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We [eventually] were getting yelled at from store owners.
Erika Wagner; Getty Images
So it was a nice thing to say, Well, now we have to go to arenas.
My parents were from Los Angeles, but they knew nothing about the music industry.
I was kind of the oddball, she says.
Thousands of young pop fans gather at the Bull Ring Shopping Centre for pop singer Tiffany (pictured center, on a small stage), in Birmingham, West Midlands on January 19, 1988.
Give it a shot they did.
And that led us to Nashville, she says.
You get to meet a lot of great people and grow as a songwriter and as a performer.
Tiffany performs at Rewind South on August 17, 2019, in Henley-on-Thames, England.
I love it, she says.
I live in the countryside and Im very hippie-dippie.
I love glamour, but when Im not doing that, I love nature."
Ironically, it was there that Tiffany got the latest Hollywood opportunity in her colorful career.
Theyre all my favorite ladies.
It was a full circle, big honor for me.
Glamour: Your 80s mall style was so iconic.
Did you save any of your jean jackets?
Tiffany:I still have those.
But I still have all my stuff.
All my jean jackets are collectors items and they go to my son.
I have all my first tour earrings.
I have some of my cool boots from the 80s, the old-school stuff.
And of course, all my jumpers.
Once in a while Ill auction something off for charity.
You even had your own boutique at one point in Nashville, right?
Yes, which was so much fun.
We carried vintage clothing, from funky finds to one-of-a kind pieces.
I always loved being a part of the community.
And I still have it now, but its online and calledRadikal Redz.
My music is my first love.
So my sister and I kind of run Radikal Redz together.
Of course, Im the mall queen, so I knew a thing or two about shopping.
Makeup artists and stylists would say, Your collections really cool.
Can I borrow this?
Meanwhile, you mentioned your son earlier.
Is he into music or fashion?
He is a structural engineer.
He has a really good job.
As a kid, he loved dinosaurs and Hot Wheels.
No, no, no.
And hed put it back in a line.
I was like, Loosen up, Elijah!
Where does he live now?
He lives in Louisville, which is only three and a half hours from me.
He and his girlfriend have been together nine years now and are just doing great.
How did that come about?
I was doing clubs, but I was only 15.
My label was like, This is just not going to work.
So they thought of the mall.
And this is where her age group hangs out.
What did you think of that idea at the time?
I thought it was a great idea because the 80s.
I was already hanging out at the mall.
So thats how the mall tour began, and it just started taking off.
I Think Were Alone Now hit number one.
No one thought of videos or fashion for me or how we were going to really work this.
We just rode the wave.
And I was in Ogden, Utah, and they said, We need a video.
Come on, lets do it.
And of course, we wanted to do what was real, which was the mall.
What are you favorite memories from the mall tours?
I really had a good time.
I made lifelong friends.
Hang out and then go do another 30 minutes.
And then Id sign autographs.
So it was a nice thing to say, Well, now we have to go to arenas.
I mean, I was trying on things that I would never be able to afford.
And then I started to be able to afford things.
I was like, “Well, I want the funky purple pants over there.”
Growing up in the ’80s, you took fashion risks.
Is there any part of the 80s that you miss or you wish you could revisit?
I dont really know what that was.
It was in the music.
It was in the fashion.
It was in the discovery.
It was in the technology.
And I remember waiting for a Michael Jackson tour and it was on all the billboards in LA.
And you waited for the album.
That buildup was just crazy and fun.
But now we just dont have the patience for that.
Yes, things are more convenient now, but…I think weve gone too far.
The mall was communal.
You met your friends there.
It was an event.
And I dont know when that stopped.
I will say I went to Singapore in the last few years and the malls still rock there.
So I was very encouraged.
I was like, Oh, this is my soil; thank you.
Do you often think about that?
But Im always a whats next for me?
Not to be selfish, but I think its weird.
People go, Well, you accomplished all of this and yet why arent you doing records now?
