Christian music fans may best know Plumb for a pair of albums on Essential Records several years ago, but the singer/songwriter has spread her wings well beyond the church. More recently, her songs have found their way onto movie soundtracks like Bruce Almighty, Just Married, View from the Top, Drive Me Crazy and Brokedown Palace while racking up TV credits on ER, Dawson's Creek, Felicity, and Tarzan just to name a few. Much has changed in the life of this once wide-eyed session singer/background vocalist turned full time pop/rock star—except her unwavering faith.

"From the get-go when I had the dream in the back of my mind to do music, I never wanted to be labeled country or Christian or whatever," says the outspoken artist, whose real name is Tiffany Arbuckle Lee. "I've just wanted to be a singer/songwriter appreciated for her artistry and musicianship by people from all walks of life. My life as a Christian is to be evident through each step along the way—not just when I'm in the studio or on stage, but with my interaction with the Wal-Mart cashier or wherever."

The whole idea of a "Christian music industry" or "Christian pop star" has always been foreign to Plumb, who says she has problems with music being specifically made to "market" Christ. When she signed with Essential, she was especially attracted to their affiliation with mainstream label Jive, which is also the home to Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. But Plumb is the first to acknowledge that she didn't know much about how the music industry worked, and as a result, signed a contract that she says wasn't in her best interest.

"I basically signed the first contract that was ever put in front of me, and that's my own naivety," Plumb confirms. "I had a bad attorney who didn't really look out for my best interests. I think he was just excited to have an artist get a record deal, just as much as I was excited to get a record deal.

"There was a lot of things that were great [about the deal], but I gave up my publishing [rights and royalty money given to a songwriter when a song's played on radio] without knowing any better. I had never written a song in my life, so it made sense to give them that because I [had] nothing to offer them."

When her second Essential album Candycoatedwaterdrops was marketed primarily to Christian circles, Plumb started thinking about getting our of her contract—hoping to avoid some of her previous mistakes and to begin the next chapter of her life.

Bolting from Essential was a challenging period she's since gotten over. She said that long after she left the company, Essential president Robert Beeson met Plumb and her husband for lunch. "We looked each other across the table and said, 'Boy, we were babies when Essential was starting out and [when] I was starting out, and we both made mistakes,'" she recalls. "Now we can look back and see how much better of a label they are now. And I am a much better artist now."

As a new "free agent," Plumb took much of 2000 off to get married, but it wasn't long before the music bug bit again. With news of her availability, a handful of labels came knocking, and by 2002, she'd signed with Curb Records, known for breaking pop and country acts like LeAnn Rimes and Tim McGraw, complete with Warner Brothers distribution.

"I had been writing and recording my next album in a studio that actually belonged to Curb—and I didn't even know it!" she recalls. "But then when my attorney told me there was a new deal on the table, we put it all together and realized I was right across the street from the main headquarters. It was really funny, but also helped the relationship between the two parities begin."

This time, the deal not only gave Plumb control of her publishing, but was also geared toward prominent presence in the secular scene. In addition to having a major label pushing 2003's Beautiful Lumps of Coal and singles like "Real" and "Boys Don't Cry" across the globe, it's also opened the door to songwriting opportunities for other artists.

"Curb has played a huge part in getting my music placed in additional TV shows and films, which has led to me co-write songs for other artists," Plumb explains. "It all started when I got involved writing a song for Mandy Moore, which opened up the door to have songs recorded by other pop artists like Jennifer Paige, Michelle Branch, RJ Helton and Kimberly Locke."

Locke's single "Wrong," co-written by Plumb, was the second highest added pop song at radio during its release week, while she's also written a song on CeCe Winans' new Christmas album—and reportedly will have a song on Josh Groban's Christmas CD in 2005. "It's really exciting to have a lot of options open and seeing where they may land," Plumb says. "It's even cooler to have so many amazing opportunities come up because you not only bring artistry and professionalism to a situation, but also the place of faith where you already come from."

Despite these breakthroughs, Plumb doesn't seem to be letting any of it go to her head. She's working on a 2005 release tentatively titled Chaotic Resolve, and maintains a humble, hard-working approach while letting God work out the details.

"I never worry too much about what will happen in all these situations because in my own faith, success is defined as being truly faithful to my calling," she says. "Sure it's fun to watch songs on the charts and count how many records you're selling, but regardless of the numbers and the cash flow, I seek to truly honor my Savior with my efforts."

Since we interviewed Plumb, she found out she was pregnant. She and her husband are expecting their first child in April 2005. For more information about Plumb, visit our artist page for her, and click here to read our review of Beautiful Lumps of Coal. To hear sound clips and purchase her music, visit Christianbook.com.

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