I'm all about showing people what I can really do in country music. Give me a mic and let me perform, and I'll prove it to you.
— Tiffany Darwish
'I Think We're Alone Now' is one of the all-time great songs.
New Jersey was like home for me the first time I was there.
I wanted to be known as a better musician more than anything.
I've always really been a big fan of rock music. I wanted to record rock music when I was 14 or 15, but I was too young; it would have been ridiculous.
My best friend was crazy about Culture Club. She had posters everywhere. She joined the fan club. She knew everything about them. No one else sounds like Boy George, and I have great memories of singing along in her bedroom.
I'm a real girl. I get it. I gain weight, I lose weight. My styles change.
It's annoying when people go, 'I didn't know you could actually sing.'
I went to Nashville when I was 10. Tried to get a record deal. Everybody was like, 'You're 10. It's not gonna happen. Come back later.'
Some artists don't want to be involved in anything outside the performing. They'll say, 'You make the decisions and tell me what to do.' I want to be in on all of it. If there's a meeting where commitments are made that I have to carry out, I want to be there.
Like, it's fun for me to sing 'I Think We're Alone Now.' But when 'Could've Been' comes out as a single, that's a ballad and really shows my voice; then people will say, 'Hey, this girl really can sing.'
I pinch myself daily.
I took being a mom very seriously.
My parents were divorced when I was 2, so I don't remember much about them being together.
Over the years, I grew up as a person and made mistakes and had a great time and had a baby, kind of grew as a person and as an artist.
It was Stevie Nicks who made the biggest impression and really resonated with me. I found her intriguing and liked her voice. Her songs were kind of mysterious, and she was a woman in a rock band.
I shop all over. I love to shop.
I want to play the Grand Ole Opry for sure. And I want to meet and play with people like Emmylou Harris and Vince Gill.
'I Think We're Alone Now' just makes people feel good. It became a teen anthem twice. How cool is that?
Before I even got signed as a teen, I was singing with people like Hoyt Axton and Mickey Gilley. I worked with Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.
I am a redhead and was a tomboy for many years.
Let's face it: Robert Plant is hot!
For a lot of people, I will always be the mall girl, and that's OK. That was my start. But I can do so much more than that.
I'm a live performer, through and through. That's when I really get to shine.
Because my early music was heavily produced, people assume my voice was also heavily produced.
Looking back at old-school pictures, I never had a hair or makeup person. I wasn't required to wear a lot of hair and makeup. I was never really allowed to do that because it was the image.
I hope my career will be long-term. It's not something I'm taking for granted, but we try to plan that way.
From the time I was 2, I told my mom I was going to be a singer. And she'd say, 'Sure, honey, and tomorrow you'll want to be a dancer.'
At the end of the day, if you're still kickin', and you're still doin' what you love, and you still have a dream, that's all you need.
When you become a mega-icon overnight, there's no way to keep that intensity continually going.
I guess getting used to sleeping on the tour bus has been the hardest thing - that and settling for whatever food you can get on the road.
As a performer, you're constantly re-branding.
When you're a little girl, living your dreams, even tiny little stages in someone's backyard are amazing.
My image is jeans. An oversize sweat shirt. T-shirt. A pair of boots or sneakers. Very simple. And that's what I feel comfortable in.
I actually did my first tour at the age of 10 with my dad, and it was as a country singer. We toured through Alaska, and he took me to sing at places like county fairs, hoedowns, backyard barbecues, you name it. We were usually passing around the hat for gas money to get to the next gig.
I grew up on the West Coast during the '80s. But I wasn't a 'valley girl,' since I grew up in Norwalk, which was filled with Latina girls.
I think the biggest thing, for me, was just to be recognized as a songwriter.
If it's going to make you happy, go for it - life is short.
I love everything by Led Zeppelin.
Obviously, I wore a lot of crazy things on stage. That's just how it goes.
I didn't want to record 'I Think We're Alone Now,' because I thought it wouldn't show that I could actually sing.
I'm not a one-hit wonder who got lucky. This really is my life. I was born with this talent, and this is what I meant to be. I'm totally grateful.
I do love the social-media aspect of working records nowadays. You can do a video and put it up on social media, and people check you out who would never check you out before. I think it's much cooler that you can just get the product right to the fans.
I want to take acting lessons first. But I'd love to find the right film, a 'Breakfast Club' kind of thing.
I write a lyric, but when I reread it, I think it's awful and either hide it or crumple it up.
There was a lot of turmoil in my family.
I've always wanted to be a singer, since as far back as I can remember.
When I was growing up, I wanted to dress like a lot of my idols, but I simply couldn't afford it, or my mother would say, 'Too much make-up' or 'It's too old for you.' So all I've ever worried about is that my fans could relate to me, and as a teenager with the same tastes and interests.
Singing pop music was not something I planned, but I managed to do it.
I have a stepfather who isn't around just because he wants to be with my mother and sisters. There's more to it. He's around for the money. He's proven that in a lot of ways. And my mom loves him. And that's not wrong. But when it interferes with my career and my business and becomes a threat to me, there's a problem.
