Chicago – Debbie Gibson was the youngest recording artist – at 17 years old – to write, produce and perform a number one hit (“Foolish Beat” in 1988), and her songs were the soundtrack to that era’s teen generation. HollywoodChicago.com caught up with the candid Ms. Gibson at the “Hollywood Show” Chicago.

Deborah Ann “Debbie” Gibson was born in Brooklyn, New York, one of four musical siblings. At age eight, she sang in the children’s chorus at the Metropolitan Opera House in New Your City, and took piano lessons. By the time she was in her early teens in the early 1980s, she had a handful of demo songs that caught the interest of Atlantic Records. In the meantime she started playing club dates, all while attending high school. Atlantic Records released her first album in 1986, “Out of the Blue,” and the single “Only in My Dreams” reached number four on the...