Twenty Questions - Debbie Gibson

From “TV Hits” magazine (Aust), February 6, 1991 edition.

Title: Twenty Questions - Debbie Gibson
Writer: Steve Kelly

Intro: She’s been away for a while, but the chirpiest girlie in pop has returned, and here she
tells Steve Kelly all about her new album, “Anything Is Possible”, her favourite New Kid
and her amazing nose contortions!

1. What’s your favourite type of pizza?
I know this is gonna sound real boring, but just plain cheese, sometimes pepperoni.

2. Is the new George Michael album as good as “Faith”?
I actually like “Faith” better, I really haven’t gotten into the new album yet.

3. What do you think of when you hear the word Australia?
I think of craziness, because we toured there and the audiences were really crazy. They
were, like, really loud and really fun, and that’s basically what I think of.

4. How cool is Bart Simpson?
Well, I think he’s kinda cool except for the fact that he was on the cover of Rolling Stone
Magazine the week that Sammy Davis died, and I don’t think that was too cool. I mean, he
is a cartoon after all, I’m a little tired of reading interviews with him.

5. What’s the best song on your new album?
Let’s see, I would probably pick “This So-Called Miracle”. It’s like a sixties rock ballad. It
has that sixties flavour and it’s real powerful, but at the moment it’s seven minutes long so
if I plan on releasing it as a single I’ll have to do some major editing!

6. Have you ever eaten a bug?
I swallowed a fly once when I was swimming. I was swimming laps and I turned my head
and lifted my arm up over my mouth and a fly just flew right in there. I kinda grossed out
when I realised what happened, but it was too late. But I’ve lived to tell about it so it
wasn’t too bad.

7. Which is your favourite Tom Cruise movie?
Let’s see, you know it’s funny because over here Cocktail did really poorly but I really
liked that movie. A lot of people didn’t like his acting in it but I think that it takes a lot to
just portray a normal person, that melodramatic stuff is sometimes easier. To come across
as a realistic person is really hard, so I think he did very well and I like that movie.

8. Do you prefer smooth or crunchy peanut butter?
Crunchy, extra crunchy.

9. How did you come to work with Lamont Dozier (who wrote hundreds of classic
Motown records in the ‘60s)?
Actually Paul Cooper, who works for Atlantic Records, thought of the idea because I
performed a Motown medley in my live show and I was performing some of Lamont’s
songs in it. He was close to Lamont and he said, ‘Hey, Lamont, why not check out
Debbie’s show’ and Lamont did and he was interested in working with me and I was
interested in working with him. So we got together and we wrote ten songs, four of which
ended up on the album.

10. Are you afraid of flying?
No, actually I really love it. I suppose everyone gets a little nervous with turbulence. I don’t
get nervous when we’re going through clouds because I know why we’re bouncin’ around,
but I have to admit that when you’re in the middle of a clear blue sky and you start
bouncin’ around I kinda wonder what the reason is. In general, I really enjoy it, I don’t
hyperventilate over flying or nothin’.

11. What was the last movie you saw that made you cry?
Ghost, yeah definitely Ghost . . . And I rented West Side Story and was like in a mood the
whole day, That was a pretty intense movie.

12. Can you wiggle your ears?
Let me try. (laughs). No, I don’t think I can, I can flare my nostrils though.

13. Have you ever been to the opera?
Oh yeah, actually I used to perform in operas when I was about eight years old in the
children’s chorus. I think my favourite is La Boheme, even though it’s in Italian, because I
kinda had to learn all about it. Also the Marriage Of Figaro. I went to a couple of operas
when I kinda fell asleep during them but I guess when you perform in them and you have
to learn the English translation then you can get into it a bit more.

14. Who do you think is the best looking New Kid?
The best looking New Kid? (laughs) Well, let’s see . . .can I skip best looking and just tell
you who my favourite one is? My favourite one to watch on stage is Joey because I think
he’s real theatrical, real entertaining. If you’re asking me if I have crushes on any of them,
I’d have to say no!

15. What has been the highpoint of your career so far?
Probably just a few weeks ago was a real highpoint. I performed at a benefit show for
juvenile diabetes and the performers were Neil Diamond, Dionne Warwick, Stevie
Wonder, Whitney Houston and myself, it was incredible. The people we were performing
for were the Reagans and the Fords. When those people come up to you afterwards and
compliment you on your performance, that’s definitely a high.

16. Do you ever get bossy in the studio?
Sometimes, yeah, although I think I’ve learned to be more diplomatic than I was when I
was sixteen, because at that age I was just real cocky and I thought I knew more than I
really did. So I’m like more open-minded now.

17. What’s the most romantic thing you can think of?
Let me see, I’m dating someone at the moment and it’s no-one you know, and it’s not a
New Kid (laughs)! My answer is the guy I’m dating.

18. Have you ever ridden a motor bike?
Yeah, actually, I have little scooters that I ride around the neighbourhood on. The only
time I was on a real motorcycle I was burnt and that was when I was five years old and I
still have the scars. So I’m not too into them . . . I think I’ll stick to the scooters!

19. Have your lyrics changed as you’ve got older?
Yeah, I think I can relate to them more because I can write from personal experience. It’s
funny, I can relate to the lyrics I wrote when I was sixteen now because I didn’t really
know what they were about at the time, I was kind of guessing. I guess writing a depressing
song is sometimes a jinx for me because it seems like later on I go through the experience
and I realise what it was really about.

20. What happened to the film you were supposed to be making?
There was kind of a political thing because someone took over the studio which was
making it and all the projects were put on hold. Once it was put on hold I went into the
studio, Kenny Ortega, the choreographer and director, went on to do a TV show and it just
never happened. I think it was a bit of a blessing in disguise because I’d just finished off
my tour of Australia and two days later I was gonna have to start on the film. That would
have been really crazy. But I’m looking into doing another film at this moment, possibly to
do it at the end of this year. It’s not musical at all. It’s a darker film and it revolves around
kids on the street.

_____________________


[Opposite page has AIP promo picture of Deb with motorcycle]