From the Los Angeles Times (April 2, 1995):

(what Debbie thought of working with the Circle Jerks)

• "It was so loud, I had to wear earplugs in the control room. It was definitely different, belting out words like 'I want to destroy you.' But when you can understand what they're saying, their lyrics are actually pretty deep. They're great guys and I had a blast working with them."

From USA Today (April 25, 1995):

• "I live and breathe songwriting. I was 10 minutes late tonight because I had a song idea. I was in my makeup and my dress and at the last minute I went, 'Boy I've got to write this idea down.' That's just how my life is all the time."

From ASCAP Playback Magazine (May/June 1995):

• "One the one hand, I look at the last eight or nine years and I think, my God, that's nine years under my belt for recording; toruing; doing theater and all that stuff. And on the other hand, I feel like a debut artist and this is a debut album. It's interesting and exciting."

From Hollywood Moms (May 7, 1995):

• "For as long as I can remember, I walked, talked, and sang, and entertained. I mean, this picture that I look at, and, you know, I don't even remember it, obviously, because I was only two."
• "I tend to get into something, like two feet and jump in, you know, she's always kind of going, 'Come on, Deb, it's your career, slow down, take it easy'."
• "I'm kind of a quirky dresser usually. Like today, I'm actually pretty put together, but I dress kind of off sometimes, but that's just part of my personality."

(about Deborah and her mother working out at the gym)

• "It's kind of also inspiring to work out with someone else, because, like, my mom just started working out about a year ago. And I think, 'Oh, God, I'd better keep up. She'll run circles around me'."

(about Deborah's mother's "recipe for success")

• "It's like, she's got a professional life, her own personal life that includes, like you saw, the working out. She takes a lot of time and energy, but still there's always time left her her four kids and her two grandkids. And it's just amazing - like 'Supermom'."

From Billboard (May 27, 1995):

(reflecting back to the "Out Of The Blue" era of her career)

• "At the time, I thought it was a piece of cake. Very often, I was playing three clubs a night, sleeping two hours a night, and dashing off to high school. It all seemed very normal to me at the time-especially because I've always believed that success comes from hard work. But I don't think I could ever go back to that kind of lifestyle and not completely lose my mind."

(talking about the sound of the "Think With Your Heart" album)

• "I've been wanting to make a record like this for a long time. But it was hard to get the wheels turning, because everyone wanted me to stay in that pop radio vein. The truth is that I'm not really into a lot of what's on pop radio right now."

(about doing some cyber-research on her fanbase)

• "What we found is that there is a whole network of people who are college age and older, who are fairly well educated and are looking for an alternative to what's on pop radio. They are into books, movies, and go to cappuccino bars instead of alcohol bars-they are actually a lot like me."

(about no longer being preoccupied with industry trends and politics)

• "The ideal situation would be to bypass all of the drama and mayhem and just get the music right to the people. I'm confident that we'll eventually figure it out."

(about her stage career)

• "The cool thing is that people have been so responsive to my work on stage that I've actually had to turn things down. I have so many things I want to do, from flying an airplane to writing a symphony, and doing motivational speaking to groups of teenagers. Making records is now only one part of a great big picture in my life."

From an interview on Inside Edition (May 30, 1995):

• "The music now is about my personal life, where I'm at as a 24-year-old young woman, so it's very honest and it's very pure and it's very emotional."
• "And I always had people telling me, 'You can't do this. You're from Long Island, how do you expect to be on Broadway? You can't go into the city and be on Broadway.' What do you mean? It's an hour away! Of course I can be on Broadway someday."
• "I did, like, a couple of sexier videos, because all of a sudden I went, 'Wow, I have a body. I have this side of me that I haven't shown yet.' And I started kind of playing around with that side of things."
• "One of my favorite songs from the album is a song called 'For Better or Worse,' and it's basically about unconditional love, which is, I'd say, an ongoing theme in my personal life."
• "What I love about how my career has gone up to this point is that I've always, always put my head down on my pillow at night, and I've been able to say that I've done, honestly, what I've felt like I wanted to do. And that's really all you can hope for in everything you do."

