Debbie Gibson Opens Up About Being A Teen Star, And One Fan's "Dying Wish"

Debbie Gibson first came into our lives in the mid 80s with her song "Only In My Dreams." The singer/songwriter released the single in 1986, and was signed immediately.

She recorded her first album in only four weeks, and managed to make her way onto the Top 40 charts.

Gibson would later become the youngest artist to write, produce, and perform a Billboard number-one single, which she earned for her song "Foolish Beat."

She was one of the biggest names in pop music in the 80s, and her bowler hats and rolled up jeans made her the style icon we all needed.

But to some people she was so much more. She recently spoke with Fox News about her fans, and shared a story that was unbelievably touching.

When Gibson was only 18 years old, she was already a huge star and role model to girls around the world. One girl who she made an impact on was named Meghan.

Meghan got to meet Gibson as her "Make-A-Wish" trip, getting to visit the set of a music video.

"She was brought to my video set when I was 18 as a Make-A-Wish child and she was not supposed to live beyond 6 months or so, and it was her dying wish to meet me," Gibson said.

But something miraculous happened, and Meghan survived. "Well, she swears by the healing power of music and that kind of inspiration," Gibson said. "And she is alive today and she’s teaching."

The two got back in touch a decade ago and have kept in touch ever since.

“She called me the other day – we’ve kept in touch. She showed up at one of my concerts about 10 years ago and said, ‘I’m the girl whose dying wish it was to meet you, and I’m here.’ And I went – Oh, my God.

Then we exchanged numbers and she called me with her students about a week ago and said, ‘It’s Meghan, I want my students to say hi!’ So, that’s kind of insanely magical.”

While Gibson loves having the connection with her fans now, she's actually relieved that she didn't have to go through the constant contact that stars are expected to keep now.

"I can’t imagine being Taylor Swift trying to keep up with all of those fans at one time,” she said. “I have a little more of a core fan base, so I actually can interact with a lot of my die-hard fans, which is really cool. And, I’m glad it’s now and not then."

She thinks that the "unsolicited opinions" would be hard for a young star to hear.

“I think it’s such a juggling act. I just think all that constant feedback – I call it unsolicited opinions, and on social media, you get them all day long. And it’s hard for people of any age, but when you take younger people and impressionable people, I think psychologically it’s a lot to deal with. I’m so grateful that I did not have that element as a kid.”

She talked about how different it was for her when she was touring.

I was kind of like on a tour bus living in a bubble by myself – there weren’t even cell phones, I couldn’t even call Tiffany [Darwish] and go, ‘Hey girl, how are you handling all of this?’ There was nothing. So, it was me and my sister and Scattergories on the tour bus.”

She's living a "normal" life now, but when people do come up to her she is very appreciative.

"If people do recognize me and come up to me, they’re so cool and respectful and usually have some great anecdote about how my music fit into their life – and I never get tired of hearing about that. So, I feel like I connect to people on a very real level, and yeah – my life’s pretty sweet.”

She's got some big projects coming up.

The singer is going to be heading to Asia for a big tour, but when she gets back she will be teaming up with the Hallmark Channel for a secret project.

"I’m already talking to Hallmark about what’s next. There's a big project that I can’t say anything about yet that’s going to be announced in October, and next year it’s going to take up a great part of my year in a big way. So, things are kind of rocking right now.”

It's so nice to know that she's so kind to her fans after all these years!

Source - Fox News