Tiffany Darwish

**Tiffany** (born **Tiffany Renee Darwish**; October 2nd, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and former teen icon. She is most notable for her 1987 cover of the song "I Think We're Alone Now", originally recorded in 1967 by Tommy James and the Shondells, and released as the second single from her album, *Tiffany*.

Thanks to an original mall tour, "The Beautiful You: Celebrating The Good Life Shopping Mall Tour '87", Tiffany found commercial success; both the single and the album peaked at No. 1 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and *Billboard* 200 charts, respectively. The singles "Could've Been" and "I Saw Him Standing There", a cover version of The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There", followed soon after, with the former also claiming the No. 1 position on the Hot 100.

Although Tiffany's second album, *Hold an Old Friend's Hand*, featured a top-10 single, charted in the upper register of the *Billboard* 200 in 1988, and ultimately became platinum-selling, it failed to replicate the success of her debut. The 1990s saw two additional releases from Tiffany, 1990s' *New Inside* and the Asia-exclusive *Dreams Never Die*, both of which failed to rekindle significant interest. Tiffany returned in 2000 with her first album in six years, *The Color of Silence*. Although the album received some minor critical success, it also failed to achieve any significant standing. Since then, Tiffany has recorded four additional full-length albums, including an album of 1980s cover songs, and she continues to tour.

Outside of music, Tiffany posed in *Playboy* and has guest-starred on several reality television shows, including *Celebrity Fit Club*, Australia's version of *I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here* and *Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling*, and has acted in a handful of horror and science fiction films, including *Necrosis, Mega Piranha,* and *Mega Python vs. Gatoroid*, the latter co-starring fellow 1980s teen idol and musical contemporary, Debbie Gibson.

## Early life

Tiffany was born in Norwalk, California on October 2nd, 1971, to Janie Wilson and James Robert Darwish, who divorced when she was 14 months old. She grew up in Norwalk, California.

Tiffany began singing around 1975 at age four when she learned the words to the song "Delta Dawn". After her parents' divorce she lived with her father, but in her adolescence she rebelled against his strict Baptist parenting. While she was attending Leffingwell Christian High School, she and a group of friends behaved in a way that contravened school regulations.

## Music career

### **1980s**

In 1981, Tiffany debuted with country music singer Jack Reeves at a country and western venue, Narods, in Chino, California. She passed a hat among the crowd afterwards, and collected $235 in what was her first career earnings.

When Tiffany was singing at the Palomino Club, 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 and also performed on the same bill as Jerry Lee Lewis and George Jones.

In 1984, she signed a recording contract after George Tobin heard a demo tape that she had recorded. In 1985, she appeared on *Star Search* with Ed McMahon, where she finished in second place overall. In 1986, she signed a contract that gave Tobin total control over her career. She recorded her first studio album and was signed to an MCA contract. Tiffany's album, *Tiffany*, was released in 1987, but the first single she released from it, "Danny", failed to chart. Following the failure of "Danny", Tobin sent Tiffany on a nationwide tour of shopping malls, *The Beautiful You: Celebrating the Good Life Shopping Mall Tour '87*. The tour began at the Bergen Mall in Paramus, New Jersey. Her second single, a cover of Tommy James & the Shondells' hit, "I Think We're Alone Now", became a number-one hit on the *Billboard* Hot 100 list. It remains her biggest hit.

Tiffany's ballad "Could've Been" also peaked at the No. 1 spot on the *Billboard* charts in February 1988. Tiffany's modified version of the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There", retitled "I Saw Him Standing There", peaked at the No. 7 position on the Hot 100. "Feelings of Forever" also had chart success from the over 4.1 million selling debut. Tiffany set a record for the youngest female artist to top the *Billboard* charts with a debut album. Later that year, she toured with New Kids on the Block as her opening act.

In 1988, at the peak of her popularity, Tiffany ended up in the middle of a conflict in which Tobin was embroiled with her mother and stepfather over control of her career and earnings. This led to a court fight which included Tiffany's attempt to have herself declared an emancipated minor. This was rejected by the court, but the judge did allow her to move out of her mother's home due to obvious conflicts, and her grandmother (who supported and sided with Tiffany during the trial) became her temporary guardian. These legal battles took a toll on the singer's career.