From an interview on the Biggers & Summers show (June 23, 1995):

• "I wanted the tools to be able to work on arrangements and work on demos. Because anyone who writes knows that it'll cost you a thousand dollars to demo one song, and you'll come out with something that didn't even sound like what you had wanted it to sound like. So, the best thing to do is to learn how to do it yourself."
• "I expressed a big interest in all of it. And my parents are just really supportive and basically thought, 'Well, wow, she's right. If she did have the tools she probably could do this.'"
• "I was playing when I was, like, 4... by ear. So that's how they knew that, you know, that I just loved it, because I'd just sit and fiddle around at the piano for hours."
• "I did theater throughout my whole childhood. And, Long Island is great for the arts. There was always a show to be in."

Deborah talking about the songs on her fifth album, Think With Your Heart:

For Better Or Worse

• "This song was written during the last day of mixing, and I happened to hum a few bars on my A&R person Brian Koppelman's voice mail, only because the notebook with this song in it was sitting in front of me at the time. He called back and said "It looks like we have more recording to do." So, Tony Visconti whipped up a string arrangement over the weekend, we put together a rhythm section, recorded the rhythm section, strings, piano and vocal all at the same time in about an hour and a half, and it's the first single! I wanted this song to be more about the mood than anything else, and "magic" either happens or it doesn't. I was surrounded by family and friends while recording this song, which truly made it a "performance" and a very memorable day. "

Didn't Have The Heart

• "During the rehearsal period for "Grease" in London, I sat down and wrote this song. It stemmed from my own complicated love life. Let's just say long distance relationships are tough! I've heard several different interpretations of the lyrics to this song, which leads me to believe I shouldn't say what my exact inspiration was, not to take away how each individual listener may relate to it. This is probably the most fun song to sing from a technical and emotioal standpoint, and it goes to show you that a heartbreaking situation can lead to something to sing about! "

Will You Love Me Tomorrow?

• "I performed this song so many times on the road that I thought it was about time I recorded it. I feel as if it is my song, although in reality I can only wish I wrote it. To me, Carole King is one of the best storytellers and melody writers of our time. Most of all, what appeals to me about her is her honesty. I've always believed every word she was singing that's what I strive toward in my own music. As a young woman experiencing dating and love in the nineties, where we're faced with AIDS, abortion issues, emotional and moral issues that have been around since the beginning of time, I feel "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" is an extremely important song, because young people can't afford to be casual about love for so many reasons now. This generation is so much about commitment and wanting to know something more than a one night stand. Along with the deeper meanings that can apply to the nineties, this song is also timeless emotionally and melodically. "

Dancin' In My Mind

• "This song was written after a first date with what turned out to be a short-lived summer romance. It's about cherishing every moment, every dance, and every chance meeting because sometimes the memories are all you're left with. It was written during a ten day song writing trip to Nashville and was recorded as a piano/vocal demo at the end of a country song demo day. (Those songs were written for artists other than myself. I don't have that natural "twang" in my voice despite many nights of two-stepping!) I love the pizzicato strings and how they elude to a night at the ballet! "

Dontcha Want Me Now?

• " After eight years of recording, theater, being on the road and promotion, I spent the summer of '94 being a teenager at the age of 24! This song is based on a flirtatious friendship I had with a guy and how it seemed to me that the second I got back to work on my new record was the second he paid more attention to me! Songs like "Crocodile Rock" influenced this fun rock & roll number. If I have a sassy side, it's showcased here! I feel this is a nice release from the more emotional material featured on the album. I think this is my most profound song to date... (only kidding). "

Can't Do It Alone

• "I didn't write this about any relationship in particular, but it's definitely from the heart. It is a mixture of emotions from various scenarios. Most successful things in life are a team effort, especially relationships. That message is at the hear t of this song."

