Tiffani Bonner has music in her heart and on her brain. While she seized the title and crown at the Miss Guyana Talented Teen back in 2013, music had long seized her heart.
“Singing for me began at the mandir,” the former Tutorial High student said. “I’m not a Hindu but I was brought up in the mandir.”
Today when Tiffani sings, her range is very much different from that of someone who sings bhajans. Asked whether persons are surprised when they hear her mind-blowing performances and then learn that she grew up singing in the mandir, Tiffani admitted that they are, but quickly added that it used to be even more astonishing for them to see a little mixed girl belting out bhajans while outfitted in her shalwar.
For schooling, the former queen attended Sacred Heart Primary and later St Gabriel’s Primary. An “introvert” was how she described herself. Tiffani seldom had close relationships with her school friends. She steered clear of social life and whenever she was upset, she would vent it all on paper. Before long, she was penning her own songs.
Growing up, Tiffani was always glued to the television with her parents whenever a pageant was being aired, longing to someday take up pageantry but never bold enough to seize the opportunity. Her father, knowing this, encouraged her to go for it and she entered the Miss Summer Blaze Pageant in 2012 and won. However, she still struggled with voicing her opinions and getting on stage. What made the breakthrough for her was choosing to get involved in the Miss Guyana Talented Teen 2013 pageant. It took a while for the trainers to make much headway with Tiffani; she confided that changes did not occur until the third week into preparing for the pageant. But it was this pageant, the young woman said, that made her become outspoken and changed her life.
She recalled, however, that the Miss Guyana Talented Teen crown 
almost did not become hers as sponsorship was hard to come by. But her mother could not see her work so hard and just give up. Taking what was left of her savings at the time, Tiffani’s mother sought one of Guyana’s best designers to create the perfect gown for her daughter. Randy Madray was the designer chosen and it was his piece that won the Best Gown Award that year. The pageant also provided Tiffani the opportunity to mesmerize the audience at the National Cultural Centre with her rendition of Beyoncé’s “Listen”.
After winning the pageant, Tiffani returned to her school where she took part in modelling and assisted in coordinating various school events. She then entered the Home Economics stream and learnt to cook and sew. Today, many of the clothes she wears to large events are made by her. Designing, Tiffani shared, was something she wanted to take up, but she never followed through with it and instead would just make clothing for herself.
Demi Lovato, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston and Diana Ross are among the singers who inspire her; Mariah Carey makes this list also but there some singers, Tiffani said, who she would never try to touch. Some songs are just too sacred. Her favourites among the locals are Tennicia DeFreitas, Lisa Punch and Juke Ross. She also mentioned Guyanese composers Ridwaan and Gordon Andres who have been very supportive of her and would from time to time send her a new piece that was composed for her to add her lyrics to and work on her developing her music.
So far, Tiffani has sung numerous covers at more than 50 shows in Guyana at various places including Duke Lodge, Cara Lodge, the National Cultural Centre, the Theatre Guild, the National Stadium and the Pegasus Hotel. In fact, Tiffani was a part of a band at Pegasus two years ago.
She has a YouTube Channel where she releases covers of songs done by international artistes including Sam Smith’s “Love on the Brain”. As much as she wants to, the songwriter has not released any originals because of the state of copyright law in Guyana. But she is trying to find the best option of getting her songs out there.
“I am a R&B girl but I’m also aware that in Guyana that may or may not sell and that’s the part that scares me a bit which is why I’m taking so long to release anything. Guyanese are more supportive of Soca and other Caribbean genres. Guyanese look forward to songs that allow them to gyrate. I know of really good singers, who, because they don’t sing Soca and they do R&B, are not taken seriously. I’ve had persons condemn me for singing R&B saying I’m trying to be white. Being a Guyanese artiste, the society here expects you to sing more Caribbean-infused songs but many of these genres didn’t come from Guyana. Copyright is another issue….”
Among the many artistes the singer has performed alongside are Kwasi Ace, Calvin Burnett, Lisa Punch and Brandon Harding. Tiffani was part of a group of 30 persons who were singing at various events including the inauguration of Bartica as a town which was attended by the president and other ministers.
One year, the group was scheduled to perform at the Guyana Day event in New York, but the event was cut short and many of the artistes did not have the opportunity to perform. Nonetheless, Tiffani and others spent the rest of the month touring the city and also made an appearance on “Good Morning America”, the ABC cable television show. They also did mini concerts in various parts of New York, including in the subway stations, which is a popular means of exposure used by artistes in that city. “It was really nice. It was a great trip. It wasn’t as fulfilling as we thought it would have been, but we gained a lot of experience…,” the singer shared.
“Music is life. It’s the only remedy that can heal you without a single soul intervening and I think that’s truly precious. Music helps us get through so many obstacles in life. It can easily change one’s mood from sad to happy or [vice versa]. If you want to feel happy, there’s a song for that; if you’re sad and you want to get over someone, there’s a song for that too.” Tiffani referenced a heartbreak she experienced, adding that music healed her. She also keeps a diary in which she pens her frustration and she easily wrote a few dozen songs during that period.
Tiffani does not come from a family of singers, but she revealed that her father, Leslie Bonner, a Jamaican played drums in Bob Marley’s band for a short period, so Bob’s songs were also some of the songs Tiffani grew up listening too; she has done her own remix versions of them. Aside from the support she has had from her parents, Tiffani said her late grandmother was also very supportive. “I’d never forget this particular quote she’d always say to me when I was younger: ‘You should never look down on someone unless you’re picking them up’ and that stuck with me. That’s my favourite quote even today. I live by it,” Tiffani said.
“I’d want to encourage persons to believe in their craft and don’t ever stop pushing. The moment you think or second-guess your music or craft or your writing that will be your downfall. Push for your dreams, work as hard as you should be working because music is a tough field and it requires a lot of work… many persons doesn’t realize until they actually get into it. Ask yourselves what will make you stand out from the rest of artistes. That’s what I always ask myself, ‘what would make me stand out’ and the only thing that allows me to do that is being myself and being you is what you need to do. Be original.”
Tiffani is making plans to visit New York in the Summer for voice training. Apart from singing, Tiffani hopes to someday open a homeless shelter for children and have her own spa. She plans to get into broadcasting and is currently reading for a degree in communications at the University of Guyana so as to pursue this dream. Her biggest plans, however, surround music. She hopes to someday have her own international concerts. Her first single is to be released sometime next year.
In her free time, Tiffani hangs out with friends.
Her favourite colour is red, while her two best dishes to eat are curried chicken and ackee and saltfish, a Jamaican dish that is specially prepared by her father.
Asked whether she plans to participate in any other pageants, Tiffani said she has no such plans at the moment, but having always been a fan of Miss World, she is considering whether to someday enter that pageant.
Tiffani can be followed on Facebook at Tiffani Bonner and on Instagram @tiffani_bonner.
