Tiffany Young

American-born Korean singer Tiffany performs bright pop with R&B-influenced vocals inspired by BoA and reminiscent of Ariana Grande and Carly Rae Jepsen. She had her big break as a member of K-pop girl group Girls' Generation before going solo and issuing her debut I Just Wanna Dance in 2016. Leaving the K-pop industry in 2017, she switched focus to the English-language market, issuing EP Lips on Lips in 2019. Born Stephanie Young Hwang (Tiffany was the name her late mother was originally going to give her) in San Francisco, she grew up in Diamond Bar, a city near Los Angeles. As a teenager, she auditioned in a singing competition and was discovered by SM Entertainment. Relocating to South Korea, she began training for a career in K-pop. She was recruited to the girl group Girls' Generation, and debuted in the summer of 2007. Girls' Generation went on to score multiple chart-topping albums and singles over the next decade, while Tiffany pursued her own side endeavors, which included a role in the Korean adaptation of Fame, television hosting, and contributions to soundtracks. In 2012, along with Girls' Generation bandmates Taeyeon and Seohyun, Tiffany formed the subgroup TTS. The trio issued their debut EP, Twinkle, that year. They followed with 2014's Holler and 2015's Dear Santa. By 2016, Tiffany was ready to go solo, issuing her first EP I Just Wanna Dance, which hit number three on the Billboard World Albums chart. That same year, she released the collaborative single, "Heartbreak Hotel," with Simon Dominic. She also joined Asian-American electronic/hip-hop group Far East Movement on "Don't Speak" from their Identity album. After joining Girls' Generation for their sixth LP, Holiday Night, in July 2017, Tiffany parted ways with SM Entertainment and rebranded herself as Tiffany Young. In 2018, she released her version of "Remember Me" from Pixar's Coco and released her official U.S. debut single "Over My Skin." From there, she continued to drive deeper into the American market with singles "Teach You" and "Peppermint." Her EP Lips on Lips arrived the next year. Featuring production by Fernando Garibay (Kylie, Lady Gaga), the short set debuted in the Top Ten of the Heatseekers chart and included the track "Runaway" with Babyface. ~ Neil Z. Yeung