And its like, Well, the industry changed and I changed.
But also being a child star, for some reason, that becomes a default.
I dont know when that happened.
Im pleasantly hopeful that weve changed that.
I see a lot of these young artists now that have changed that.
I dont know if you could really do a real gradual transition.
The industry, especially back then, was very good at pigeonholing talent.
It was just like, Oh, Tiffany, isnt she 15?
So I feel like somewhere in there, there was a hiccup.
And I tried a couple different things where I dyed my hair black, but they didnt recognize me.
I had to learn that Im iconic as a redhead, and fans didnt want me to change.
But that takes trying.
That takes a failure.
That takes doing it because you want to do it.
Ive done more rock now in the last couple of years.
Im an 80s rocker.
And I love Stevie Nicks, Pat Benatar, and Ann Wilson from Heart.
These were the people that I was jamming to in my room before I got a record deal.
I wanted to be the girl in front of a band.
And that girl still exists.
So in the last five years, Ive been doing more rock music.
Im with Deco Records.
Theyre a small label.
We have minimal radio play because again, you have all the other amazing people killing the charts.
So Im happy with my lane and I am really great.
Id love to do other things.
And thats whats been happening the last year and a half.
And youre engaged now too.
Going back to the 80s, I just didnt get into trouble [with] guys.
I didnt marry another musician.
I didnt want the drama.
I took my own path and I became a young mom, gosh, when I was 21.
So it kind of grounded me, thank goodness.
I worked on being a songwriter and doing other things.
Weve already been together seven years.
Hes my producer and co-writer, and we write with a lot of other people.
So its just a real creative place, my home now.
Ive made all these things kind of my environment, finally.
Its really cool when I hear people say, Youre really a lifer.
Youre a true musician.
Theres so much more to you than I Think Were Alone Now.
I mean, again, its always been about the music.
Its always about that somebody liked it, of course.
Its why you do it.
The music industry is fickle, but you have powered through and are still doing it.
I really do because so many times youre just like, Okay, what now?
Or you put your heart into something and it doesnt get a chance.
Or you have all these obstacles or people dont want to give you opportunities…its truly heartbreaking.
Because youre just like, Okay, well, I didnt even get a fair shot.
But Ive learned to overcome that and enjoy [what I can control].
Ive always been a live performer.
I love the live music experience, and I just take it to the road.
I let the people decide.
Thats what Ive been doing with [my album]Shadows.
Tiffany performs at Rewind South on August 17, 2019, in Henley-on-Thames, England.
Who do you look up to and admire now?
I just recorded Cardigan from Taylor Swift.
I love Cardigan, so I was like, I know which one I want to do.
And its really cool.
Ive watched her just take off and continue to grow into all things Taylor.
She owned her own label and she got into fashion and was always pushing the boundaries a little bit.
And how did that inspire you?
I just didnt take no for an answer.
I was like, Well, this is what Im meant to do.
Im very young at 21, 22.
So Im not going to retire.
Thats kind of been the plan.
Two women that truly broke records.
That would be fun.
We could definitely rock out to I Think Were Alone Now.
That would be a lot of fun.
Whats it like when fans recognize you now?
Do you ever say its not you if they ask?
I never really lie, but I always walk away thinking, Why do you recognize me now?
I have no makeup on.
My hair is not amazing.
But I guess it is a compliment in some way.
They cannot be bothered.
Im like, Okay, this is a humbling time.
Finally, whats on the horizon for you in 2024?
I also have afood club on Instagram.
I love going to mom-and-pop places, or high-end restaurants and singing.
I do Tiff Takeovers, where you buy tickets and come to the restaurant.
Its just a different side of me.
I am doing a cookbook coming next year withChef Alicia Shevetone, whos a big chef in Las Vegas.
Shes kind of my mentor, and I love it.
I also get to travel next year.
Germany and France and Italy are on the horizon, the UK, Scotland.
I love working with people.
Were not so different when we start talking food and music.
