She's the original pop princess, a Broadway star, and now an author.

Debbie Gibson is our guest this week on Nevada Week In Person.

♪♪♪ Support for Nevada Week In Person is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt.

-Welcome to Nevada Week In Person.

I'm Amber Renee Dixon.

Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, she began writing songs at just five years old and, at 17, earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest artist to write, produce, and perform a number one hit song on the Billboard Hot 100.

That song was "Foolish Beat" and, to date, is one of her 11 songs that's reached the Hot 100, performing in 17 musicals in the span of 17 years in which she landed leading roles like Sandy in Grease and Bell in Beauty and The Beast.

It was while touring to celebrate the 35th anniversary of her multi-platinum album Electric Youth that she wrote a memoir called "Eternally Electric," out in September.

Singer, songwriter, actress, philanthropist, author, and the Nevada Ballet Theater's 2025 Woman of the Year, Debbie Gibson, thank you for joining Nevada Week In Person.

-That was quite a waltz down memory lane for me.

You're hired as my new publicist.

-Awesome.

Okay.

Well, for our viewers who do not know, you live here in Nevada.

What prompted your move to Las Vegas?

-You know, my now ex and I were spending a lot of time, like, just doing weekends here in town, and it became apparent that it was not just a tourist destination, that it was such a great place to live, and has been for me for 15 years.

I'm kind of like, when I'm not touring, I'm very hibernational.

So people are always kind of shocked because I'm not like at every event and, you know, because if I don't leave the house before it gets dark, it's hard to get me out.

I'm home with movies and my dogs.

But it just felt like this place that is untapped, like it's just down home, but it's got its elegant things if you want them, and it's kind of got it all, nature and entertainment.

-You could go have a lot of fun and be part of the scene if you want it, but you don't have to.

You were in LA prior to this, right?

-I was.

-Okay.

That hibernational aspect, when did you learn in your career probably that was very important for you?

-I'm so high-output that my adrenaline can-- like people who see my shows, I go for 2, 2 1/2 hours.

And people always tell me, Oh, you should keep it-- No.

Because once I'm out there and I'm with that audience and I'm feeding off of that energy, I can't help myself.

There's no limit for me, and so I have to balance it by really getting back to my center and, again, here in Vegas where my home is, and just the air quality, like it allows me that like quiet-the-noise kind of element that I need in my life.

-Safe place to rest?

-Yeah.

-And there has been some reporting on your home here that you have several items from throughout your career that are within your home.

-Oh, yeah.

-What is there that when you walk by you think, Man, I'm so proud of that; that was so cool?

-You know, there's a couple of things.

But just yesterday, I have some young people who are helping me organize my things in my home right now, and I was trying to explain to them this 12-track recorder that I have.

It's pretty big, and it has what looks like VHS tapes, almost, that you would do multi-track recording on, and it's not working anymore, and it's impossible.

I've tried to get it refurbished, but there's a particular motor that doesn't exist.

It's crazy.

So it really is this treasure, because I demoed all my original music on it, and I was trying to explain the tracks and the multi-track recording and the faders pre Pro Tools, and, you know, so many kids now use Garage Band and whatever people use, Logic and all that.

And so that's a treasure that really connects me to the why I made music as a little girl, just for the love of it.

And I was locked in our the family's converted garage, which then became a playroom/laundry room and then became my studio.

And my sisters were still wanting to use it as a playroom and a laundry room.

-As a child?

-As a child.

So that was such a, like, an integral part of my musical journey and my childhood.

-Your father was musical?

-Yes, still is.

He recorded on my holiday record.

He and I do "White Christmas" together.

He recorded it at 79 years young.

He made his recording debut.

-Wow!

-Yeah.

-You call him your partner in crime.

Why is that?

-Oh, he was always my partner in musical crime.

We were always harmonizing in the house, and I would dare him to audition for community theater musicals with me, and he'd always get a role.

And so it was kind of like having a big brother, really, my dad.

He's like, you know-- a lot is written about him in the book and his childhood, because he grew up in the foster care system, so he didn't grow up with parents.

And so he has remained this kind of beautifully arrested development kind of boyish man, you know?

He's like, he's always-- you know, that childhood could have turned him bitter, and, instead, it kept him youthful and wide-eyed and like it's really amazing, because he's always in a good mood.

He's always singing, just like me.

-Tell me if this is true: I read that you have gone to perform, they said, in these-- what I read, it said orphanages, where your father grew up.

You have gone back there to perform?

-Yes, St. Mary's Children and Family Services on Long Island is one of the places.

And I used to volunteer for the boys there and take them out, take them to the mall, bring them into the studio, recording sessions, Christmases, and I would do fundraisers at the home.

You know, one year was solely to provide air conditioning for the cottages.

It was a remarkable kind of connection, full circle moment to be able to help these boys in the home my dad grew up in.

-What did he think of that, your dad?

-I mean, he loved it, of course, yeah.

-You do a lot of philanthropy, and it's a big reason, well, one of many reasons why you are the 2025 Nevada Ballet Theater Woman of the Year, joining the likes of Elaine Wynn, Priscilla Presley, Celine Dion.

-Olivia, Chita, so many incredible, iconic women that have held this honor, and it's like I'm kind of weirdly like the always the bridesmaid, never the bride in the entertainment business.

