Tiffany (singer)

Tiffany Darwish
Tiffany, performing at Gulfstream Park in 2003
Background information
Birth name	Tiffany Renee Darwish
Also known as	Tiffany
Born	October 2, 1971 (1971-10-02) (age 39)
Origin	Dearborn, Michigan, United States
Genres	Pop, dance-pop, teen pop, country, electronica (some California Music input)
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1984-Present
Labels	MCA (1986–1995) Azil / Eureka (1999–2001) Backroom (2001–2006) 10 Spot / Water Music (2007–present)
Associated acts	Chris Farren, Krayzie Bone, Debbie Gibson, Tommy Page, New Kids on the Block, Hydra Productions

Tiffany Renee Darwish (born October 2, 1971), known popularly as Tiffany, is an American singer who charted several teen pop hits during the late 1980s. Since then, she has performed in a variety of genres, from country to dance, both in the United States and other countries. Since 2007, she has been charting regularly on the Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Biography

Tiffany was born in 1971, to parents James Robert Darwish (of Lebanese descent) and Janie Wilson (of mostly French and some distant Inuit descent). Her parents divorced when she was very young. She grew up in Norwalk, California.

Tiffany began singing around 1975, when she was four years old, and learned the words to the song "Delta Dawn".

Early singing career

In 1981, Tiffany debuted as a singer with country music singer Jack Reeves at a country and western spot called Narods in Chino, California. She passed a hat along the crowd afterward, and collected $235 in what would be her first career earnings.

Tiffany was singing at a Los Angeles club named El Palomino when she was discovered by Hoyt Axton and his mother Mae Axton. Mae took her to sing in Nashville, Tennessee, where she performed at the Ralph Emery Show, singing Juice Newton's "Queen of Hearts" and Tammy Wynette's "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad".

In 1982, Tiffany toured several cities in Alaska. Also that year, she performed on the same bill as Jerry Lee Lewis and George Jones. At that time, she was managed by George Tobin. In 1983, Ronald Kent Surut became her manager.

Recording contract and fame

In 1984, Tiffany was signed to a recording contract by George Tobin who heard a demo tape she recorded and liked it.

In 1985, Tiffany appeared on Star Search with Ed McMahon, where she came in second place that year.

In 1986, Tiffany signed a contract that gave Tobin total control over her career. Then, she went into the studio to record her first album, and a contract was signed with MCA. Tiffany's eponymous album, Tiffany, was released in 1987. The first single released was "Danny", however, it was not promoted and failed to chart. Later, she went on a tour of shopping malls across the United States (the originality of this approach at that time earned substantial coverage on its own), titled "The Beautiful You: Celebrating The Good Life Shopping Mall Tour '87". The tour kicked off at the Bergen Mall in Paramus, New Jersey.^[1] Her second single, a cover of the Tommy James & the Shondells hit, "I Think We're Alone Now", became a number one smash hit on the Billboard chart, propelling Tiffany to international stardom. "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied the song as "I Think I'm a Clone Now" on his album "Even Worse".

Soon she was vying with fellow pop star Debbie Gibson for space on the covers of teen magazines, including Tiger Beat, and Teen Beat, as well as on television shows on MTV. Her ballad "Could've Been" also shot to the #1 spot of the Billboard charts in February 1988. Her modified cover of "I Saw Him Standing There" and "Feelings of Forever" also saw chart success from the over 4.1 million selling debut.^[2] Tiffany also set a record for the youngest female artist to top the Billboard charts with a debut album. Later that year, she cast the then-unknown singing group New Kids on the Block as the opening act for her concert tour. During the tour she briefly dated Jonathan Knight, a relationship that was short lived because of touring difficulties.

Family turmoil

In 1988, at the peak of her popularity, Tiffany ended up in the middle of a conflict between her manager (George Tobin) and her mother and stepfather over control of her career and earnings. This led to a court fight which included an attempt by Tiffany to have herself declared an emancipated minor. This was rejected by the court, but her grandmother (who supported and sided with Tiffany during the trial) became her temporary guardian.^[3][4][5][6] These legal battles took a toll on the singer's career.

Career stall

In late 1988, Tiffany released her second album, Hold an Old Friend's Hand, which was less successful than her first album. Although it did not feature any number one hits, the song "All This Time" made the top ten.^[7] Hold an Old Friend's Hand received mixed reviews from critics, but eventually went platinum. Later that year, she signed on to provide the voice of Judy Jetson for Jetsons: The Movie, which was ultimately released in 1990 after delays; she contributed three songs to the soundtrack, including the single "I Always Thought I'd See You Again". Some controversy resulted from the fact that Janet Waldo, who had voiced the character in all previous Jetsons material, was cast aside.

Shortly after her eighteenth birthday, Tiffany left Tobin's management and signed with Dick Scott and Kim Glover, who managed New Kids on the Block, by then a very successful teen pop group.

