STAR on the Rise | Heidi Tiffany wants to become global star

She was only six years old when she discovered her passion for music, but even at that tender age, aspiring artiste Heidi Tiffany knew what she wanted, and so she pursued her passion with fervency.

Born Heidi-Ann Crawford, the up-and-coming talent is a former member of The University Singers.

Tiffany also provided support for numerous local artistes as she slowly built her career as a singer.

But having always been behind the scenes, the entertainer decided in January that she would step into her own as an artiste and began pursuing her solo career.

"I've been wanting the world to hear me, and now is the time to show people what I can do and what I have to offer on my own. I started doing my own recordings in January of this year. My sound is very different in terms of my styling and my vocal abilities. I have a beautiful voice and the world needs to hear that," she said. "I want to put out music that resonates on the hearts and ears of the people who really love music. I'm not putting out music for a particular generation, because my music is for all with ears. It's feel-good, soulful, energetic, motivational music."

The artiste, who released her debut single, Problems, at the beginning of March, said the COVID-19 pandemic currently stifling the globe has presented the biggest challenge for her as a new artiste.

She expressed that right as she was about to put heavy promotion behind her new single, her plans were halted due to the virus outbreak.

"My main challenge right now as a new artiste is not being physically able to be out there to perform, to travel, and let people see me. Right now, I have to spend a lot of time on social media so that I can interact with people and get them to listen to my music. The day of my song's release on March 9, it was announced that we were experiencing the COVID-19 outbreak across the world," she said. "I am very passionate about my artistry and getting my songs out there, and so that was a huge setback. But everyone is being affected, and so while it's a con, the beauty of it is that I have time to work on myself, and time to keep promoting myself on social media so people can become even more familiar with me."

As she works on growing her fan base in Jamaica, the entertainer revealed that her plans for the music industry are global, as she wants a mainstream career.

"Of course, I want to have Jamaica loving my sound, listening to music and supporting it. You know dem always say, 'dance a yaad before yuh dance abroad'. But while I'm doing that, my focus is also on the international stage. That is really where I want to push my work," she said. "You can't think limits as an artiste. You have to dream big and then put in the necessary work to bring those dreams to fruition."

Speaking of big dreams, the entertainer not only has the Grammys on her radar, but is also eyeing huge collaborations with some of music's youngest and hottest.

"I would really love if I could get to work with Mortimer. I love his sound. I also would love to work with Lila Ike and maybe Protoje," she said.

Musical Inspirations: "Growing up, I found myself listening to a lot of Whitney Houston, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Beres Hammond, Regina Belle. Those are persons I grab inspiration from."

Interesting Fact: "I want to be recognised on an international level and do collabs with artistes like Ella Mai, Emile Sande, John Legend, Burna Boy. Those are the main ones."