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. *Hold an Old Friend's Hand* received positive reviews from critics, and immediately went platinum. Later that year, she provided the voice of Judy Jetson on *Jetsons: The Movie*, which was released in 1990. She also 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, had had all of her recorded dialogue in the movie replaced by Tiffany's voice.

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

### **1990s**

Tiffany's career suffered as musical tastes changed in the early 1990s, swinging away from dance-pop and 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 found the new soulful, sultrier Tiffany less appealing. *New Inside* received mixed reviews from critics, but failed to chart, despite several TV appearances to promote it, including the sitcom, *Out of This World.*

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

During a brief early 1990s comeback attempt, Tiffany reunited with Tobin on the album *Dreams Never Die*, which spawned the singles "If Love is Blind" and "Can't You See". Tiffany also headlined her own show at the Las Vegas Hilton in the summer of 1993, before breaking with Tobin once again.

In 1995, Tiffany moved to Nashville with plans to develop her career as a songwriter, as well as to make a return as a country music artist.

### **2000s**

In 2000, Tiffany released the album, *The Color of Silence*, which received favorable reviews. *Billboard* described it as "one of the best pop albums of the year" and the year's "biggest surprise". Her College Promotional Tour broke attendance records at most tour stops.

Tiffany posed for the April 2002 issue of *Playboy*,. Tiffany stated in interviews that she explained to her nine-year-old son that it was no different than posing in *Vogue* or *Elle*, except that it showed more. She added years later that while she had no regrets posing in *Playboy*, some of her family members disapproved because of how young her son was at the time.

On April 2nd, 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 US version of the show on June 2nd, 2005, but she lost to hip hop group Arrested Development. 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, her version of "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* through CDBaby at first, followed later as a digital release 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. The album consisted 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 streamed online, such as WMPH and C895Worldwide. 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.

In 2007, Tiffany, who had begun to struggle with her weight, was cast for the fifth season of VH1's *Celebrity Fit Club*. The show premiered on April 22nd, 2007. During the show, the singer's weight started at 152 lb (69 kg) and finished with 124 lb (56 kg), a difference of 18.4%.

In April 2007, Tiffany released a new album of cover material titled *I Think We're Alone Now: '80s Hits and More* through by Cleopatra Records. The album features updated versions of her first three top ten hits from her debut album, as well as cover versions of songs from other artists of the 1980s.

Tiffany's music video for "I Think We're Alone Now" is featured in an episode of *The Goldbergs*, an episode of *The Umbrella Academy*, and the 2012 film *Ted*.

Tiffany signed a recording contract with 10 Spot Records, a new division of Water Music Records Group, distributed by Universal Music Group. She released a new album on June 5th, 2007, titled *Just Me*. The album contained all-new material in a singer-songwriter format *à la* her earlier album *The Color of Silence*. The first single from the album, "Feels Like Love", was released on May 1st, 2007. On April 15th, 2007, Tiffany filmed a music video for "Feels Like Love" in Los Angeles.

In early August 2007, the dance single "Higher" began showing up online. On October 2nd, 2007 (Tiffany's 36th birthday), it debuted on the *Billboard* Hot Dance Club Play chart as the number-one breakout, her first *Billboard* chart appearance since 1989. From there, the single climbed the charts to No. 19.

In March 2008, she released *Mimi's Kitchen*, an album limited to 500 copies and featuring rare demos from age 3 through the present. It was shipped to fans in a personalized package which also 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 Internet. The song consisted of Tiffany performing vocals for the dance team Hydra Productions; it is on their album *Liquid*. In early January 2009, the single reached number one on the Hot Club Play Breakout charts.

In late July 2008, a new Tiffany dance song remixed by Dave Audé, "Just Another Day", was released on CD. It peaked at No. 28 on the US *Billboard* Dance chart. On October 18, 2008, Tiffany appeared on the CMT reality show *Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling*, and was eliminated in the first episode, due to her poor wrestling performance.

