She fought a mega-piranha and survived the Australian outback — and that's only
scratching the surface. Wondering what happened to '80s pop icon Tiffany? You're not alone.
Fans of Tiffany Darwish had to
wait a full 33 years into her career before the singer embraced the holiday season on record.
Yes, the Californian finally tried to muscle in on Mariah Carey's territory in 2020 with a
festive single titled "Angels." Recorded in her own Nashville studio, Darwish described
the ballad to People as being a reflection on the collective loneliness experienced during
the first year of the pandemic. The singer also went on to explain that the personal
impact of lockdown had inspired her to add the festive track to her canon. Tiffany told People:
"The song is about hope and missing family. In my more than 30-year career,
I've never recorded an original Christmas song,
but it just felt right. It's raw and real and that's what makes it special to me."
Fans of late '80s pop music
got the chance to see five chart favorites for the price of one in 2019 when New Kids
on the Block launched a nostalgic run of shows dubbed "The Mixtape Tour."
And being one of the dominant hitmakers of the era, Tiffany was inevitably included.
The "I Think We're Alone Now" singer joined the boy band along with Debbie Gibson, Naughty
By Nature and Salt-N-Pepa on the lengthy North American trek. Darwish also headed into the studio
with her tourmates to record a collaborative single titled — what else? — "'80s Baby."
When asked by Stereogum why she decided to get involved in the project,
Darwish replied that it was to fulfill some longstanding fan requests:
"Gosh, for me and the New Kids, the fans have been asking us to do something together again
for probably over 20 years. There probably hasn't really been a day that it's not on
social media. [...] So for the fans, this is a dream come true. I'm really excited about it."
"And it was like, 'I get it.' This is so perfect. What a great experience for the fan."
In 2018, Tiffany appeared on
season 4 of the Australian edition of the reality show, I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here.
Luckily for Darwish, she didn't have to contend with all the creepy crawlies for too long,
as she was the first to leave. In an interview with Channel 10,
Darwish revealed that she'd underestimated just how tough the jungle-themed show would be:
"It's hard in there. It's difficult."
However, the singer — who signed up to raise money for the Red Kite
charity — later told The Guardian that there were some benefits to slumming it:
"From my bunk I could see the stars and the moon and I used to look up every night. It
was like my rehab. I really had to melt myself down. I knew that was my time […]"
Shortly before making her on-screen
acting debut in an episode of sci-fi comedy Out of This World, Tiffany Darwish landed the
voiceover role of none other than Judy Jetson in 1990 feature-length animation The Jetsons.
And while the former teen idol appeared to prefer being in front of the camera, going on to star in
B-movies like Mega Piranha, she still must have enjoyed her vocal booth experience.
Indeed, in 2019, Darwish returned to the world of voice acting when she lent her
raspy tones to the characters of Cheetah and Bambi's Mother
in an episode of the subversive cult cartoon Robot Chicken.
Just three years earlier, Tiffany told HuffPost that she was keen to sign up for such a part:
"If something came up where I could act or do more voice-over work,
I would love to pop in and do it — especially if it were sci-fi — I'm a huge sci-fi fan!"
Frustrated at being unable
to interact with her fans via the usual method of touring during the pandemic,
Tiffany hit upon a novel alternative instead: she started a cooking club.
The idea for "Let's Food with Tiffany" actually stemmed from the meet and greets she staged
prior to lockdowns in which she discussed her culinary habits. Darwish told News4Jax,
"I threw a recipe out there to somebody — my Lebanese
chicken [...] And it started to kind of take on its own life."
Tiffany Darwish has flirted with all kinds
of genres during her three-decades-and-counting career, from the teen-pop of her 1987 self-titled
debut to the pure country of 2011's Rose Tattoo. But since the late 2010s,
the chart-topper has been keen to prove that she can also rock out with the best of them.
None more so than on her 13th studio effort Shadows, a record that Darwish eventually took
on the road with bassist Johnny Martin and drummer Scot Coogan of L.A. Guns.
Those who purely came to see the Sunset Strip rockers were surprised
at just how natural this unlikely team-up sounded. Tiffany explained to NJArts.net:
"We just played Woodlands, Texas, and after the show a bunch of Johnny and Scotty's fans had all
these L.A. Guns records and other things for them to sign [...] And as I was meeting them,
they were saying, 'I'm so sorry that I underestimated you. [...] This was great.'"