Tiffany's career suffered as musical tastes changed in the early 1990s, swinging away from Dance-pop, towards harder-edged rock and rap. This was shown in her third album, the Urban influenced New Inside. It was her first album away from Tobin, and some of her fans felt the new soulful, sultrier Tiffany was a hard sell. New Inside received mixed reviews from critics,^[8] but failed to make the charts, although she made several TV appearances to promote it, including on the sitcom Out of This World. Tiffany never regained her "Teen Queen" popularity.

In 1991, she took part in the recording of the song "Voices That Care", which peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Marriage and comeback attempts

In 1992, Tiffany married make-up artist Bulmaro Garcia, giving birth to their son, Elijah Garcia, on September 17, 1992.

During a brief early-1990s comeback attempt, Tiffany got back together with Tobin, released the album Dreams Never Die in Asia (but not in the United States), and did some performances at the Las Vegas Hilton in the summer of 1993, before breaking with Tobin again.^[9]

In 1995, Tiffany moved to Nashville to attempt a country music career, but never released any music of that genre.^[10]

In 2000, Tiffany released a "comeback" album, The Color of Silence, which received good reviews. Billboard pegged it as "one of the best pop albums of the year" and the year's "biggest surprise".^[11] Despite the critical validation, and a record-breaking turnout for her college campus tour,^[12] a record deal with a shady, now defunct company and the teen-pop "stigma" attached to her name hindered the album's potential success.

In 2004, Tiffany was the subject of an E! True Hollywood Story television show, and had a greatest-hits album released in Singapore and three in Japan.

Having divorced Garcia on August 1, 2004, Tiffany married a British man named Benn George, while dividing her time between Cannock, England and Los Angeles.

Back in public eye

In the April 2002 issue of Playboy, Tiffany appeared fully nude. Her '80s-era rival Debbie Gibson appeared nude in the magazine in March 2005.

Also in 2002, she appeared on the short-lived sitcom That '80s Show as "Candy", an employee of punk nightclub "Chaos".

On April 2, 2005, Tiffany was featured on the British TV show Hit Me Baby One More Time, winning the first heat and subsequently securing a place in the show's finale. She also appeared on the U.S. version of the show on June 2, 2005, but lost to hip-hop group Arrested Development. Both versions of the show aim to bring former pop stars back into the limelight. Tiffany performed the Girls Aloud song "Love Machine" on the UK version of the show. In 2006, Girls Aloud returned the favor by covering Tiffany's best known song "I Think We're Alone Now" on their greatest hits album The Sound of Girls Aloud.

In May 2005, Tiffany released the album Dust Off And Dance independently through CDBaby (and later for download on iTunes). It was dedicated to her new husband, but recorded as a "Thank You" to her fans (particularly her gay and European fanbase) for reminding her about the fun to be had with her career, and it serves as a reminder of a lighter time when she could lose herself on the dance floor.^[13] The album consists of Eurodance and Hi-NRG style songs. The singles from Dust Off And Dance, such as "Ride It", "Fly", "Be With U Tonite", "Na Na Na", and "Artificial Girlfriend", all charted on listener sponsored radio stations that also stream online, such as WMPH and C895Worldwide. Both radio stations are Rhythmic/Dance format stations. A few of the singles made the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

Tiffany toured with the album, which in September 2006 was nominated for six JPF awards. She won for best dance song of the year for "Be With U Tonite" and best dance CD of the year on November 4, 2006. She was mentioned several times (along with fellow pop diva Debbie Gibson) in the romantic comedy film Music and Lyrics.

In 2007, Tiffany was also one of the contestants on the fifth season of the TV show Celebrity Fit Club, going from 152 to 124 lbs for a loss of 28 lbs (69 to 56 kg for a loss of 13 kg) (11 to 9 stone for a loss of 2 stone).

In April 2008, Tiffany began appearing in an ad, entitled "Paradise by the GoPhone Light", for AT&T's GoPhone, which featured Meat Loaf. The ad, which parodies Meat Loaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", has been released in two versions, a long form and a short form, the latter of which cuts out most of Tiffany's singing part.

Also in April 2008, Tiffany made a cameo appearance on the situational comedy How I Met Your Mother in the episode "Sandcastles In The Sand", playing herself as a backup singer in an '80s-inspired pop star music video by Robin Sparkles — "Sandcastles in the Sand".

In recent years, Tiffany has performed frequently at gay pride events. Although she is heterosexual, she is a supporter of gay rights.^[14]

In 2008, Tiffany appeared in the second season of the Mojo show I Bet You.

On October 12, 2008, Tiffany was featured on MuchMoreMusic's new series called "Where You At, Baby?!"

On October 18, 2008, Tiffany appeared on the CMT reality show Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling (CCW) where she was eliminated in the first episode due to poor wrestling performance. She was the first contender to be eliminated from the show.

