Teen Pop--80s Style

Question: Who began to challenge Debbie Gibson as the new teen queen, after taking I Think We're Alone Now to the top of the charts?

In one of the classes I teach, I happened to mention Debbie Gibson and Tiffany and they had no clue who I was talking about. Granted, these kids weren't born until the 90s, but come on! How can you not know who Debbie Gibson is? The closest I got was one of the girls realizing that she was a judge on American Juniors, that awful spin off of American Idol.

Debbie Gibson and Tiffany were the voices of my Electric Youth. I learned how to Shake Your Love and what Could've Been. Long before the Britney vs. Christina debates were those of us who spent our time defending our choice of teen pop queen--Tiffany or Debbie. Debbie Gibson wrote her own songs, but Tiffany was vocally superior--even if most of her songs were Beatles covers. Boys found themselves choosing between the saccharine blonde Debbie and the sultry redhead Tiffany. It was a tough decision to make. I decided to like them both and had all of the cassette tapes they released throughout their careers. I even got to see Tiffany in concert when she came to the Heart of Illinois Fair (and the then unknown New Kids on the Block was her opening act).

I still sing along to Tiffany and Debbie Gibson when I hear their songs on the radio during Flashback weekends. I've even done some of their songs when I've sung karaoke, although most karaoke DJs don't stock that type of music. What a shame. There is an entire generation of kids who have never known the original queens of teen pop.

Answer: Tiffany