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Tiffany Montgomery^[1] (born November 21, 1982), known professionally asRyan Starr, is a singer who finished seventh on thefirst season ofAmerican Idol. She went on to release a successful single oniTunes and participated in a handful of other television programs, modeling campaigns, and worldwide music tours.

Ryan Starr was born Tiffany Montgomery in theSunland neighborhood ofLos Angeles, California, a place which she once described as a "middle of nowhere town, up in the hills - like, horse country."^[2] Her elementary, middle, and high schools were all about "a block from one another" in her words,^[2] and growing up, Starr considered herself to be "a small-town tomboy".^[3] She has three sisters.^[4][5] On her mother's side, she is Peruvian and Bolivian.^[6][7] She also has French and Irish ancestry.^[8]

Although Starr was namedHomecoming Queen,^[9] she reminisced in a 2017 blog post that she was "dorky" and "definitely not one of the popular kids" for most of her time in school.^[10] She graduated fromVerdugo Hills High School in 2000,^[9] where she rantrack.^[10] Before attempting a music career, she worked as awaitress,lifeguard,swim team coach, and at a clothing store.^[2]

Around the age of seven, Starr began learning how to sing.^[2][5] Her family was unable to afford formal vocal training, so as a child, Starr developed her voice by singing along toDisney films.^[11] Drawn tojazz andblues artists from a young age,Nat King Cole,Ella Fitzgerald,Billie Holiday,Etta James,Janis Joplin, andOtis Redding were among Starr's first musical influences.^[5][12] As Starr got older, she found inspiration inrock musicians, such asPat Benatar,Chris Cornell,Steve Perry, andSteven Tyler.^[5]

After graduating from high school, Starr went on frequent bus excursions intoHollywood from her nearby hometown, and on one of these, she met a girl who suggested that the two of them audition forAmerican Idol'sfirst season together.^[2] Starr's performance of "Lean on Me" (byBill Withers) was the first successful audition ever shown on the series.^[13] In his 2003 autobiography,I Don't Mean to Be Rude, But...,Simon Cowell wrote that Starr was "cripplingly shy" at the audition, but thatPaula Abdul "saw some potential for stardom in her, and decided to mentor her."^[14]

Starr, who auditioned as Tiffany Montgomery,^[15] adopted her stage name by Hollywood Week.^[16] Placed into Group 1 for the Top 30 semi-finals, her song choice for that round of an oldjazz standard, "The Frim-Fram Sauce", puzzled Cowell andRandy Jackson,^[17] although the following night Cowell deemed Starr "a dark horse" and predicted that she could excel in the competition with better singing material.^[18] After she was voted through to the Top 10,^[18][19] Starr opened the first round of the finals, singing "If You Really Love Me" byStevie Wonder; this marked the first live performance in the history ofAmerican Idol.^[20] Starr was well-received by the judges for that performance but was voted off the series two weeks later in seventh place.^[20][21]

The second of Starr's live performances, "You Really Got Me" byThe Kinks, was panned by the judges and resulted in a Bottom 2 placement for that week.^[22] While Starr's final performance of the competition, "Last Dance" byDonna Summer, was praised by the judges as an improvement over the previous week, it prompted Cowell to reflect on Starr's disparate song choices throughout the competition and express confusion over what kind of artist Starr wanted to be.^[23] The judges felt that Starr struggled with aspects of her performances throughout every round of the finals but communicated a shared belief in Starr's potential.^[20][22][23] Upon Starr's elimination from the competition, Cowell gave Starr an offer to call him anytime for help with pursuing a music career.^[21]

• "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"Nancy Sinatra, (solo part in Group performance)

Starr blamed her stalled music career on a two-year restrictive recording contract withRCA. Under this contract, she refused to record an album claiming producers wanted to turn her into anAvril Lavigne type singer. After an intense three year legal battle she was released from contract in 2005.^[24]

Upon release from her contract, Starr went on to hostTRL on VH1.^{[citation needed]} In January 2005,People reported that Starr was "shopping a demo record that steers clear of Idol's sugary pop tones" and had "recently released" aniTunes exclusive single, "My Religion", which she co-wrote.^[25] According to a 2007 article by theBoston Herald, "My Religion" was released in 2005,^[26] though an earlier article by NCBuy.com reported that "My Religion" was released in September 2004.^[27] Although it was reported by theBoston Herald in 2008 and byRolling Stone in 2011 that "My Religion" peaked at #1 on theBillboardDigital Songs chart,^[28][29]Billboard's own records indicate that the song did not actually chart.^[30][31]

• Ryan Starr atIMDb

• 1982 births
• Living people
• 21st-century American singer-songwriters
• 21st-century American women singers
• 21st-century American actresses
• American Idol participants
• American pop rock singers
• American women pop singers
• American women rock singers
• American women singer-songwriters
• American film actresses
• American rock songwriters
• American television actresses
• Actresses from Los Angeles
• Singers from Los Angeles
• Singer-songwriters from California
• Verdugo Hills High School alumni

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