Tiffany Evans: You know what?  Just stay determined and stay focused.  You’ve got to keep those nerves.  Work hard for what you want, because anything that’s worth having, you’ve gotta work for it.  And easy—I believe that easy will get you in trouble. 

That’s so true.

Tiffany Evans:  Everything that I’ve done, I’m able to say that I’ve earned it—and I love the word “earn.”  You always want to work hard for what you want, so at the end of the day you can say, “I deserve it because I’ve earned it and I’ve paid my dues.”   But you’ve got to stay focused and, again, for all those young kids, you’ve got to stay in school.  Because school made me want to do music, you know?  Music made me want to come to school every day. And practice always makes perfect.  And please, if there’s anybody hating on you, take it and set it as a positive and just realize that you are doing something right, because if they persecuted Jesus, they’ll persecute you.  And that’s how you have to look at it.  Stay up and stay focused.  Be alert.

You were once quoted as saying that you have a real love of the music that came before you because it felt so real.  That being said, who are some of your current musical influences?

Tiffany Evans: My current—okay, well I just have to say I’ll always love Whitney—but I really like Alicia Keys.  I really love her.  Her voice is so addictive and so different.  Her style is amazing.  Mary J. Blige.  I also like rap artists, too.  I like Tupac—can we still say he’s current?

Well, yeah, he’ll never die. [laughing]

Tiffany Evans:  Exactly, he’s always been a favorite.  I love Tupac, I feel like he has a lot of great songs that send great messages out and he was an amazing person all around, as well.  I view Chris Brown as more of a peer.  He sings, acts, and dances as well, and I want to dance and be able to pump just like him, which is kind of hard.  I admire him for being able to sing for real, for real, and dance at the same time.  So, I give him that.

I’m happy to hear you say, “I’ll always love Whitney,” because at the start of your career, when you first went into the Tiffany Lounge in Atlantic City , the song you sang onstage was “I Will Always Love You.”  What memories do you have from the past that keep on pushing you, even though you have had a bit of success?  What keeps on pushing you to be even better at what you do?