### **2010s**

On January 14th, 2011, Tiffany released the single "Serpentine" on iTunes. This country song was taken from the soundtrack of the film *Mega Python vs. Gatoroid*, in which she also starred. Her album *Rose Tattoo*, released on March 1st, 2011, was her first professional foray into country music.

On April 22nd, 2011, it was announced that Tiffany would be teaming up with fellow 1980s pop music sensation Debbie Gibson for an upcoming summer concert tour titled *Journey Through the 80's*. When asked what material the pair would perform in the concerts, Tiffany said it would be a 1980s retrospective that, in addition to their own material, would also feature covers by Stevie Nicks, Guns N' Roses, and Reba McEntire.

In December 2012, having opened and by then operating a clothing boutique of her own, Tiffany appeared on TLC's fashion show *What Not to Wear*.

In January 2014, Tiffany became one of the eight stars competing in season three of Food Network's *Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off*. She won an MVP bonus of $2,500 in the first week of the competition, and ultimately placed third.

In January 2018, Darwish was announced as a celebrity contestant on the fourth season of the Australian version of *I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!* On February 11th, 2018, Darwish was the first celebrity eliminated from the series after 16 days in the jungle. On September 21st, 2018, Tiffany self-released her tenth album, *Pieces of Me*, via her own label, Go On Then Records. The following month, on October 12th, 2018 Tiffany’s cover of Logan Lynn’s “Big City Now” was released as part of a multi-media double album titled My Movie Star produced by Lynn and Jay Mohr.

In April 2019, Tiffany released an updated version of her hit "I Think We're Alone Now" which featured a rock and roll arrangement. On May 2nd, 2019, the Mixtape Tour commenced in Cincinnati, OH. Performers on this tour include Tiffany, Salt-N-Pepa, Debbie Gibson, and Naughty by Nature, with New Kids on the Block being billed as the headline performers.

On June 25th, 2019, *The New York Times Magazine* listed Tiffany Darwish among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Tiffany kicked off her 2019 solo tour on August 31st, 2019 with a concert at Daybreak in South Jordan, Utah. The tour will include nearly 50 dates at venues across the United States through March 2020.

In October 2019, Tiffany was a featured guest on The Sam T. Blues Revue, the successor of The BluesMobile Radio Hour.

## Acting career

Tiffany has made a foray in films and television shows. Her first acting job was providing the voice of Judy Jetson on *Jetsons: The Movie*, where she replaced Janet Waldo because studio executives thought Tiffany would attract a younger audience. She contributed three songs to the soundtrack, including the main song "You and Me". The film was a box-office flop.

In 2002, she appeared on the short-lived sitcom *That '80s Show* as Candy, an employee of a punk nightclub called Chaos.

In April 2008, Tiffany starred in a national commercial campaign for AT&T titled "Paradise by the GoPhone Light" for AT&T's GoPhone, which featured Meat Loaf. The ad, which parodies his "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", has been released in two versions, an extended music video version and a short commercial edit.

Also in April 2008, Tiffany made a cameo appearance on the situation comedy *How I Met Your Mother* in the episode "Sandcastles in the Sand", playing herself as a backup singer in the 1980s-inspired music video by a fictional teen Canadian pop-star named Robin Sparkles who was inspired by real-life singers like Tiffany making a career out of performing in malls.

Tiffany starred in the 2008 short film *The Isolationist*, which made the film-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*, which was released internationally as *Blood Snow*. *Necrosis* was a psychological thriller in which she starred alongside James Kyson Lee and George Stults. In the film, she acted out the role of Karen, a fun-loving adrenaline junkie who took matters into her own hands after a blizzard had trapped her friends and her in a cabin, and paranoia got the best of them. *Necrosis* premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Tiffany's musical contemporary, Debbie Gibson, had her film *Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus* premiere at Cannes, as well. Tiffany also starred in a film from The Asylum, the mockbuster *Mega Piranha*, directed by Eric Forsberg, which also starred Barry Williams.

Tiffany and Gibson likewise starred in a Syfy original movie *Mega Python vs. Gatoroid*, which aired January 29th, 2011. Featured in the movie was a protracted catfight waged between Tiffany and Gibson.

