Tiffani Wood

Tiffany Jayne Wood (born November 8, 1977), known as Tiffani Wood, is an Australian singer–songwriter who rose to fame as a member of female pop group Bardot. She currently manages her own record label Mudhoney Records from which she has released the singles "Devil In Your Soul", "Spin The Bottle" and a Divinyls cover of "I Touch Myself", all of which feature on her debut solo album Bite Your Tongue. Wood married her partner Neil Cummins in late January 2007 and in April 2007 Wood gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Lily Adele.

Early life
Wood developed the performing bug from an early age. Her parents quickly took note of this and enrolled her into her first jazz dancing class where she continued to dance and would eventually also assist teaching younger students until a new talent school came to town.

When the Australian television show called Young Talent Time opened a talent school in Newcastle, Wood, age 12, decided to take up singing. Her teachers quickly noticed her natural singing talent and at age 15 she was placed into a show troupe "The Young Stars" which performed at various venues around NSW. During her three year stint in this group, Wood had her first taste of recording for an album and performing solo in front of large crowds, her biggest being the opening of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel where she performed in front of over 20,000 people.

During her schooling years, she entered many talent quests winning her fair and in 1994 played the lead vocal role in a school musical Murder In The Music Hall. In 1995, she completed HSC, her highest mark being eighty-five percent in music. At the age of 18, Wood became the lead singer of a cover band "Quiver", in which she sang a wide range of songs from Tracey Chapman, Pearl Jam, Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette, 80's rock and more and had her second taste of vocal recording of original songs with the band.

Her growing ambition to make it big saw her move to Sydney where she enrolled in The Australian Institute of Music choosing vocal as her major which included studying such fields as performance studies, music technology, music industry studies and music theory. She completed this in 1999 with a certificate with merit in music performance. During this time she had joined another covers band "The Anthill Mob" performing at various venues throughout NSW.

Big break


In 2000, at the age of 22, Wood auditioned for the first Australian series of Popstars, a reality television show which promised to produce "Australia's very own Spice Girls". After selections for the group were finalised by the judges, she just missed out. However, after original member Chantelle Barry was forced out of the group in controversial circumstances, Wood was selected to replace her as the fifth member of the band, now known as Bardot.

Popstars was one of the most popular, highest-rating television programs in Australia of 2000 and with the group's overwhelming exposure, Bardot's debut single "Poison" and self-titled debut album both entered at number one on the Australian ARIA charts, achieving multi-platinum sales. Further singles "I Should've Never Let You Go" and "These Days" continued the group's successful assault on the Australian charts and in August, Bardot embarked on its first national tour. Wood performed with her bandmates at the 2000 ARIA Awards for which they were nominated in three categories and promoted in numerous countries including Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand, India and the UK.

In 2001, Bardot returned to the spotlight with "ASAP", the first single from their second album. "ASAP" went Top 5 as did the following single "I Need Somebody". In November, Bardot released its second album Play It Like That, which achieved gold status upon release and performed before 90,000 music lovers at the Rumba festivals. In early 2002, they embarked on their second national tour and released their final single "Love Will Find a Way", before deciding to "call it a day" in April of that year. At the girl's final public concert, performed live at Channel V, Wood broke into tears, sad at the realisation that it was all coming to an end. Later in interviews, she stated that her and former bandmate Belinda Chapple were the two members keen to continue as a group.

Solo career
Like former Bardot bandmate Sophie Monk, Wood signed a solo recording contract with Warner Music and changed her name from Tiffany Wood to Tiffani Wood in order to avoid confusion with the 1980's American popstar Tiffany. The debut single, "What R U Waiting 4" re-introduced Wood back into the music scene, marketed as an organic, light pop-rock singer (similar to the likes of Michelle Branch, Alanis Morissette etc). The track debuted at #27 on the ARIA singles chart on March 22, 2004 and was one of the most-played songs on Australian radio in that month. Behind the scenes, however, tensions between Wood and Warner Music grew, Wood insisting the second single be a self-penned track with Warner Music already planning on releasing someone else's song as the next single. After failing to reach a compromise, Wood made the decision to leave behind her recording contract for the option of artistic freedom and ultimate career control.

In 2005, after leaving Warner Music, Wood decided to release her material independently and established her own record label Mudhoney Records. The first single "Devil in Your Soul" was released on July 18th and showcased a harder, fast-paced rock sound with electrical guitars, strong drum beats and a saucy vocal performance by Wood. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics, written by Wood and Richie Goncalves (who produced the song) take a stab at the music industry and how major record labels take advantage of their younger artists in order to make them 'marketable'. The single debuted at #13 on the Association of Independent Records Labels (AIR) chart and spent numerous weeks in the top 20. In December 2005, Wood publicly announced her engagement to UK born security guard, events manager Neil Cummins.

In April 2006, Wood released her second independent single "Spin the Bottle" with a number of promotional commitments including a performance on Network 7's top-rating morning program Sunrise. The song also featured in promotions for long-time Australian soap Neighbours in the lead up to the 2006 Logie Awards. The single was a success on the AIR charts, debuting top 5 and eventually peaking at #2. In July, Wood appeared in a nude photoshoot for nude-art magazine Black+White. Wood has established a strong reputation for her live performances, headlining shows at nightclubs and numerous events across the country. During the past few months, she has put together a burlesque-styled show, drawing inspiration from the 1940s and Dita Von Teese for her latest look and style of performance. In September 2006, she released an up-beat cover of the Divinyls 1990 number one hit "I Touch Myself", receiving generally positive reviews. The single peaked at #5 on the AIR charts. In September, Wood confirmed rumours that she is pregnant with her first child. Her debut solo album Bite Your Tongue was released in October and features a collection of self-penned rock-pop songs touching on issues such as body image, falling asleep behind the wheel and the entertainment industry. Respected music critic Cameron Adams gave the album three stars, crediting Wood for her "powerful voice" and describing the record as "sassy". In late January 2007, Wood married her partner Neil Cummins. Photos from their wedding featured in OK! magazine.

Discography
Albums
 * 2006: Bite Your Tongue

Singles
 * 2004: "What R U Waiting 4"
 * 2005: "Devil In Your Soul"
 * 2006: "Spin The Bottle"
 * 2006: "I Touch Myself"