Think With Your Heart

• "Everything is OK in life if I can close my eyes at night knowing that I was honest with myself that day. I feel that the word "soulful" doesn't apply to any one kind of music or the range of the singer or anything you can put your finger on. Instead it is the feeling that the performer is truly opening up, peeling back the layers and letting the audience have a glimpse of what's inside. So often in love we analyze out of fear of being hurt, thus pulling back from something that is as real as we thought it was in the first place. This was the first song written for the album over two years ago. It was recorded with a 44 piece orchestra live in London at Air Lindhurst Studios, a beautifully converted old church. I recorded this song while trying to fight off a virus, which later that night put me in the hospital. Many people say that Air has angels in it, and based on how I was feeling and the performance we came out with, I truly believe it to be so."

Too Fancy

• "This song definitely stems from my theatre roots. I can't tell you how many times I "performed" this song in the studio for anyone who cared to listen and watch! I am a simple person, not too high maintenance. I like guys who aren't jaded or spoiled. However, the part about "court side seats" is completely a lie (though I prefer to call it "artistic license") because I wrote this song the day after blowing off sitting with my friends in the "sky seats" because of a better offer to sit down on the court where the action was! I was in a moral dilemma for about a minute and a half, and when I ran it by my friends, their response was "GO! We would do the same thing!" "

You Don't Have To See

• "I wrote this during a dinner break at the studio during the same trip to Nashville that "Dancing In My Mind" was written. I found myself so inspired in that town because of the sincere love of music that was in the air everywhere you went... even at the Pancake House! Everyone writes and sings and plays with such joy it is contagious. I think the production even has that Nashville flavor combined with a gospel feel (provided by some of my favorite vocalists). The message in this song is pretty basic... Mind your business! Especially when it comes to affairs of the heart. You can never feel or see through someone else's eyes, so instead, try to be supportive of people you love, their opinions, and the people who are special to them."

Two Young Kids

• "I was inspired to write this song after having dinner in London with a couple who'd been married for fifty years and still seemed to have the same passion for each other and the same zest for life as the day they met. I kept thinking in my head "I want that to be me someday." Me and who, I don't know... but me and somebody! I also watch my Grandparents who also just celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary (this song was played at their party) and it amazes me that two people can maintain that level of love and commitment for so long. My grandfather suffers from Alzheimer's, but is still very much aware of my Grandmother having been with him for so long and even manages to crack jokes about it! I've always wanted to tell a story in a song, and this is the first time I've painted enough of a visual image to bring people with me to that table London. "

Let's Run Away

• "Isn't it infuriating when you feel someone feels something for you, but won't take the chance? Life's so short and love can be so wonderful that sometimes I too wish I could let go of the fear and venture into that fairy tale-like place that love can take you. I didn't want an actual drum groove for this song. Instead, I wanted it to sound more ethereal -- Like the listener entered an imaginary place."

From the Boston Herald (July 5, 1995):

• "I think the people who were listening (in the '80s) were listening because I was singing and writing about things they could relate to, because we were all the same age."
• "I think if people realize that we're still the same age and I've progressed as they have in my personal life, they'd be able to relate to this music."
• "What used to be pop music is now considered alternative, because it's alternative to what's popular."
• "(My fans) aren't really like the bar crowd. They're more like the coffee-bar crowd, with people who read and go to school."
• "I really like the fans I come in contact with. They're really cool, intelligent people who look for an alternative to what the radio is throwing at them. There are actually people out there who want something different."
• "Probably a lot of the people who have preconceived notions about me have never seen me perform. It does take people a minute to kind of readjust their way of thinking, but people should listen with an open mind and fresh ears to get what they want from the music."
• "I'm targeting people, whoever wants to come and listen. I'm performing in places that are really for all ages; so, whoever feels intrigued by this music will hopefully hop on board."

From the Star-Ledger (July 19, 1995):

(talking about her albums)

• "My very first album was very honest, but after that, the next couple of albums were really tailored to radio, there weren't me. I'm much more interested in traditional pop music, and I've developed this I-don't-care-what's-happening-now attitude."

