Debbii Dawson is undoubtedly going to be one to watch in the pop world in 2026

American singer-songwriter Debbii Dawson has been considered a star on the rise for some time now, and her base of loyal fans has only continued to grow in the last year, thanks to her unique brand of pop that has one foot planted in the dance floor-friendly, sweet melodies of the 1970s and the other firmly in the present.

It’s fair to say that it’s been a long road for her to get to this point, though.

Growing up as the daughter of two touring multi-instrumentalists, Debbii was surrounded by music throughout her childhood, albeit not the sort of stuff you’d associate with a future pop star.

“We’re an immigrant family, so there was a lot of this and that,” she recalls to HuffPost UK of the wide mix of music she was exposed to from a young age. “It was a lot of religious music, like gospel, choral stuff, hymns, classical music, older country music. And stuff from the 70s and 80s…”

Given that last point, it’d be fair to assume that this early introduction to what she describes as classic “oldies” from the 1970s would have meant she was immersed from a young age in the music of artists he’s now being frequently compared to, including Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Queen and, most notably, ABBA.

Apparently, not so.

Due to her “more strict religious background”, combined with the fact that she was often on tour with her parents, Debbii says that a lot of popular music passed her by in her formative years.

Debbii Dawson's music has already been compared to everyone from ABBA and Queen to Elton John and David Bowie

After a period of home-schooling, Debbii says she “rejoined public school” when she was in her teens, which marked the first time she was exposed to many of the legendary artists that, later in her life, would become synonymous with her own sound.

She explains: “I remember I joined choir, and we were singing a Queen medley, and that was my first exposure to them, which was really late. I mean, I think I heard one of their songs on, like, Mighty Ducks when I was a kid…

“And then, I think I’d heard a couple of ABBA songs growing up, but [after that], I got into their whole discography. So I was exposed to a lot of ‘new’ old music when I was in middle school and high school.”

Through this new-found love of pop, Debbii soon decided that she wanted to create some of her own. Unfortunately, she was still experiencing debilitating shyness and social anxiety that initially stood in the way of her pursuing her dreams.

“I was very reclusive for years,” she admits. “I hadn’t put out any music. I put out a few cover videos on YouTube, and that’s it, and even when I started doing that, it was under a different name, and I had my head cut off, because I didn’t want anyone to know about it.

“So, I knew I wanted to do this, but I knew I had a lot of work to do, because I was really afraid to be in front of people.”

For many people, the first time they will have been introduced to Debbii was when she auditioned for America’s Got Talent, in front of judges Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel.

Debbii Daws pictured during her America's Got Talent audition in 2022

This was in 2022, at a time when shows like American Idol, The X Factor and

© HuffPost