Pop Star Tiffany
Releases Country Album

by Holly Marie Tong

She locked in listeners in the 1980’s as a fast rising teen pop star. She has graced the screens of televisions and the pages of countless popular na-tional magazines. She is the voice behind the unforgettable hit single “I Think We’re Alone Now,” (which was originally a hit in 1967 by Tommy James & the Shondells and written by Ritchie Cordell). She has toured the world making a significant splash in the entertainment in-dustry as a singer, songwriter and an actress. “She is Tiffany” and don’t think for a minute that she is rest-ing on her laurels. While it is indisputably essential to understand Tiffany’s prior successes and star studded journey, it is even more essential to understand that she is not only currently thriving, but her future is un-deniably bright and packed full of upcoming projects and exciting happenings.

Interestingly, while one may be led to first associ-ate Tiffany with pop music, she actually began her career in Nashville! At just 10 years old she performed on the Ralph Emery show and it was at this age that she had already shared the stage with George Jones, Jack Reeves and Johnny Lee. She can still recall taking in the country music scene, enjoying time at the Opryland theme park and watching her dreams take form right here in Music City. With that said Tiffany is undoubtedly, deeply rooted in country music and has always wanted to release an album within this genre. Combining her appreciation for all of her musical influences with her original and previ-ous chapters within her career, her album is truly one of the most well-rounded, diverse projects that I have ever heard. I find “Rose Tattoo” to be the perfect title for this album as it is not only the name of the Cali-fornia bar where Tiffany performed as a teenager but to me it also represents her positive individuality and charisma that makes her an artist we all love and ap-preciate.

I had the privilege of attending Tiffany’s CD release party that was recently held at the Lis-tening Room, and I was certainly “not alone” in my anticipa-tion as this venue was more packed than I had personally ever seen it. As soon as she hit the stage, it was certain as to why she has been so suc-cessful and why she will continue to experience that same fate. Tiffany is not only an outstanding vocalist but also a standout entertainer and a praiseworthy songwriter, having co-written all but one song on her new album. Upon listening to Rose Tattoo, you can expect to hear everything from the upbeat, foot-tapping party tunes that you will make you want to get up out of your seat and dance such as “Feel the Music,” and “Crazy Girls,” to the touching ballad “He Won’t Miss Me.” Tiffany shows how down to earth she truly is in her quirky tune “Just That Girl,” a feel good number in which listeners can join her in the quest of learning to love their personal imperfec-tions. Rose Tattoo strongly showcases a broad array of influences, emotions and melodies successfully covering all bases and all audiences. Being influ-enced by everyone ranging from Patsy Cline to Bon-nie Raitt to Emmy Lou Harris to Stevie Nicks, Tif-fany knew she wanted an album that would have ele-ments of everyone and everything. She knew she wanted this project to be a fit for her personality and a reflection of who she is, while showcasing her vo-cals and bringing an edge. I would say she has done just that…and exceedingly more!

Tiffany’s current career excitement is far from ending here though, as she is also gaining recognition for her acting skills. She just starred in a sy-fy channel movie with Debbie Gibson earning good ratings. “It was so much fun. I had such a good time with the fight scene. It was my favorite scene and I really got into it,” smiles Tiffany. Having always been a huge sci-fi fan Tiffany jumped on the opportunity to do this project and understandably had a blast in doing so. She says that it will be in DVD form soon and should be avail-able at places such as Wal-Mart and Redboxes. She has also appeared in a national commercial with Meatloaf and the CBS television shows “The Young & The Restless” and “How I Met Your Mother.” If that isn’t enough for one person, she also recently won VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club. Not surprisingly she has recently been featured in national articles and television shows. Tif-fany says she would like to be in-volved in more acting in the future and would love to work with life-time movies. Perhaps some more science fiction could be also be ap-pearing on her future agenda. After all, she loves it and she sure is good at it!

Make no mistake, while Tiffany loves acting and is from California, she is currently residing right here in Nashville with her husband and son determined to enjoy a continued meaningful music career of longev-ity. It is clear that she is here for the love of music and the love of connecting with her fans. In the proc-ess, she enjoys supporting and encouraging others, forming friendships and networking. She places an emphasize on supporting the up and coming and spends a lot of time at various writers nights and com-munity events. While she has already obviously had an established career, her humble ability to support, befriend and learn from others shines through making her not only an artist that I highly respect profession-ally but also personally.

She is very grateful to her fans and always wants to thank them for allowing her to fulfill her dream. She absolutely loves being with her full band and enjoying the country music scene. She said that what moves her is what makes her different and that true Tiffany fans know her passion and know her influences. Her sound can be described as “organic country blues with a lit-tle flare of rock in it.” She says “Be refreshing, be quirky and be comfortable in your own skin.”

Just from being around Tiffany, her encouragement and positivity is contagious. When I asked her about career advice she stated, “Sometimes when you think you’ve lost everything, just know it will come back, it’s just a passing season, it’s not over. If you really love what you do, something will happen. Have a good time. Don’t ever think…oh, this place is a dive, or it’s just karaoke because no mat-ter how big or small, you are learn-ing to work on your vocals. You need to know who you are before people will pay attention. Sing in your room, do it for you…there is a difference. Know your strength, sing wherever you can whether its choir or wherever it is, get involved.”

“I’m goofy and young at heart. I have a sense of humor. I’m a hard-worker and a go-getter. I rise to all occasions and I am thankful,” says Tiffany. I say without reservation that Tiffany knows precisely what she is doing as she already has a loyal fan base and consistently gains new fans and friends everywhere she goes. I also say without reservation that her natural, real, respectable character is equal to her incredible talent. Equipped with her past successes, her acting, her new raved about album, her continued worldwide attention and a sure-footed promising future, it is safe to say that Tif-fany is unstoppable….and I am rooting for her all the way!

www.tiffanytunes.com