tiffie

She's only 16 years old...but by the time she was 7 years old, she knew that she wanted to sing - And she had her first paid concert then. She's still in high school (graduating in June 2001!) but already she's been in numerous bands and groups (Kao5, Hypraktiv, DragonFly, GraVity, Etc., and many more). Being the hyper, out-going girl that she is, she's ready to come out solo!

Her name's Tiffie, and here's some things to let you get to know her:

Tiffany (Tiffie) Ding, was born on Friday, August 3, 1984 in Seattle, WA. And she has been singing ever since she came into this world. Her first concert ever, at age 7, she sang with a group of friends - "Rush Rush" by Paula Abdul "She was probably my first inspiration!"

Tiffie may only be 16 years old, but this girl (by the way -- she'd rather be referred to 'girl' and giggles at the fact that she has often been referred to as a 'woman' or a 'lady' because she think it's silly "I think that I'm still a girl, I still have a long way to go and sometimes I can be so immature!") is a singing-veteran.

Who else in her family has talent? Tiffie knows this answer: "My mommy! She's got a beautiful voice and she's really good at dancing too..."

Tiffie loves all music, ranging from classical to hard rock. Her favorite female artists include Mandy Moore, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and Coco Lee. When she writes her own music, "It's basically pop! I try to add a little R&B style to it, but I like fun happy music! I recently discovered how much Samantha Mumba rocks! I also look up to stars like J-Lo."

Along with female pop, Tiffie is also influenced by the Backstreet Boys, Hanson and a lot of Asian pop music. Even though she would most love to be in a band (which she was in 7th-9th grade) or an all girl group (which she is currently in and was in since 9th grade) she's sticking to solo now. "I feel that by myself I have been able to grow without other people holding me down. I don't have to ask for other member's permission and I can do what I want." But don't worry, Tiffie is very cooperative and is described by her friends as the 'sweet bubbly girl who's always there for you~!.'

Tiffie lives in Massachusetts with her parents and their cat Misty. Tiffie loves reading Shakespeare, her favorite book being Romeo & Juliet, her favorite movie is currently Charlie's Angels, her favorite actress is Drew Barrymore and her favorite actors are Ryan Phillippe and Eric Lively. In school Tiffie enjoys English and Psychology! She plays the piano, violin and a little bit of guitar.

"There's a lot of unsigned singers out there right now. But how many times do you see an Asian girl in America? There's one in i5 and that's about it. Coco Lee has come out with an English album but she's not getting the fame here as she should. I wanna break that."

But don't think she wants to hog the spotlight all on herself. "I'm always rooting for Asian singers, and any unsigned singer! Everyone's got talent and I think everyone should be able to show it! I love watching the show PopStars because it gives those girls a chance! ... hehe, but I am hoping an Asian girl gets in!"

Don't think that she's not the average girl because Tiffie claims to be the average girl. "Ha! Maybe lazier than the average girl. :) I'm such a lazy bum." She's just like all of you though. She likes to jam to Britney Spears' "Stronger" and swoon at the Backstreet Boys' "I'll Never Break Your Heart" And DON'T think that this girl has never been star-struck - "I've met Brendan Fehr and I just stared. And when I saw *NSync twice and BSB and Hanson, I was screaming at the top of my lungs.. the average teenybopper, or maybe the ULTIMATE one!" One of her favorite pastimes is going to the movies and hanging out at the mall. "Movies are AWESOME! I live movies, breath movies, almost as much as music. I don't eat movies. Heehee."

This girl isn't just a singer though, "I LOVE to dance.. I used to do ballet but I stopped and my mom totally regretted it, cause I have so-called 'ballet legs' and I'm super flexible. I love dancing - parties, dances, clubs, raves, I'm there! Of course, I never drink or do drugs or anything at the places. I'm not trying to sound goodie goodie, but I don't like the stuff. I don't like the taste of alcohol and I don't like the taste of smoke." Dancing is one of her favorite hobbies, and work-outs. She loves the movie Center Stage because of it. "I watch it like every weekend and I sit there wishing that I was one of them. Ballet is SUCH a beautiful art." She just recently recruited a fellow Between Above member, Katy Curtis, as a backup dancer. "When [she] becomes famous I want to be [her] backup dancer! ... You know that [she'll] at least be a one-hit wonder and I want to be there." says Katy.

What's next for Tiffie? She's recording a demo for Trans Con this Spring - She's going to Taiwan to record in summer 2001! She's also currently in a pop duo White Mocha. Will she make it? She and White Mocha won several awards from the Unsigned Music Awards 2000 and they're both going to record next summer and Tiffie has also been in Blast and Popstar Magazine...what do you think?