I feel like I finally graduated.

It only took me 38 years, but now I'm getting an honor like this, and it almost is, like, weird and uncomfortable in a beautiful way, because I'm just not used to it.

I'm really not.

And so to be honored again in this place that I've called home for 15 years by the Nevada Ballet Theater, who does such incredible work.

And talk about philanthropy.

I'm such a fan of giving an art-- I could cry right now, because giving an arts experience to a kid, a young person, for me, it's the best thing.

It completely is a life-altering experience for those who soak it in and take it in.

And so for the Nevada Ballet to really be about that, especially in a day and age where a lot of times youth programs get, I mean, arts programs get cut, get the short end of the stick, such an aligned mission that we share.

-Were you one of these children at one point?

-Yes.

And in fact, you know, I grew up like, I'm going to call it, to the lower side of middle class, lower class side of middle class.

And my parents didn't have money for those extras.

They didn't send us to the fancy camps and the bus tours and all the-- so they found a community theater program that put on shows on the traveling showmobile, and that was our camp.

That was my summer.

And so I think it's so important, you know, for parents.

I see friends and even family members of mine who, you know, they're trying to make ends meet and keep their kids entertained and stimulated, and the arts programs that are free to everyone to enjoy are-- it's such an important thing.

-I believe the Diamond Debheads would greatly disagree with you that you are always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

-Well, so my Diamond Debheads and my Debhead community, they're incredible.

Hi, guys.

They're like this army out in the world, and but I think they actually would weirdly agree, in that they've been with me-- so if you're in this business for 38 years-- and listen, Donny Osmond is a dear friend of mine, and he'd probably say the same thing.

You're up, you're down, you're hot, you're not.

You're like, music's not really accepting me right now?

Well, I'll go in to TV.

TV is a little cold, I'll go into theater.

And so if you're versatile, you can always find a home for your talents and your energy.

But it is not a linear path, and I feel like the last five years of my career I've been in a rebuilding phase.

I had a crazy health journey with Lyme disease and was determined to not get sidelined.

And again, I still have to very much manage my output.

But the last five years, my manager, Heather Moore, and I have really been in a rebuild that's finally like taken off and taken hold with the Mixtape tour with New Kids on the Block who will be playing here in Vegas, and I'm so excited and proud of them.

And my own The Body Remembers album and the Winterlicious album and the tours.

But it's like my victories are my Debheads' and my Diamond Debheads' victories, because they've been-- they've seen me through the downs, and they've seen me getting sidelined a bit, and they've seen the critics kind of going, Oh, she's done.

And so we're all in this victorious, celebratory moment together now.

And it's, it's made sweeter by the fact that I have this community that has always had my back.

They were not fair-weather friends.

They've been like, We, oh, people are catching on to what we knew all along, right?

And, you know, I don't have any kind of inflated sense of myself or a diminished.

I'm like a realist.

I'm like I do what I do.

I love it.

People like it.

People don't.

Whatever.

So it's lovely that people are honoring me and celebrating me right now.

Like, that's just one of those pinch-me moments.

-Awesome.

For the Debheads who are going to get your memoir, what might they be surprised to learn?

-Ooh.

I mean, first of all, I'm sure the diehards are going to, like, point out something that I got wrong about my own history timeline.

I'm not kidding you.

They like, pretty much know more about me than me.

But I think that, like, really, the general public, who maybe grew up with me, maybe then lost track of me, I don't think they know the real challenges I've been through--you know, health, personal, financial, I lost my mom.

Like, you name it, I've been through the universally challenging experiences, but I go into pretty vivid details.

Like even my--I'll call him my pop soul mate, Joey McIntyre, is what he calls me.

It's so lovely.

-From New Kids on the Block.

-From New Kids.

I had him read it, and he was like, Okay, I thought I knew your story really well, but he even realized there was a lot he didn't know.

And he said he felt like, in reading it, that he was really there in these scenes.

I really wanted to paint pictures, because I've done a lot of things in my life and my career, and I kind of never stopped working, so I didn't want my book to read like a resume.

There were things I couldn't even mention or go into because it would be reporting on.

I wanted to take certain detours, like take certain experiences, and really try to paint a vivid picture so people felt like they were there in this scene as it was happening with me.

And so there's a very, very funny story I tell about something that happened with my mom in London.

I'm going to leave it at that.

I joke it's a Ken Jeong caper comedy waiting to happen.

But, yeah, so there are things that I relived.

I got on the phone with friends that were a part of a certain experience or family members, and I'm like, Tell me your recollection of this and your insight.

And I was able to quote them and kind of have my memory jarred where I was, like, missing certain details.

And so it's been a really intense journey.

-Only about 20 seconds left, but I know by being so raw in this, you've had experience with that in the past where maybe it didn't go your way.

Why do it now?

-You know, I'm a fan of timing.

I tried to get a book deal twice in my past in different chapters, and this is a time I just feel like, I call it "Newstalgia."

My audience is like, wanting to reflect and go back to those meaningful, nostalgic times, but also wanting the inspiration to move forward and live in this modern world with grace and vitality.

And so it just feels like the moment of all of that with my audience coming together.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-Debbie Gibson, thank you for joining Nevada Week In Person.

-Thank you so much.