Debbie Gibson, Shanice to Perform at Capital Pride Concert
The talented singers and LGBTQ allies will perform from Capital Pride's Main Stage on Sunday, June 11.
The Capital Pride Alliance has announced two musical performers for the annual Capital Pride Concert, presented by HOT 99.5 FM/PRIDE Radio and DARCARS.
Performing at the Capital Pride Concert, which will take place during the 10-hour-long Capital Pride Festival on Sunday, June 11, will be singers Debbie Gibson and Shanice.
Gibson, who shot to fame in the late 1980s with two platinum albums featuring hits like “Foolish Beat,” “Only in My Dreams,” “Shake Your Love” and “Electric Youth,” has been writing and performing songs since her debut album Out of the Blue dropped in 1987.
In 2019, Gibson joined NKOTB on The Mixtape Arena Tour and served as a celebrity judge on Nickelodeon’s America’s Most Musical Family.
In 2020, she released the single, Girls Night Out,” which peaked at number 4 on Billboard‘s Dance Club Songs and U.K. MusicWeek chats. That song was later featured on her tenth studio album, The Body Remembers, along with “One Step Closer,” a collaboration with DJ Tracy Young that reached number 3 on the Swiss Dance Chart Top 100 in 2022. The album also featured a new duet of “Lost in Your Eyes,” featuring Joey McIntyre of NKOTB, with whom she shared a min-residency in Las Vegas. The Body Remembers climbed to No. 2 on the Apple Pop Sales Charts and achieved 1 million streams in its first month.
In 2022, the “One Step Closer Remixes” reached No. 3 on the Swiss dance charts and No. 8 on the Commercial Pop MusicWeek chat in the United Kingdom. Gibson went on a solo tour of The Body Remembers and celebrated the 35th anniversary of her debut album, Out of the Blue, with three sold-oiut shows in New York City. She later released her first full-length holiday album, Winterlicious and performed live during a broadcast of ABC’s Good Morning America. Most recently, she competed on Criss Angel’s Magic With the Stars, opposite Donny Osmond. This spring, she will release a new single and music video, “Love Don’t Care” and will embark on her The Body Remembers Encore U.S. tour beginning on May 25.
Shanice first became the grand champion on Star Search at age eleven, releasing her first album, Inner Child, at age 14 in 1991. The album’s featured song, “I Love Your Smile,” became a global pop hit in 22 countries, earning her a Grammy nomination. Other hit singles include “Silent Prayer,” “Saving Forever for You,” and “When I Close My Eyes,” which peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1999. In 1997, she became the first African American to star as Eponine in the Broadway production of Les Miserables, earning praise for her portrayal of the character.
Over the course of her career, Shanice has performed with a host of artists, including Justin Timberlake, with whom she sang a duet of her ballad “Yesterday”; Kenny Loggins, whom she collaborated with for his Live in the Redwoods album; Josh Groban, with whom she performed “The Prayer” in English and Italian; and Latin pop star John Secada, with whom she performed “If I Never Knew You” in English and Spanish on the multi-platinum Pocahontas soundtrack. She also performed background vocals for some other musical artists’ hits, including Toni Braxton’s “Come on Over Here” and “Un-Break My Heart, and Usher’s “Bedtime.” In 2006, after a hiatus during which she gave birth to her two children, she released her fifth studio album, Every Woman Dreams, which peaked at No. 30 on the R&B Albums chart.
Shanice also appeared on the hit reality show Flex and Shanice, which ran for three seasons on the Oprah Winfrey Network. She recently launched her own non-toxic, vegan lipstick line, “Smile by Shanice,” and is currently developing a new reality show.
Capital Pride has yet to announce other headlining acts, which will be revealed in the coming weeks.
“We are thrilled to bring these strong LGBTQ+ allies and music legends to our Capital Pride Concert Stage this year as we reflect on our heritage and prepare for our 50th Anniversary celebration concert for WorldPride in 2025!” said Jerry Houston, the program director for PRIDE Radio and entertainment chair for Capital Pride. “There is much more to come.”
Following the Capital Pride Concert, Grammy Award-winning producer, remixer, composer, and DJ Tracy Young will spin from the main stage as Pride revelers wrap up their night dancing to various hits as part of the Capital Sunset Dance Party.
The Capital Pride Concert will run from the Main Stage, located along Pennsylvania Avenue NW at 3rd Street, from 12-10 p.m. on Sunday June 11. For a list of performers throughout the day, visit www.capitalpride.org/concert.
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