a gay boy who didn’t want to come out of the closet. I was just into hanging out, laughing, going bowling, going to the movies... And I wasn’t really all that in touch with my own sexuality. So I was the perfect girl to bring home to mom,” she giggles.

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“Believe me, I’ve been that girl many, many times. And it’s never a shocker to later find out that he’s gay. I remember thinking — when Jerry and I used to date — ‘Is he just really... animated? Or is he gay?’”

This summer, she performed “Your Secret” backed by five hunky Chippendale dancers at New York’s PrideFest 2001.

GIBSON GLAAD: Deborah Gibson works it at the 12th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. [Photo: M. Caulfield/WireImage.]

“I also performed it at the GLAAD awards in L.A. Because I felt like it was very appropriate. The song is about people — especially celebrities — who feel they aren’t able to come out. And somewhere behind the scenes is their partner who is pretending to be a publicist. Or a friend. Or whatever,” she explains.

For the new album, Gibson brought Tony Orlando out of retirement for a disco-laden duet of “Knock Three Times.”

And this week, Gibson hits the road opening up for a tour with NSYNC.

AN OPEN WARMUP: Gibson on NSYNC’s Summer 2001 “Pop Odyssey” tour. [Photo via Facebook.]

“Look at Janet Jackson. She always keeps her foot firmly planted in the youth market. However... not her more erotic stuff that’s on the new album,” Gibson laughs. “And I even hate to say the word ‘market.’ But that’s the business side of me talking. But I connect with kids. I love kids. Even when I’m doing Cinderella, the kids think of me as a big teenager.”

Gibson, who’s never been married — or even lived with a guy — says that if she ever did have a daughter who wanted to be a young disco princess, she’d let her kid perform the gay-club circuit.

“Absolutely. To be honest, I think I was exposed to much harsher stuff when I was playing straight clubs. But I don’t see what’s wrong with exposing kids to things [like gay clubs],” Gibson says. “When I was 16, I was exploring yoga and acupuncture. And my Long Island friends were all like, ‘That’s just a bunch of hocus-pocus.’ I didn’t see it that way. I just saw it as exploring everything that’s out there. So I guess playing gay clubs for me was part of that same mentality.”