(about the fans' reaction to the "new" Debbie)

• "They love it; they say it's their favorite album."

(about doing Broadway)

• "People said to me, 'Oh what a great career move.' But really I'd done musical theater a lot when I was a kid, so it was more a return to my roots. 'Eponine' was a role I'd always wanted to play."

(about writing most of the songs for "Think With Your Heart" while in London)

• "When I was there I wrote constantly, and so many had accumulated that I just felt it was time to sing and record my own music."

(about doing the tour at Borders)

• "We hate to call it a mall tour; it's really a 'Border' tour. 'Borders' just felt like the perfect place to reach people interested in hearing my music, because it turns out that the fans who have stuck with me are more coffee-bar people than bar-bar people."

From an interview with KTLA (July 21, 1995):

(about the song "For Better Or Worse")

• "Actually I heard that there was a marriage proposal to it on the air, and I've been getting out and doing, like a promo tour and kinda doing little acoustic sets and meeting people and people have been saying 'oh, that's my wedding song now.' One girl that told me a really funny story. There's a lyric in there "May God take me first". She says 'whenever my husband gets mad at me he says 'May God take _you_ first'."

(asked if she's anxious to get back on the concert stage)

• "Yeah, yeah. That's what I've said, like I've been getting out and performing the new stuff which feels great, being a lot of these songs on this album I wrote like three years ago and by the time you get them recorded, get the al- I almost said album- CD pressed up, and get it out there, it's a long time, so I'm anxious, very anxious to get out."

From an MTV News segment (July 21, 1995):

Keith Morris, Circle Jerks: "If we had Neil Young on our record, that would give us, a lot of, like, alternative credibility."
Deborah Gibson: "I don't know what kind of credibilty this gives them, but it definitely is hysterical."

Keith Morris, Circle Jerks: "Mainstream."
Greg Hetson, Circle Jerks: "Bubble gum."
Keith Morris, Circle Jerks: "Mainstream."
Deborah Gibson: "Hey now! Watch it, watch it!"

Zander Schloss, Circle Jerks: "I think it was a natural progression for us."
Keith Clark, Circle Jerks: "We needed to increase our mall sales."
Deborah Gibson: "No, that's Tiffany."

Keith Morris, Circle Jerks: "It's an ugly pop song."
Greg Hetson, Circle Jerks: "She adds such a beautiful counter-melody towards the end."
Deborah Gibson: "It was kinda like, 'Yeah, do whatever you want,' so I tried to make it as bubble-gummy as possible."

Keith Clark, Circle Jerks: "How did you like the stage dive this evening for the first time?"
Deborah Gibson: "Oh... oh... thank God my mother didn't come."
Keith Clark, Circle Jerks: "Having all of those people holding you up?"
Deborah Gibson: "I knew there was a reason I told her to stay home."

Deborah Gibson: "We were just actually discussing their future tour dates and my future tour dates and the possibility of me, like, opening up with an acoustic set or something."
Keith Clark, Circle Jerks: "Uh-huh. And we would play on hers."
Greg Hetson, Circle Jerks: "I think we should do the acoustic set and you should do the electric set."
Deborah Gibson: "There you go."

(about the current musical scene)

• "I like what's going on. A lot of stuff that older people would say, 'Ah, that's just noise,' is actually quite musical."

(about her stage dive)

• "I looked off the stage and all those people were like, 'Come on Debbie! You could do it! You could do it!' And they were so friendly, I just couldn't resist!"

From an interview with The Malay Mail (August 11, 1995)

• "I think many youngsters are more attracted by the fame and fortune bit. They check out the latest musical trends, ride the wave, and then fall out of favour when the scene changes. But I am a musician because that's what I love to do."
• You get so many people telling you that doing this beat or that arrangement would make this song a hit, it's easy to lose sight of what it's all about."
• "I just want to exploit my potential to the fullest. It's a fear of mine that I don't do that. There are still many things for me to accomplish before I am satisfied."