The 2008 documentary *I Think We're Alone Now* was about two fans of Tiffany who both claimed to be in love with her and had been labeled "stalkers" by the media. The program followed them through their lives as they discussed the source of their obsession.

In January 2013, Tiffany was the subject of the Season 10 premiere episode of *What Not To Wear* on TLC. Later that year she starred in a Miracle Whip commercial alongside other celebrities, including Wynonna Judd, Lance Bass, Susan Boyle, The Village People and also participated in the Klondike Celebrity Challenge where she was dared to relive singing in a mall.

## Personal life

Tiffany's father is of Lebanese origin, and her mother is of Irish and Native American descent. Tiffany married makeup artist Bulmaro Garcia in 1992. Their only son, Elijah Garcia, was born on September 17th, 1992. They divorced in 2003.

She married British businessman Ben George in 2004. During the writing process of *Pieces of Me*, the couple mutually agreed to separate and have since divorced.

In 2011, she filmed an episode of the Biography Channel TV series *Celebrity Close Calls*. On the episode first broadcast July 7th, 2013, of the reality TV series *Celebrity Wife Swap*, she traded places with actress/singer Nia Peeples.

## Discography

### Studio albums

* *Tiffany* (1987)
* *Hold an Old Friend's Hand* (1988)
* *New Inside* (1990)
* *Dreams Never Die* (1993)
* *The Color of Silence* (2000)
* *Dust Off and Dance* (2005)
* *Just Me* (2007)
* *Rose Tattoo* (2011)
* *A Million Miles* (2016)
* *Pieces of Me* (2018)

## Trivia

* Her voice deepens through the years, making it sound stronger than it was.

