'80s pop queen hosts new IU talent contest

At 7:30 p.m. on Monday April 21, the lights at the IU Auditorium will start to dim. Ten finalists, all IU students and winners from earlier auditions and musical competitions, will be waiting nervously in the audience, biting their fingernails and humming bars from previously selected songs. They will not know until the moments before whether they will perform or not. \nSuddenly, the lights will go up and a petite redhead named Tiffany Darwish (yes, that Tiffany) will walk onstage and welcome the audience to the first-ever "Hoosier Idol" competition. The '80s pop icon, who once sang her way through the malls of America, scored back-to-back hit singles (one of which was "I think we're alone now") and topped Michael Jackson on the charts, will be the hostess for the contest that imitates the hit TV show "American Idol," where egos are broken and stars are made in front of millions. \nTiffany just happens to be perfect for the job. She has spent most of her life riding that bucking horse called the music industry. She found success, she traveled the world, she made money and then she was gone. It would seem that Tiffany's already had her 15 minutes of fame, personifying the era of jean jackets and big hair. But Tiffany, as it turns out, has a few more tricks up her sleeve, and she doesn't plan on retreating into the suburbs of Los Angeles anytime soon. If anything, she's going to be busier than ever.\nAt the precocious age of five, Tiffany started singing at local fairs. She soon appeared on "Star Search," and she signed a recording contract with MCA Records at 13. In 1987, she set off on a nationwide mall tour to promote her self-titled album. Her follow-up album went double platinum, but when the teen pop era dried up in the early '90s, Tiffany suddenly faded from the limelight. \nNow 31, Tiffany has reappeared on the music scene, minus the jean jacket. She lives in L.A. with her 10-year-old son Elijah. Tiffany tours four to five months a year and also spends time doing talk shows, working in the studio and taking acting classes. But her real passion is songwriting.\n"I took time off basically to go to the next level to do songwriting," she says. "I never really had the chance to do that."\nInevitably, Tiffany hears questions about where she's been for the past ten years, and how she's dealt with the rejection that usually comes with the pop-star territory. \n"I don't know of too many celebrities who can always keep the momentum going," she says. "There's Stevie Nicks, Tina Turner and Elton John."\nComfort came through hearing of other musicians' struggles on a popular TV show. \n"I started watching (VH1's) 'Behind the Music' and thought, 'Oh, this is where I'm supposed to be,'" Tiffany says. "And then, there are a lot of things I haven't done, too. Like rehab. I haven't done that yet."\nShe admits it is hard when the media throws insensitive barbs her way. For the most part, she has been able to ignore criticism. She says praise and rejection come hand-in-hand.\n"The media gets you up there, and then they have to tear you down," she says. "It's hard, but I think you just have to persevere, and go, 'That's OK.'"\nIt's obvious that Tiffany, who admits she has a quirky sense of humor and a heart for spontaneity, wants to be taken seriously as a musician, like the contestants at Monday's "Hoosier Idol" finals.\n"People really don't know what goes on behind the scenes," she says. "I've been successful at a lot of other things, and I'm going for it. I'm not going to stop. I just want to continue to grow as a musician and as a person."\nDespite the fame and fortune her teen idol status brought her, Tiffany says the glitter wears off. \n"You can be really unhappy really quickly," she says. "You have no time to breathe. It's a crazy, crazy pace."\nMusician and IU grad Rich Hardesty, who will be one of three judges for "Hoosier Idol," says most people who dream of entering the music business don't realize its demands.\n"We live a completely different life than most," he says. "Everyone has their own schedule. The protocol is different, as well as the politics."\nHardesty, who aggressively markets himself and his music, says people who are interested in making music their job have to have a business plan.\n"There are so many musicians out there with their hand in the air saying, 'Pick me,'" he says. "It's all about the business. When you get into the belly of the monster is when you say, 'I'm crazy for doing this.' But you get to see more of the nation and the world when you are in the entertainment business and you can call your own shots."\nHardesty says he has seen FOX's "American Idol" a couple of times. He finds it to be entertaining and hilarious, and he likens it to his own shows, where he lets the talented (and untalented) get on stage and sing now and then. \n"It seems like an American obsession for that five minutes of fame, whether it be on stage or TV," Hardesty says. "I think the success of the "American Idol" show is due to this obsession. Everybody wants that five minutes of fame." \nHardesty says he'll be looking for a "Hoosier Idol" finalist with passion, stage presence and the ability to connect with the audience. He's not sure if he'll be as caustic as "American Idol"'s infamous Simon Cowell. Tiffany says she tries to see the other side of things.\n"Talent contests are weird," she says. "Because I did them for many years, I always tell everybody, 'Look, if this is in your blood, you'll know it.' And a defeat is shocking, but you'll come out better if it's meant to be."\nOne person who could feel the judges' wrath Monday night is "Teter Idol" winner Matt Schuerman. He won "Teter Idol" in the first round on April 3 to move on to the second round on April 10. He won this competition to become an automatic finalist for "Hoosier Idol." Schuerman, a freshman from Osgood, Ind., is the lead singer in a band with three of his friends. One friend is his current roommate, but the other two band members are still living in Osgood. \n"I like performing a lot," says Schuerman. "I thought ("Teter Idol") was a good chance to perform since I don't get to play with the band a lot." \nSchuerman says he is excited that Tiffany will be hosting "Hoosier Idol," and he looks forward to meeting her. Schuerman, who is still exploring his options for a major, has no big plans to leap into the music business. In fact, he's not even decided on when and how he'll use his "Teter Idol" prize of ten hours of free recording time at Echo Park Studios. \nBut if Schuerman asks the "Hoosier Idol" hostess Tiffany for advice, she'll tell him the same thing she tells everyone: "You just know."\n"It's a weird deal. There was no 'I'm not going to make it,'" she says. "I knew I was going to be a singer. I think there's just something in you where you know it's a calling"