(about Barbra Streisand)

• "Barbra has done so many things, and she's still going strong. She's my role model in every way."

(about the Think With Your Heart album)

• "It's the most honest album I have ever done. It was self-produced, so the songs turned out the way I wanted them to, without pressure from anyone."

(about singing with just the piano)

• "If the song sounds good with just that, then it's worthwhile proceeding further with it."

(about Carole King's "Will You Love Me Tomorrow")

• "That song is timeless, and I know the emotions expressed in that song ring true for many people."

(about working in theatre)

• "It was very good experience. I had to be very disciplined. It was just vocal training, then the show, and sleep."

(about her movie script, "Skirts")

• "It's about girl gangs challenging each other in dance contests in the 60s. There is some music for the dance scenes, but I am thinking about turning it into a full-fledged musical."

From an interview on the Mike & Maty show (August 29, 1995):

• "I think everybody changes from 16 to 24. Actually, I'm right on the verge of 25."
• "You know what I've been finding out about, like, 'growing up,' is that I go to the gym, let's say, and if I work out too hard, I am sore for, like, a week. I feel like, 'God, you can't do this?' You can't do the same things at 25 as you could at 16. You notice these little changes."
• "This is the time it all starts, I'm telling you. Like, 16, I mean, forget it. You could just get beat up, you could go through these grueling schedules..."
• "I'm glad I started so young, because you are really able to endure so much at that age."
• "I've been, I think, able to stay grounded in such a crazy business, and I attribute that a lot to my family, and especially to my mother. Because, you know, she just was always there to kind of remind me of what priorities should be. O.K., yes, I'm an artist, I'm a performer, but I'm a sister, I'm a daughter, I'm a granddaughter, I'm an aunt. Those things have to be as important, if not more important, than my career."
• "I think any parent that makes their kid sit at a piano against their will and practice, they're going to have a kid that's not going to want to play the piano."
• "This business is about working. It's really not about glamour. For me, the most glammorous thing about it is to b able to get on stage and perform my music for people. That's the privilege. And that's what all the work leads up to, and that's why it's worth it to me."
• "I've been sponsoring kids in Manila, for like, 6 years. And I got to meet them. Now, how many people write away in the mail... you don't even know if these organizations are for real. So, there are examples of the power of music that come into play, like that, where I go, 'This is great. This is amazing that I'm here with these kids.'"
• "Once I started writing songs, though, there was this feeling of, 'Oh my God, what a cool thing to be able to say to someone, 'You've never heard this before. And I know you haven't, because I wrote it.' I felt like, 'Wow, if I could present something new to people, that would be the ultimate thing.'"

From an article in HUH?! magazine (Fall 1995):

Paul Semel: What I want to do I play a couple of different things and get your comments.
Debbie: Cool. This is more interesting than telling people where you were born. Besides, I sang with the Circle Jerks, you cannot scare me....

(listens to "If I Only Had a Brain" by MC 900FT Jesus)
Debbie: I liked that. I'd put that on if I was getting ready to go out and wanted to feel attitude-y.

(listens to "Closer To God" by Nine Inch Nails)
Debbie: Uh-Oh, "parental advisory." Get my mother.
Paul Semel: I notice you're not tapping your feet this time.
Debbie: Yeah, the static approach is turning me off. It's very distracting. It's not like a good, clean groove like the other one.

(listens to "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" by Primus)
Debbie: Sailing the Seas of Cheese. I like these guys already, because if you asked me what my place in pop music was - especially with the first album - it was the cheesiest place you could imagine. No one else ever would've written "Shake Your Love," I can guarantee you. Which song is this?
Paul Semel: "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver."
Debbie: This is cool too, I like this. I'd go see them live if I was feeling really out of it and I just wanted to clear my head and bop around and not think. If that makes any sense.

(listens to "Super-Connected" by Belly)
Debbie: I don't like this. I don't like to hear breathy voices like that. I like people who belt it out.

