Coming from the ’80s pop music scene I didn’t have these kinds of reality shows, so never in my wildest dreams would I think that these shows could be a career game-changer. Coming from the theater, I didn’t rule anything out. It’s one of the more refreshing gigs I’ve done.ĭo you think 17-year-old Debbie would ever imagine you’d be singing ABBA in an owl costume at this juncture in your career? It’s like being a child and playing dress-up. People love the show because it has magic to it and it’s very wholesome. I’ve sat where the judges sat, but in this moment, in this costume, I was thinking every reason I wanted to get into showbiz is happening right now: I’m playing dress-up, there’s a mystery involved, I’m singing and dancing and surprising people. I’ve been a mentor and a judge on American Juniors. That’s what was so fun about it! I’ve made a deal with myself to be super present in this chapter of my life. You’ve done music, acting, Broadway and some reality TV ( The Apprentice, Dancing With the Stars, Skating With the Stars), but is it safe to say this was one of the more unusual gigs you’ve had? I was in Beauty and the Beast, and I had this giant dress and wig, and this costume was way heavier because all the weight was on the shoulders. I pieced it together and the metallic body suit reminded me of my Liberace piano and the Thierry Mugler bodysuit Madonna wore. I have a song “Who Loves Ya Baby,” and in that song I wing “ Who, who, who loves ya baby?” and that was reason enough to be Night Owl.

She is nocturnal and I’m normally in bed with my dogs by 7 p.m. Just letting myself so far off the hook and “whatever happens happens.” I was here to fill a niche because someone fell ill on this multimillion-dollar production and I will be that go-to girl and giggle my way through the day and do my best. It was the one-year anniversary of losing my mom and I was in the Newark airport and I honored my Italian heritage and my mom by having pizza for lunch - I was done singing for the year and wasn’t going to start up again until tour - so I was a vocalist letting her hair down, having pizza and a Coke, getting on a dry airplane and just crying. I was so amped up and I had no idea how my voice would present itself. During the ride I got calls from wardrobe and they were like, “How about ‘Fernando?'” I just kept saying yes and laughing because it was so ridiculous. I took a flight from New York to Las Vegas and I was on the plane when the call came in, I came home and unpacked and repacked and the driver in the car heard us making arrangements and said he could drive me to L.A. I decided this would be my moment and this would be my way to do the show and, to quote P!nk, do a trust fall and be rock ‘n’ roll and show up not knowing anything about what I would be doing. I knew I would possibly do the show and that I could say no and properly prepare and do all that and still only last one episode.

I’ve had so many friends on the show - Joey Fatone, Donny Osmond, LeAnn Rimes - and when they called, I ended up filling in for somebody.

Had you ever seen the show before you signed up? Well, that was all you needed to know to figure out that panelist Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg was right all along: Night Owl was, indeed, OG pop royalty Debbie Gibson.īillboard spoke to Gibson before her elimination and found out how her mother’s death inspired her to get in the game, what a 17-year-old Debbie would have thought about her being on a reality singing show, and what fans can expect on her upcoming The Body Remembers Tour. The Night Owl impressed, but she would have to soar even higher in the Battle Royale showdown with Medusa, during which both had to tackle “The Winner Takes It All.” She put some serious emotion into the ABBA favorite from a vocalist who the clue package told us was a “ pop princess OG.” The judges had some pretty good ideas about who she was, guessing everyone from Sarah Jessica Parker (Ken Jeong, wrong, wrong, wrong, of course) and Paula Abdul to The Go-Gos’ Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper or Kylie Minogue. “I literally did the math and I had 16 hours’ notice… so I decided not to overthink it,” the veteran singer, actress, Broadway star and reality competition judge/contestant tells Billboard about the eleventh-hour invite to save the day. Not only did returning champ Medusa absolutely crush it again on the ABBA-themed night, but Night Owl also flew in and wowed the judges with her killer vocals and moves while rocking “Fernando” after getting the call less than 24 hours earlier to fill in for a sick contestant. The latest episode of The Masked Singer‘s ninth season had way more drama than viewers saw onscreen Wednesday night. Spoiler alert: This story contains information about contestants eliminated on Wednesday’s (Feb.

Night owl pizza menu