By Kara Pound | Correspondent
Posted Mar 16, 2018 at 2:01 AMUpdated Mar 16, 2018 at 6:50 AM
  
Known for her monster 1987 hit, “I Think We’re Alone Now” — a cover of the 1967 original recording by Tommy James and the Shondells — Tiffany Darwish (better known simply by her mononym Tiffany) is making her way to the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall tomorrow night with a string of new songs and old tunes.
An American singer-songwriter, actress and former teen icon, Tiffany has sold over 15 million albums to date. She’s also made a name for herself in the reality TV world as well as movie roles in everything from the cult classic Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus and the mockbuster Mega Piranha.
Compass caught up with Tiffany, who had other ’80s hits like “Could’ve Been” and “I Saw Him Standing There,” to chat about her upcoming show, a new album in the works and what advice she’d give to the younger version of herself. Here’s part of that conversation.
Compass: What are you up to today?
Tiffany: We’re in England. We’re just traveling all over — came from South Africa, actually. I just did the show I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! in Australia. I was out in the jungle. It was a lot of fun. Honestly, it was harder than I thought it would be. It was a great experience. I’m glad I did it, but there was so much downtime and so much time sitting around thinking with nothing to do. You don’t have any means of entertainment of any kind. I got along with all of the other celebrities. We were just bored.
Compass: You released the album, “A Million Miles,” in 2016. Are you still touring in support of that record?
Tiffany: Yes. The tour is an extension of that as well as retro tunes. There’s a lot of dynamics in the show. It’s not just me and a guitar. There’s a lot of movement to the show. It’s a great night of music, and what I’m doing now is getting ready for the new album. I’m working on a pop-retro-rock record. It’s kind of an extension of “The Color of Silence,” which was my critically acclaimed album from 2000. I was just really, really thrilled to have that on the books. It spawned me to keep going as a songwriter and a producer and learn more as a musician. Every album, that’s what I’ve aspired to do. I wanted to step back and write an album that really showed my vocal range.
Compass: How far along are you with this new album?
Tiffany: First week of April, the single comes out. We’re finishing the album now. It’s kind of an extension of my wish list and all of the things that I’ve wanted to do; going and recording in some of my favorite places, having guest appearances on the album and just taking that next step from “The Color of Silence” album. I guess people probably expected me to do that a long time ago, but, for me, I just have to do it when it’s the right time and there was a lot of growth between the two albums.
Compass: What’s the new album’s title?
Tiffany: It doesn’t have one yet, because we’re still writing songs, but the single is called “World’s Apart.” It will debut here in England because that’s where we did most of the album. A lot of the musicians I’m working with are British. It’s where I tour a lot in the summer when I’m not at home in Nashville. When I started touring again, I just wanted to take my music all over. I’ve been working on validation as a performer and wanting people to really know my talents, because I grew up in the industry and I’ve been a bit behind the scenes lately. That’s really what this show is about as well as cool, old retro stuff, of course.
Compass: What advice would you give the 1987 version of yourself?
Tiffany: It’s great to have 30 years under my belt, but I’m still going and I think I’m getting better. I’m always grateful that my fans are willing to ride the ride with me. They let me be who I want to be, which is awesome. But what I would tell myself is, “Be comfortable in your own skin.” Now, as a person, I’m definitely more comfortable with who I am; the good, the bad, the ugly, whatever. You know, even though I was a huge celebrity, I was still just a girl. I was just a girl from Norwalk, California who didn’t know anything about the music industry.
Tiffany will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $63.50 for VIP Meet and Greet, $43 for rows A through K and $33 for remaining rows.