## References

1. ↑ A Look Back At Rock On! Interview with Tiffany (December 22, 2016).
2. ↑ Tiffany R Darwish, Born 10/02/1971 in California | CaliforniaBirthIndex.org.
3. ↑ Britney's Wild Ride. *People*. Retrieved on October 10, 2011.
4. ↑ Tiffany: The $5-Million Star of Stage and Court (June 12, 1988).
5. ↑ All Grown Up: Tiffany interview (August 6, 2018).
6. ↑ FYI TV Show Schedule. *FYI.tv*. Retrieved on September 11, 2015.
7. ↑ Russell, Lisa, "Tiffany, the teenage mallflower who serenades the shoppers of America", *People Weekly*, vol. 28, September 14, 1997, p. 81.
8. ↑ Template:Cite news
9. ↑ Gett, Steve, "Tiffany conquers the charts", *Billboard*, vol. 100, January 23, 1988, p. 24.
10. ↑ Haring, Bruce, "Tiffany gets a guardian as she seeks adult status", *Billboard*, vol. 100, April 16, 1988, p. 6.
11. ↑ Dougherty, Steve, "It's a bittersweet 16 for Tiffany, who's suing her mom for 'emancipation'", *People Weekly*, vol. 29, April 18, 1998, p. 94.
12. ↑ McDougal, Dennis, "Tiffany: The $5-million star of stage and court", *Los Angeles Times*, Sun., June 12, 1988, Home Edition, Calendar Section, p. 6 [correction in Section One, p. 3].
13. ↑ Hunt, Dennis. "The trials of Tiffany: A year after filing suit, she and mom are talking", *Los Angeles Times*, Sun., April 9, 1989, Home Edition, Calendar Section, p. 63.
14. ↑ Boehm, Mike. "Heartaches of two songwriters are behind Tiffany's latest hit", *Los Angeles Times*, February 10, 1989, Orange County Edition, Calendar Section (6), p. 23.
15. ↑ Eder, Bruce. Janet Waldo | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos. AllMovie. Retrieved on August 17, 2016.
16. ↑ Album review, *Billboard*, October 27, 1990
17. ↑ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (October 12, 1991). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc..
18. ↑ Lutz, Natalie. "Tiffany Changes Her Style for Third Album", *Showbiz* (Las Vegas), July 25–31, 1993; article title is erroneous, since it is actually discusses her fourth album.
19. ↑ Keel, Beverly, "Tiffany's starting all over again – in country", *Country Weekly*, Vol. 3, No. 52, December 24, 1996, p. 17.
20. ↑ Paoletta, Michael, "Tiffany Tells Stories Her Way", *Billboard*, August 19, 2000, p. 1.
21. ↑ Perry, Audrey (March 12, 2001). BYU crowd livens up Tiffany performance. *BYU.edu*. Brigham Young University. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved on March 25, 2008.
22. ↑ ABC News. Tiffany Poses in Playboy. *ABC News*. Retrieved on September 11, 2015.
23. ↑ Tiffany Poses in Playboy. ABC News (January 6, 2006).
24. ↑ Former Teen Pop Star Tiffany on Posing For Playboy: 'I Would Do It Again in a Heartbeat!'. *Billboard*.
25. ↑ Archived copy. Archived from the original on August 21, 2006. Retrieved on August 6, 2005.
26. ↑ Celebrity Fit Club. VH1. Retrieved on September 11, 2015.
27. ↑ Mallrats Rejoice! Tiffany, Debbie Gibson Pair Up for Concert Tour. *concerttour.org* (April 22, 2011). Retrieved on April 28, 2011.
28. ↑ 'What Not To Wear': Tiffany, '80s Superstar, Gets A Makeover in Season 10 Premiere (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO). *HuffPost*. Retrieved on September 11, 2015.
29. ↑ Bond, Nick (January 28, 2018). I’m A Celeb 2018 contestants revealed. Retrieved on January 28, 2018.
30. ↑ I’m a Celebrity Australia: Tiffany first contestant voted off. *The Sydney Morning Herald* (February 11, 2018). Retrieved on February 11, 2018.
31. ↑ Logan Lynn Talks Working with Tiffany, Mixing Advocacy Into His Music, New Album 'My Movie Star'.
32. ↑ Tiffany on 'New Nation of Children Behavers': 'I Think We're Alone Now 2019' Video Premiere.
33. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (October 8, 2018). New Kids on the Block Set ‘MixTape’ Tour With Salt-N-Pepa, Naughty by Nature. Retrieved on June 27, 2019.
34. ↑ Here Are Hundreds More Artists Whose Tapes Were Destroyed in the UMG Fire (June 25, 2019). Retrieved on June 28, 2019.
35. ↑ LiveDaybreak Summer Concert Series. Retrieved on August 31, 2019.
36. ↑ Shows. Retrieved on September 1, 2019.
37. ↑ Tiffany – 97.7 The Bolt.
38. ↑ Indie Films 'Blood Snow' and "Mega-Shark Vs. Giant Octopus" – Tiffany and Deborah Gibson rivals at Cannes Film Festival in 2009?. *PRWeb* (May 19, 2009). Retrieved on September 11, 2015.
39. ↑ Tiffany vs. Megapiranha. *Dread Central*. Retrieved on September 11, 2015.
40. ↑ First Pics From Megapiranha Stink Like Fish. *Dread Central*. Retrieved on September 11, 2015.
41. ↑ James Hibberd. Debbie Gibson, Tiffany to battle in Syfy movie. *The Hollywood Reporter*. Retrieved on September 11, 2015.
42. ↑ Tiffany's father James (Jamie) Darwish was born in Tebnine, Lebanon in 1934 according to the Naturalization Act of 1940 of his parents Allie Darwish and Annie Osmon. Information from the National Archives, United States. Scan of Allie Darwish Naturalization Act on 1940 on familysearch.org. See Talk Page for more primary sources
43. ↑ Second Verse.
44. ↑ Elijah Bulmaro Garcia, Born 09/17/1992 in California | CaliforniaBirthIndex.org.
45. ↑ Tiffany Was Always A Rock 'n' Roller (September 3, 2019).
46. ↑ Varma, Anuji (January 10, 2010). Uk release for Tiffany stalking documentary. *Birmingham Mail*. Retrieved on September 11, 2015.
47. ↑ Tiffany Debuts "Starting Over," Discusses Upcoming EP. Retrieved on April 22, 2020.
48. ↑ Niki Taylor/Gary Busey/Tiffany.
49. ↑ "Nia Peeples, Tiffany". *Celebrity Wife Swap*. Season 2. Episode 6. July 7, 2013. ABC.