“I’m drama,” Tiffany Stringer says halfway through our chat — and honestly, it’s the understatement of the hour. The 27-year-old Texas-born, LA-based pop provocateur might have started off singing “Santa Baby” in fourth grade (yes, that song — “probably a little problematic,” she admits with a laugh), but these days she’s serving far less elementary school talent show, and far more glitter-soaked pop heroine with a bite.
Raised just outside of Dallas and now a self-proclaimed half-Texan, half-Angeleno, Stringer radiates that peculiar blend of charm and chaos you only get when a Virgo triple-threat (Sun, Moon, and Mercury, thank you very much) learns how to weaponise her perfectionism. It’s in the songs, it’s in the visuals, and it’s absolutely in the mic-drop moments of our conversation: “I’m America’s sweetheart, but don’t fuck with me.”
Her sound, as kaleidoscopic as her personality, pulls from the sirens of pop’s more theatrical corners: think Blackout-era Britney Spears, Future Nostalgia-era Dua Lipa, Kim Petras’ Slut Pop, and a splash of Gwen Stefani grit for good measure. “I’m a bubbly girl, but I like to rebel. I love that contradiction. That push and pull,” she explains.
That contradiction is stitched into the title of her debut EP, Texas Primadonna, too. “To me, it’s the embodiment of these two different sides of myself. The Texas version of me is the girl who knows how to make people love her, do the right thing, fit in. And then the primadonna side of me is like, I’m gonna rebel against everything you want me to be. I’m going to do the opposite, and say fuck you while I do it.”
Five tracks, five characters, one girl unravelling, revelling, reflecting, and raising hell all at once. “I see it as me kicking and screaming to get out,” she says of the project. “Now, I feel like I’m stepping into something a little more womanly. Like, let me kick and scream in solitude, and then come forward with my statement.” It’s a balance she’s learned to celebrate. “Not like it’s two personalities,” she clarifies. “But when I’m in Texas, I don’t fully fit in. And in LA, I still stand out. Just in a different context.”
From the riotous opening track “National Anthem (of Independence)” to the seductive “Temptation”, the confessional “Deep Down”, and the tongue-in-cheek climax of “Oh My God”, Stringer plays with extremes. And, of course, the title track perfectly encapsulates this duality that defines her.
Every track feels like a different version of her — some turned up to eleven, some stripped back and vulnerable, digging into the positives and negatives of her past. “I try to always make sure I’m rooted in complete honesty,” she says. “Sometimes I’m figuring out what I think in real time, while I’m writing. I’ll be in a session and go, ‘God, I think that?’ Like, I’m having the epiphany in the lyrics.”
Although the EP leans into what she calls “the pop girlie world,” her sonic history spans more than you might expect. “I’ve released folk songs before,” she says. “I think it depends on the story I’m telling. If I’m sad, I might write something acoustic. When I wrote the EP, I was going into the studio and saying, ‘Here’s something I experienced — how can I tell that story honestly?’ And whatever production supports that vibe, that’s what I go with.”
She’s drawn to female expression in all its forms, whether musical or philosophical. “It’s really hard for me not to like music made by women,” she says. “Even if it’s offbeat or I don’t fully connect with it, I love that they’re expressing themselves. I think everyone deserves that freedom. It’s such an important part of humanity.”
Stringer’s own music reflects that principle: expressive, unfiltered, sometimes hilarious and often disarmingly honest. It’s no surprise to learn she started as a dancer and grew up doing theatre. Singing followed soon after. “My parents love telling this story,” she laughs. “In fourth grade I had a solo in this Christmas musical. I sang “Santa Baby”, and afterwards my dad turned to my mum and said, ‘You didn’t tell me she could sing.’ And she was like, ‘I didn’t know!’”
Soon came vocal lessons, and eventually a stint as a Kids Bop kid. “At the time I was like, ‘Should I be doing this?’” she remembers. “But I’m so glad I did. I was performing pop songs — cleaned up, obviously — and I told my mum, ‘I want to do this for the rest of my life.’”
At 17, she moved to LA with her parents’ full support. “They were like, if you have a dream, go do it. Don’t waste time on anything else. You’ve already figured it out.”
That sense of self-direction defines her career to this day. Though Texas Primadonna was released via a very supportive small New York label, the project was written and creatively driven by Stringer from start to finish. “I did the whole thing independently,” she says. “And even once I signed, I thought they’d step in and say, ‘OK, here’s how we do it.’ But they didn’t. They’d suggest things, and I’d be like, actually no — I’m going to do this instead.”
That conviction led to a complete re-do of the EP’s visuals, just weeks before release. “We’d already done two shoots,” she explains. “The photos looked great, but they didn’t feel like me. I told the label, ‘I don’t need help. I don’t need money. I’ve already planned everything.’ And I reshot everything. I was like, ‘We’re going to ruin my EP if we don’t.’” She pauses, then grins: “That’s the Virgo energy.”
The final visuals, shot in a single day with just her photographer and best friend, are proof of what creative autonomy looks like on a budget. She styled everything herself, made mood boards, and directed the entire shoot. “I’m very meticulous about detail,” she says. “But I just needed someone to give me the framework, and then I’ll run with it.”
Now that Texas Primadonna is out in the world, the question on many fans’ minds is: what’s next?
Stringer’s answer is cautious but curious. “I’ve been in my research era,” she says. “Listening to a lot of other artists’ debut albums. Trying to figure out what story I want to tell. I’ve grown so much since I wrote those five songs, so I’m taking inventory, really thinking about the message.”
There’s music in the works — lots of it. She doesn’t know yet if her next project will be a debut album or another EP, but she’s in no rush. “I want it to be something I can grow from. Something I can keep up with, so I can be honest and still protect myself.”
And while she’s writing new material, she’s also focusing on where that music might take her — literally. Performing live is the dream. “All I really want to be doing is shows,” she says. “That’s where I’m happiest.”
She’s already making plans to reach fans overseas. “I’ve been getting a lot of messages about London, Amsterdam, Australia,” she says. “I want to come. I’m on the first flight out there.”
Right now, she’s collecting fan info through Laylo, a platform that allows her to see where demand is strongest. “In theory, it’s not that crazy. Like, I just come to do a show,” she laughs. “But I’m also a waitress, so I’m learning how to navigate the logistics. Hopefully, some agent conversations I’ve got coming up will help make it happen.”
However, she’s learned to embrace TikTok as a promotional tool. Her recent videos on the platform are garnering thousands of views, which is enough for the singer to amplify her voice. “There was a time in my life where I did not love it as much, and coincidentally enough, it’s because it wasn’t working for me. I think that social media and technology is like a magnification of life. I think it’s a mirror to who we are as people, and it reflects a lot,” Stringer says.
“Sometimes it’s me posting my same song for the tenth time, but maybe I love the outfit I’m in, or it’s a video of me and my friends, or I just got new earrings. There has to be something fun or unique about it. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
Still, wherever she goes next — on stage, online, or in the studio — Stringer’s commitment remains the same: fun, freedom, and full-bodied self-expression. “I love my songs, and I want to promote the hell out of them. But I also want to love the videos I post. I want to have fun with it. If it’s not authentic, I’m not going to do it.”
So yes, she’s drama. She’s glitter. She’s a control freak with a mic and a middle finger, wrapped in a pop package you can’t help but adore. She’s America’s sweetheart. But don’t say she didn’t warn you.
Interview Gennaro Costanzo
