First Billboard Hot 100 top-10 hit with "Only in My Dreams"

On the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated September 26, 1987, Debbie Gibson's debut single "Only in My Dreams" peaked at No. 4, becoming her first top-10 hit on the nation's premier singles chart. Remarkably, Gibson had written the song herself at around age sixteen, and it was released as part of her debut studio effort with Atlantic Records.

The success of "Only in My Dreams" was significant not merely because of its chart position, but because it announced the arrival of a teenage singer-songwriter who wrote and helped shape the production of her own material at a time when most young pop artists relied entirely on outside songwriters and producers. This self-sufficiency set Gibson apart from many of her teen-pop contemporaries.

The single's crossover success — appealing to both the burgeoning teen-pop audience and mainstream pop radio — helped establish Gibson as a legitimate hitmaker rather than a novelty act, paving the way for the string of hits that would follow over the next two years. It also gave early validation to Atlantic Records' decision to sign a sixteen-year-old singer-songwriter, a bet that would pay off spectacularly within the following year when Gibson achieved multiple No. 1 hits that she wrote and produced entirely herself.