Musician Tiffany Houghton sang at Ramapo College’s Tuesday Night Live this week. With an intimate audience, Houghton belted her heart out to soulful ballads and unique lyrics.
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Houghton grew up writing music.
“I’ve been writing in a journal since I was six years old and so all my songs usually start with a lyric,” Houghton said.
With a gifted voice and a talent for writing music, Houghton decided to move to Nashville for her 18th birthday.
“My parents said that I sang before I talked!” Houghton said. This was the clear path for her to take.
Currently residing in L.A., Houghton continued to rise to fame in just one short year. According to a biography by Jade Driver and Cassie Petrey of the music marketing company Crowd Surf, Houghton became an independent recording artist within the 2013 year, releasing her debut single, “High,” on iTunes on Aug. 13, 2013. She has over 150,000 social media followers and fans.
Houghton’s gift for writing songs comes naturally.
“I’ll write in my journal and then pull something that I’ve written and take it from there,” Houghton said. Her new hit single, “Twirling,” took her 30 minutes to write.
Tuesday Night Live was in for a real treat when Houghton decided to play a song she had just written the night before.
“We have to play ‘Glitter!'” Houghton said on stage. “I love it so much. It means the world to me.”
Thanks to the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA), Houghton was invited to perform at Ramapo College.
Senior Allison Gutworth came to the show despite not knowing any of Tiffany Houghton’s music.
“No, I didn’t [know of Tiffany before the show] but I looked online and viewed some of her music before I came,” Gutworth said.
For most pop singers, the motivation for singing and writing is fame, but for Houghton, it’s much more than that.
“I want to influence a lot of girls across the world, and I want to restore faith in a generation,” Houghton said. “I want girls to be happy, and I want us to focus on positive things. Hopefully with my music I’ll be able to do that.”
Freshman Jacob Thiringer said, “this is the first pop music I’ve liked in a while.”
Her strong stance on progressing women’s thoughts about love that she writes in her songs illustrates her passion about a brighter future for women and young girls.
“I think girls are addicted to complaining about guys but we’re not willing to tell them what we want. I hope through my music I can stand for someone who always knows what she wants and will work for that,” she said.
Truly passionate for her music, Houghton was able to command the quaint TNL stage with her quirky songs and charisma. Houghton provided a strong showing and successfully entertained her audience.
—
nnigro@ramapo.edu