New record contract

Tiffany has signed a record deal with 10 Spot Records, a new division of Water Music Records Group, which is distributed by Universal Music Group. She released a new album on June 5, 2007, entitled Just Me.^[15]

Tiffany has also re-recorded an updated version of "I Think We're Alone Now" for a new album of cover material released by Cleopatra Records in early April 2007, entitled I Think We're Alone Now: '80s Hits and More. The album, which carries a picture of Tiffany from her 1980s glory days, contains several updated versions of songs from her debut album, and also features her take on songs like "Voices Carry", "Kids In America", "Venus", and more. The new album contains all new material in a singer/songwriter format à la "The Color of Silence". It includes a studio recording of "Winter's Over". The first single from the album, "Feels Like Love", was released on May 1, 2007. On April 15, 2007, Tiffany filmed a music video for "Feels Like Love" in Los Angeles.

In early August 2007, the dance single "Higher", not featured on the album, began showing up online. On October 2, 2007 (Tiffany's 36th birthday), it debuted on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart at number 45, her first Billboard chart appearance since 1989; since then the single climbed the charts to #19.

In March 2008, an independent limited (500 copies pressed) release album, Mimi's Kitchen, full of rare demos from age 3 up until the present, was shipped to fans in a personalized package which included autographed photos, two autographed CDs, and the "Mimi's Kitchen" demo collection. A small subset of the release also included Playboy T-shirts.

In late April 2008, a track with the same name as her 2005 dance album, "Dust off And Dance", became available for download on the web. The song is Tiffany doing vocals for a dance team called Hydra Productions, and the song is found on their album Liquid.

In late July 2008, a new Tiffany dance song titled Just Another Day was released on CD by perfectbeat, remixed by Dave Audé. The song is rumored to be from an upcoming dance album yet to be released by Tiffany also including another new song Tiffany has been performing live, "Move Your Body." In December 2009, Tiffany debuted a new ballad, Someday Soon, through her Myspace page.

Return To The Billboard Charts

In late 2007, Tiffany returned to the US Billboard dance charts, charting at #19 with her single "Higher". A year later, November 2008, she returned again at #28 with the dance single "Just Another Day". In early January 2009, Tiffany grabbed the number-one spot on the Hot Club Play Breakout charts with the single "Dust off And Dance" with Hydra Productions. This coincided with her appearance in the premiere episode of the Australian comedy series Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure in March 2009, when Lawrence, a fan of Tiffany's work, sought her out for advice on writing a lovesong for his childhood crush.

Film

Tiffany is making a foray into an acting career. The short film The Isolationist made the festival rounds. Her character, Barbara Newman, is a sexually aggressive woman unwilling to let a co-worker enjoy some alone time. In 2009, she completed work on her first feature film, Necrosis (released internationally as Blood Snow), a psychological thriller where she stars alongside James Kyson Lee and George Stults. In the film, she plays Karen, a fun-loving adrenaline junkie who takes matters into her own hands after a blizzard traps her and her friends in a cabin and paranoia gets the best of them. Necrosis premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Tiffany's former music rival, Debbie Gibson, had her film Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus premiere at Cannes as well.^[16] Tiffany also stars in a film from The Asylum, the mockbuster Mega Piranha^[17], directed by Eric Forsberg and also starring Barry Williams.^[18]

Tiffany and Debbie Gibson will star in a Syfy original movie entitled "Mega Python vs Gatoroid", set to be released in 2011. ^[19]

Other musical artists named Tiffany

Tiffany Darwish is not the only musical act to go by the stage name Tiffany, which has at times caused confusion for her fans. In 1984, a song entitled "Remembering Love", credited to "Tiffany", was released in Canada, followed up in 1987 by another song, "In The Dark". As these turned up in used-record catalogs, fans debated whether they were by "the" Tiffany or not, and even Tiffany's own denial wasn't always fully trusted (people sometimes suggested that she was either mistaken or was trying to cover up early failures in her career). However, these releases were ultimately found to be by Canadian singer Kimberly Warnock, who has sometimes used the stage name "Tiffany" but has no other connection with the better-known "Tiffany".

Other uses of the name for musical artists or groups have included a 1960s British vocalist, a 1970s Dutch band, a gospel band, a German band, an Italian singer, and two different R&B singers (with real names Tiffany Nichole Tatum and Tiffany Lane, the latter of whom is better known as Charli Baltimore).

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Singles

Footnotes

• ¹ Released in Asia only.
• ² Reached #19 on the Billboard Dance Charts. Release exclusive to Perfect Beat.

Music videos

Tiffany performs in Las Vegas in 1993

Tiffany performs in Florida in 2003

References

External links

• Official website
• Tiffany at the Internet Movie Database
• Ten Minutes with Tiffany - Ross von Metzke - GayWired.com
• Official Twitter account