Paula Peterson

Tiffany “TJ” Carter may not yet be a household name, but that may soon change with the national release of a music video off her first album.

The 30-year-old South Lake Tahoe woman, a 2003 graduate of South Tahoe High, is celebrating the video’s release and shared the news from her berth on a Carnival Cruise Line ship. She also talked about how she got started on her career in a town she’s called home since 1989.

Her first performance was when she was just three years old when she joined dad Leonard at church. At age five, Marcia Sarosik heard her sing “High Hopes” during dance class at Sarosik’s studio and put her behind a microphone.

“I think that is probably the first time I realized I was different,” TJ said. “Singing has always been my first love. Growing up I liked to make noise in general.”

TJ (whose real name is Tiffany) and her sisters all like to sing, and in fact there was one big rule at home. “No singing at the dinner table,” said TJ. “It still makes me laugh.”

“My family and the Lake Tahoe community nurtured my talent while growing up,” added Carter. “I cannot thank them enough for encouraging me as a child.”

Even though Carter is now on her fourth contract with Carnival Cruise Lines as a guitar soloist, when in South Lake Tahoe her singing experience was mainly through church and the Marcia Sarosik Dance Studio.

“Tahoe is still home to me and is so beautiful,” said Carter. “It’s a wonderful place to live and I would never leave if I weren’t trying to pursue music.”

Carter released her first album, “Bold and Beautiful,” in July of 2015. Now, one year later she has her very first music video with a single off the album, “You Don’t Know Me.”

She tries to make it home as often as possible to see the family which consists of dad Leonard, mom Janet and sisters Michelle and Sophia. It was Sophia that choreographed and dances her her music video. The 2003 South Tahoe High graduate was born in Sacramento, but the family moved to South Lake Tahoe when she was three.

After her contract is up with the cruise line this Fall, TJ plans to move back to Nashville to pursue more music.

People can buy TJ Carter’s music on iTunes and Amazon as well as streaming on soundcloud or spotify: