By Elysa Gardner
The two biggest female teen-pop stars of the 1980s will start a tour together Friday night, in Westbury, NY. So let’s cut right to the chase: Were Debbie Gibson and Tiffany ever rivals?
Hardly, they insist. Gibson, now 40, recalls listening to Tiffany’s breakthrough single, a chart-topping 1987 cover of I Think We’re Alone Now, “every time I was on a plane, during takeoff, because it’s so driving. My sister and I had a Walkman, and we each had headphones, and we’d listen together.”
And Gibson’s 1988 ballad Lost In Your Eyes, another No. 1 hit, “is one of my favorite songs,” coos Tiffany, 39.
“Aw, thank you,” says Gibson. “See? It’s been mutual admiration, always.”
Speaking in a rehearsal studio days before launching “Journey Through the ’80s” — which includes five additional dates, wrapping in Chicago Aug. 13 — Gibson and Tiffany present a study in complementary contrasts. Tiffany, now pursuing a career in country music, is sporty in a jersey shirt and acid-wash jeans. Gibson, who spent much of her 20s and 30s performing in musical theater, looks pertly elegant in a long-sleeved mini-dress.
The two initially joined forces for the cheeky horror flickMega Python vs. Gatoroid, which aired on Syfy earlier this year. “I thought it would be something our fans would love,” Tiffany says. “But people had really always expected us to do something musically.”
Gibson notes, “We’re very different artists, with totally different influences. But that’s why this show is so cool.”
As its title suggests, the tour will be, in Gibson’s words, “unashamedly about the ’80s,” with each singer offering both her own hits and personal favorites. (They’ll also perform together.) Gibson is “incorporating lots of straight-up pop, like Michael Jackson and Madonna,” in addition to a medley of show tunes. “Tiffany suggested that, since Broadway influenced me greatly.”…
Continue the interview at USAToday.com
