Tiffany: Teenage pop singer enjoys life as an overnight sensation

By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
July 29, 1988

When pop singer Tiffany embarked on her first tour last year, her record company used a gimmick to promote her: It sent her to shopping malls across the country where she sang to prerecorded music. Now, with a self-titled debut album that has sold 4 million copies, along with two No. 1 singles and a Top 10 hit, the 16-year-old is performing across the country with a seasoned six-piece band.

“For me, my success really was an overnight thing,” Tiffany said in a phone interview after a performance in Bucyrus, Ohio. “The buildup wasn’t slow at all, so I had to adjust quickly to everything that was happening. I think I’ve been very lucky, and I’m thankful I’m able to do this. Performing is all I’ve ever wanted to do since I was about 2.”

Tiffany will appear at 8 p.m. tomorrow at Poplar Creek Music Theatre, 4777 W. Higgins, Hoffman Estates. Pavilion and lawn seats, $17.50 and $13.50, are available through Ticketmaster (559-1212).

Though her career has been a dream come true so far, Tiffany said she realizes there will be a day when her songs won’t sell.

“This isn’t all fun and games for me,” she said.  “I’ve made a commitment to this, which means there’s a lot of hard work along with the fun.  Music is a long-term thing for me.

As in any job, you never know what will happen. Most people can get fired. Me? The fans may decide they don’t like me anymore in a couple of years and won’t buy my records. That’s my firing. It’s up to them. But I won’t go away with the first disappointment. I’ll persevere.”

While her songs – “I Think We’re Alone Now,” “I Saw Him Standing There” and “Could’ve Been” – have helped plaster her face all over teen and rock magazines, her courtroom battles to become an emancipated minor have been reported faithfully in newspapers. Last month she withdrew the request, and while her mother is her legal guardian, Tiffany travels with an aunt.

“The suit has been resolved, but I don’t know if it’s to my satisfaction,” she said. “The case wasn’t really about my mother and me having this constant battle. It was a situation where I have a stepfather who tended to look at this whole thing as more than a lot of fun and more as a holiday paycheck.

“It was never that I didn’t want to give to my family, but I don’t think I should have to give enough so that no one is working besides me. It’s important to me that there’s money in a trust fund that can’t be touched until I’m 18, because there may be a period in my life when the money isn’t rolling in. No one else seemed to be thinking about that.

They were kind of looking at it as, `I can buy a Rolls-Royce now.’ ”

Born Tiffany Darwish in 1971 in California, the young singer chooses to be billed only by her first name. She has maintained the youthful enthusiasm she had when MCA Records signed her to a recording contract two years ago, but doing interviews, fashion shoots and appearing on television talk shows have given her newfound maturity and confidence that weren’t evident last year.

Her lifestyle requires that she walk the fine line between childhood and womanhood. One minute she’s studying American history with her tutor, who also plays  drums in her touring band, and the next she’s jetting off to Europe for concerts.

Like her peers, Tiffany likes to pig out on pizza. But her heavy work schedule and high metabolism rate keep her coltish figure lean.While she can afford to wear designer clothes, Tiffany said she still dresses in the universal teen uniform of T-shirts, jeans and jackets.

“I don’t want to wear clothes that aren’t true to who I am or (those who buy) my records,” she said. “While I’ve noticed a cross section of people aged 4 to 60 at my concerts, I think my strongest following is made up of teenage girls. I want them to be able to come and see me onstage and duplicate my wardrobe if they want to with a stop at the mall.”
Laughing, Tiffany added, “I love shopping, but I’m not really a clothes horse. My 4-year-old and 8-year-old sisters blow me away in the fashion department.”

This fall, Tiffany will resume her studies as a senior at Leffingwell Christian High School in Norwalk, Calif. Though she admits she’s not the best student, Tiffany said she’s enthusiastic about boning up on math.

“I want to become one of those people who can figure things out in their head without using paper and pencil to calculate the problems,” she said.  “One of the good things about having a tutor is that I get one-on-one attention where I can ask anything I want without thinking, `Gee, does everyone know this already?’ In the classroom,  I’m definitely not a star.”