Singer Tiffany Houghton advises young women to never tolerate disrespect

By Jacqueline Risch

The music industry may not be exactly “Pretty Pretty,” but singer and song writer Tiffany Houghton has managed to excel in this tough business all on her own. Earlier last semester, Tiffany visited Tempe Prep, giving the student body the opportunity to hear some of her singles, learn about her journey from home-town performer to famous singer, and know what it means to pursue a dream.

55DA52DB-FCC6-4A81-8C32-EC7425C5F301“It all started with a love for music,” Tiffany says. “I was always singing for my family and friends, and for our neighborhood. I would set up these, kind of like lemonade stands for my (performances), and I’d put up posters in my neighborhood,” she recalls. Although she sang as a young girl, Tiffany’s real introduction to music was when she made the bold decision to move from her home in Dallas to Nashville, at just 17 years old.

She describes it as “scary at the time. To be alone, watching my friends on Facebook go to their senior parties while I was living alone in an apartment, knocking on doors of (record labels) to sing to them.” However, her passion for music and her determined attitude drove her to make a name for herself in the “Music City..

While looking for her big break, Tiffany ran into many obstacles along the way, and not the typical kind at that. “My car was broken into,” she says. “All my journals were stolen, and my guitar was stolen, my clothes, everything.” In just a matter of minutes, her whole life came crashing down. Although she was discouraged, she knew she couldn’t give up yet. “I just felt this call to be out there,” she remembers.

Getting involved with music also meant auditioning for record labels and managers, but unfortunately, not all would sign her. While overcoming this challenge Tiffany “realized really quick that I was going to have to be my own, biggest cheerleader. If the whole world’s going to be beating me up, I can’t be doing it too.”

Eventually, Tiffany achieved her goal: She was signed with a record label! But not every deal is as sweet as it seems. “I finally got to this place where I was in the middle of an album that I was spending my life savings on, and I (ended up) trashing (it).” When asked to elaborate on her surprising decision, she replied that “I was so done working with this producer, I felt embarrassed by the things (he) would say, (and) I would be in uncomfortable situations where I didn’t feel like I should be there.” So, she decided to break things off with her manager.

“I moved back home, and I said ‘I’m not doing this anymore. I will not be disrespected the way that I am every, single day with these people.’” Tiffany ended up developing, and running, her own record label, and has been thriving ever since!

As a woman trying to involve herself in a male-dominated industry, Tiffany describes it as “uncomfortable if you’re not willing, at any moment in time, to walk out.” Whenever she was placed in an uncomfortable situation, she decided to say “I don’t care how many Grammy awards you have, or how famous you say you can make me, this isn’t okay for my own health, and I don’t want to be here.”

She advices girls that are outnumbered in the workforce to remember that “we have strengths that enable us and ennoble us to do things that men cannot do. We need to recognize that we can sit at the table, show up, and that we have something to offer.” So, keep working ladies, and remember that you deserve respect, and are not to be underestimated!

Her visit to Tempe Prep incorporated all these ideals and pointers, empowering the students to pursue their passions, and she even performed her hit songs “Physical” and “Love Like That!” Her speech and lyrics inspired so many people to never give up hope, and remember that dreams can become a reality. Never give up and never give in, Knights! You can do anything you want. The world is your oyster.