“I think we’re alone now, so let me get lost in your eyes!”
Okay, I’ll admit that my heading is a tad lame, but I wanted to find a way in which to combine two of the biggest songs for two of the biggest stars of the late 1980s/early 1990s without showing any favoritism. Tiffany Darwish, better known simply as Tiffany, and Deborah Gibson, best known as Debbie Gibson, shot to stardom in the late 1980s as teen idols. Tiffany was known for her red hair and amazing covers of I Think We’re Alone Now (which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts) and I Saw Him Standing There. Debbie Gibson wrote her own songs at the tender age of sixteen and hit number one with Foolish Beat and would go on to release a number of Top Five and Top Ten hits including another number one, Lost In Your Eyes.
Both of these young ladies hit the charts during my formative years. Two beautiful pop starlets, one singing her way across America on a mall tour and the other, a thoughtful, heart-tugging songwriter with pop sensibilities, captured my pre-teen/young teen heart. Of the two, I have to admit that I developed a massive crush on Debbie Gibson. She was cute, intelligent, and made awesome pop tunes. I purchased her first two albums, Out Of The Blue and Electric Youth, when they were released, and heaven only knows how many issues of Bop and Big Bopper that I begged my parents to buy for me so that I could hang Debbie Gibson posters on my wall. I had a few Tiffany posters as well, but I was a Debbie Gibson man.
Gibson managed to maintain a steady career after her pop stardom began to fade. She appeared in numerous Broadway productions, made countless guest appearances on television shows, competed on The Celebrity Apprentice, and continues to tour to this day. While her crowds have aged over the years, they still give her their full support.
Tiffany’s self-titled debut was a massive hit, but her second album, Hold An Old Friend’s Hand, despite strong sales, failed to meet expectations. She continued releasing new albums, but didn’t seem to be able to maintain a steady fanbase like Gibson. Like Gibson, Tiffany began appearing in guest roles on television. She also appeared in a number of reality shows as well. She has been in a number of films over the years including Jetsons: The Movie.
In 2002, Tiffany made the dreams of a lot of young men (and probably a few women) a reality when she appeared nude in Playboy magazine. She was also the cover model for her issue. Not to be outdone, Debbie Gibson also appeared in Playboy in 2005. She has stated that the pictorial was done to promote her new single, Naked, and to change her public image.
Both women have appeared in a number of B-movies over the years and, cashing in on their supposed (but absolutely fabricated by the media) feud with one another, Gibson and Tiffany appeared together in the Syfy Channel film Mega Python Vs. Gatoroid (2011).
Tiffany released a remake of I Think We’re Alone Now in 2019. Debbie Gibson performed in the New Kids On The Block song Boys In The Band in that same year. Both women continue touring to this day and pull in large crowds. If the music gods will allow it, I hope to see both of them in the near future.
As I stated earlier, I owned original copies (on CD) of Gibson’s first two albums. I lost both of them and many other CDs in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura. I hope to repurchase both albums in the near future.
So, who was your favorite teen queen? Was it the lovely Tiffany or the beautiful Debbie Gibson? No matter who you choose, both of them are wonderful in my book! I mean, yeah, I’m a total sucker for Debbie, but I’d happily accept a hug from Tiffany any day!
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