(listens to "Disposable Heroes" by Metallica)
Paul Semel: This would be for when you come home and want to trash your apartment.
Debbie (laughing): Oh, that is what this is for. This is cool, though. I could picture this being played on violin; I picture these psycho violinists going "dit-dit-dit, ditty dit-dit-dit." It's got a classic rhythm. (She starts to do those conductor moves.) That's my impression.
Paul Semel: If you ever want a career in writing reviews, we always need people to write about metal.
Debbie (laughing): I've read enough cynical reviews about myself that I could write a good one.

(listens to "Double Dare" by Bauhaus)
Paul Semel: Did you ever go through a gothic phase?
Debbie: (shakes her head)
Paul Semel: No? Come on! You never got really depressed and listened to Joy Division?
Debbie: 'Fraid not. I've always been stable and happy. Makes for a really boring article, sorry. What is this? This is not good at all. This I'm just dying to turn off.

(listens to "But Anyway" by Blues Traveler)
Debbie: I know within the first eleven seconds that this could prompt a trip to Tower Records. I really like this. (Starts to dance in her seat; prompting images of Debbie Gibson doing that hippie dance in a tie-dye skirt).

Paul Semel: Some of these others you must know, so we don't have to play them. How about R.E.M.?
Debbie: I like them and respect them, but I don't find myself listening to them.
Paul Semel: Black Sabbath?
Debbie: I can't say I've ever listened to Black Sabbath.
Paul Semel: Oh, we'll have to put them on. Nirvana?
Debbie: I like Nirvana.
Paul Semel: Hole?
Debbie: Not into Hole, I'm not a Courtney Love fan. I probably relate to her as much as she'd relate to me.

(listens to "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath" by Black Sabbath)
Debbie: This is kind of cool. Y'know what I like about this? This is kind of like theatrical rock. I think. Y'think? That change was kind of dramatic...in the way Queen was dramatic. Their music was very theatrical.

(listens to "Digging the Grave" by Faith No More)
Debbie: (starts to smile).
Paul Semel: You always start to grin when I put on the heavy stuff.
Debbie: I know. I like the energy. I like the energy of this. I have CD's like this at home that I've literally bought just out of curiousity.

From Movieline (October 1995):

"I bought the Grease soundtrack when I was seven or eight. In true Debbie Gibson style, my fave was the boppy 'Summer Nights.' I loved the energy of the soundtrack."

From the Wilmington News Journal (November 13, 1995):

(about people thinking Debbie has nothing in common with Rizzo)

• "Most people would think that I don't have a lot in common with Rizzo, but I can relate to her on many levels. Rizzo's very energetic, very spirited. She's gutsy, she's tough, and yet she's vulnerable. All those qualities are shared by Sandy as well, which is why at the end of the show the two characters come together."

(about Debbie having a sense of humor about herself)

• "I think people don't often realize I've got a sense of humor about myself. If there is a Debbie Gibson joke to be heard, I've heard it. I enjoy seeing how other people react when I play a part or record with someone they wouldn't expect."

(trying to keep her career balanced)

• "I definitely want to keep it all balanced. I've been cross-promoting my new album while I'm on the road with 'Grease.' I've always loved and admired Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Patti LuPone --- people who have incorporated stage and screen work with a recording career."

(about her stage work broadening her fan base)

• "People come out to shows for various reasons, and they might see someone like me that they were otherwise not familiar with."

(about trying to shake public preconceptions)

• "On one hand, I feel like I've paid my dues and people should be waiting for my next single to come out. And on the other hand I realize that growing as an artist is more a readjustment for my fans than for me. All I'm doing is growing and changing naturally. Other people have trouble with it. But I find that it's through live performance that people really get a feel for what you're all about. That's why I like being out there. Rather than sit home and plan and scheme and create images, I'd rather just go out and perform. I'm confident that over time people will come around. Instead of trying to jump on a trend, I'm going to stick with what I love to do."

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