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The Nash New Artist Interview: Tiffany Woys
Growing up on the west coast in Sacramento, California, country singer Tiffany Woys had to learn about and teach herself country music on her own. She heard LeAnn Rimes sing the national anthem and was hooked from there. “I begged my mom to take me to Tower Records, which I don’t believe exists anymore, and I bought the cassette tape with ‘How Do I Live’ on it,” she tells us. “I just listened to it over and over and over again.” She also discovered and listened to Faith Hill, Martina McBride, and Jo Dee Messina (one of her mom’s favorite artists) and has been influenced by them ever since. “Growing up in Sacramento, there just wasn’t a lot of (country) music opportunity. I gave it a try after college, I put a band together and tried to tour, but it was really difficult to get bookings because there wasn’t a lot going on in California, and I knew initially I’d have to end up here in Nashville.”
Woys always knew she belonged on a stage and recalls holding a microphone from the age of five, but because of the uncertainty of the music business and the fear of not being taken seriously, she thought about going to law school and becoming an attorney. “Law was another way for me to put on a show in a sense,” she explained. “I always saw the courtroom as an imaginary stage.” She had an epiphany where she realized her reasoning for wanting to pursue law came from her original affinity for performing on a stage. That was a feeling she couldn’t ignore.
After having brutally honest conversations with the people around her about the long journey ahead, she ended up purchasing a one-way ticket to Nashville. She left everything she knew behind including her family, a boyfriend of five years, all of her friends, and the band she was performing with regularly. When she touched down in Nashville, she didn’t know anyone. She had moments of doubt but ultimately made the decision that she couldn’t go home. “I thought nuh-uh. I’ve always wanted to do this. This is my plan A and my plan B; there’s no way that I’m gonna go back,” she said. “This is where I was supposed to be.”
One of her most recent projects was a duet with Jordan Fletcher titled, “I Don’t.” When Fletcher sent the song to her she quickly fell in love with it. “I wanted to do something that wasn’t the norm of what I’ve been doing,” she exclaimed. “I love being collaborative. The more people involved, the more fun for me.” She also notes that it was exciting to work with someone who co-wrote the song, and have the opportunity to bring two different flavors of sound and style together.
When looking for songs to record, Woys has to feel something when she hears the words and have a feeling of nostalgia that ties her to a memory in her past. She also needs to be able to visualize every creative aspect of the song before she records it. She has to envision the artwork for the cover and what story the music video would tell. “I want to already envision the whole thing laid out. And if that doesn’t all hit me within the first round of listening to it, then I usually pass. It’s my job as an artist to not only tell the writer’s story but to tell my story,” she tells us.
She also put out a creative music video for her 2020 single “Do Ya” where she recreated scenes from iconic music videos by legendary female artists like Faith Hill, Shania Twain, and Taylor Swift. The idea for the video was a combination of inspiration from the “thank u next” music video done by Ariana Grande, and because people told Woys the song takes them back to different eras of country music. “This song makes people feel some sort of nostalgia so why don’t I create that visual with my music video?” she said excitedly. “It might not tell the story of the song, but it’s going to pay homage to why my music is taking that direction of a nostalgic feeling because I want to represent and pay tribute to women in country that have paved the way for women like me.” She remembers being nervous because her vision was so specific, but her music video director was up to the challenge. The first set she saw was a replication of the diner scene from Faith Hill’s “The Way You Love Me” video, and it was exactly what she wanted. “It just turned out perfect.”
For the future, Woys wants to put out an EP that completely represents her artistry and the progression of her sound. Woys also speaks eagerly about getting back on the road with a radio tour after country radio has supported her on her musical journey. Keep up with Tiffany Woys by following her Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.
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