Forget Britney Spears versus Christina Aguilera. The original
teen pop princess rivalry was between late '80s favorites Debbie Gibson and Tiffany.
Well, that's what the press would have you believe anyway. In reality,
the two chart-toppers had no beef with each other whatsoever. In an interview with People,
Tiffany explained that their relationship back in the day was more cordial than hostile. She shared,
"All that rivalry was not true. We really didn't know each other. We'd leave little
notes here and there. See each other on carpets. But it was so fast! Now we have a friendship."
Indeed, in another interview with Fox News,
Darwish revealed that her and Gibson's time together on The
Mixtape Tour had strengthened their bond even further. Tiffany told the news outlet:
"We would go on each other's buses and just talk, have a cup of tea like girlfriends.
Talk, not just about music but our personal lives and fashion.
It's really nice to have her as one of my dearest friends."
"It's nice for both of us to go from teen star to adult business women."
Having been on the showbiz treadmill
since the age of 15, Tiffany Darwish's ability to enjoy some self-care has often been limited.
But in 2019, Tiffany finally decided it was time to prioritize her wellbeing.
In an interview with Closer Weekly, Darwish explained,
"I've been somebody who goes and goes and thinks I'm a little invincible. But there was a lot of
flying, a lot of stress. I'm kind of grounded from flying now [because of] some medical stuff. [...]
And last year I started to feel like it wasn't a bad thing to take a nap or have some downtime."
Additionally, the chart-topper has also started meditating.
In an interview with Parade, the singer revealed,
"I really want to devote myself to it and make it a part of my life,
because I really need it. I'm very much into Eastern philosophy now.
I do a lot of crystals and I do a lot of oils. And a lot of soul searching."
Taylor Swift wasn't
even born when Tiffany Darwish started singing in shopping malls,
but they still have several things in common. They both found fame while still in high school,
they both scored No. 1 albums in their teens and they both lent their voices to big-screen
animated movies. So it's little surprise that the original teen-pop queen sees herself in one of
her successors. In a 2020 interview with Parade, Tiffany revealed that she's very much a Swiftie:
"Taylor Swift is somebody who's spoken to me personally, because I can see the joy in her,
she truly does love her fans and engages. And
I think she's been very positive for a lot of the young girls out there."
This wasn't the first time that Darwish had waxed lyrical about
the "Shake It Off" hitmaker, either. Four years earlier she explained to
HuffPost that she admires Swift for both her creativity and her attitude:
"I really like that she came along. She's an excellent inspiration for young women — and
she treats her fans amazing. She shines a great light for them."
As well as starting an online food club during the pandemic,
Tiffany also kept herself and her fans busy by launching a social media challenge based on
her signature hit, "I Think We're Alone Now." The theme of the challenge was simple enough:
Tiffany asked her followers to share how they were spending their unexpected downtime. The singer
explained to People that she wanted to forge a sense of togetherness during such a tough time:
"It's interesting to see who people are quarantined with. Their loved ones,
dogs, kids, parents. [...] It's good to share these experiences with others, to show that you
may be alone, but you're not alone. The whole point is about support and encouragement."
Some musicians can get so precious about their new work that they entirely neglect the
songs that made them famous. Obviously, Tiffany could never be accused of being such an artist.
Her chart-topping cover version of Tommy James and the Shondells' "I Think We're Alone Now" has been
a staple of her setlists ever since its release in 1987. And then more than three decades later,
she gave the track a rock-tinged makeover in the studio. In a 2019 interview with Billboard,
Darwish revealed why she felt it was time to revisit her signature hit. She explained,
"On my new album, 'Pieces of Me,' I was inspired by the Foo Fighters,
and maybe a little Go-Go's and Blondie mixed together … with Tiffany. I wanted to show 'I
Think We're Alone Now' in that kind of a version, one that shows the layers of my new music."
The singer also went nostalgic with the accompanying promo. Speaking to Fox News, she
explained how she was able to return to Norwalk, California to shoot the video with her friends:
"We were rocking the Children Behave shirts. It was a blast.
I really had a good time re-creating that video."