Debbie Gibson--Lost In Your Eyes (1989)

     As I listened to this song again for the first time in a couple of decades, the first question that leaped in my mind was, "Why wasn't this woman more popular?", especially in wake of the massive success of Taylor Swift. For many of Ms. Swift's fans who were much to young to remember Debbie Gibson, she is the youngest to ever write, record, AND produce a  number 1 single on the Hot 100. One of the reasons is the country music crowd is much more flexible when it comes to the age of their stars. The country charts are littered with teen girls who had success, some of them long term, (Tanya Tucker was barely in her teens when her first single, 'Delta Dawn" was released in 1972) Teen pop idols has notoriously short shelf lives, and this was how Gibson was marketed and was never able to get out of the mold created for her.
     The good news was that although her music star had faded by 1991 here in the states, she has continued to record and perform dance, then adult contemporary albums that remain popular around the world, especially in Europe and Japan. More importantly, in 1992 she made her debut on Broadway and the bulk of her success in the United States stems from her time as a singer/actress. Many may not remember as much today, but it was her eight top 20 hits (including two number 1's) from 1987 to 1989 that laid the foundation for the successes of many teen singers (several like Ms. Swift, who has taken greater control over their art at a much younger age) over the last two decades.