Tila Nguyen (legal name: Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen[1], born October 24, 1981), better known by her stage name Tila Tequila, is an American model, entertainer, and singer residing in West Hollywood, California. She is known for her appearances in Stuff, Maxim, Time, Penthouse, her role as host of the Fuse TV show Pants-Off Dance-Off and her position as the most popular artist on MySpace (according to page views) as of April 2006.[2] She was raised in Houston, Texas. Her MTV show A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila premiered on October 9, 2007.
Early life
Nguyen was born in Singapore, where her family had emigrated from Vietnam after the Vietnam War.[3][4] When Nguyen was a year old,[4] she and her family moved to Alief, a suburb of Houston. Where they lived, until they were admitted to a gated community run by a strict Buddhist temple.[5] The family left the community when Nguyen was eight.[6]
While in middle school, Nguyen became a tomboy and was eventually sent to a boarding school for six months for her combative behavior before transferring to another school.[6] While in high school, she used her sister's identification card to enter nightclubs. Where she began recreational drug use[6] and joined a gang. In an interview with Import Tuner, Nguyen said she had been searching for a sense of identity: "I was really confused then, [because] at first I thought I was black, then I thought I was Hispanic and joined a cholo gang".[7] Later, some friends outside the gang briefly helped turn her life around, however her past caught up with her, and she fled to Queens, New York at the age of 16.[5]
Career
Modeling and acting
Nguyen's career began at the age of 18 when she was discovered at the Sharpstown Mall by a Playboy scout and was offered a chance to model nude for the magazine. She did a test shoot,[8] then eventually moved to Southern California and was featured as Playboy’s Cyber Girl of the week on April 22, 2002, and soon thereafter she became the first Asian Cyber Girl of the Month.[9] A few more pictorials for the magazine followed.[3]
Nguyen gained further popularity through the import racing scene. She has been featured on the cover of Import Tuner magazine, at car shows such as Hot Import Nights, and in the video game Street Racing Syndicate.[10] In 2003, she was a contestant on VH1's Surviving Nugent, a reality TV show where participants performed compromising tasks and stunts for rock star Ted Nugent.[11] She was also the most frequent host on the first season of Fuse TV's dance show, Pants-Off Dance-Off, on which a group of contestants strip to music videos.[3] Tila has also previously worked with VH1 as a commentator on WebJunks's 40 Greatest Internet Superstars.
Nguyen was featured on the cover of the April 2006 issue of Stuff magazine; in the interview, she claimed that her nickname "Tila Tequila" came about when she experimented with alcohol in middle school and had a severe allergic reaction.[12] She was later included in Stuff’s 100 Sexiest Women Online. She appeared on the August 2006 Maxim UK cover, was named #88 in their Hot 100 List,[13][14] and also appeared in the December 2007 issue.[15]
Tequila made an appearance as one of the 12 strangers in the first game on the April 6, 2007 episode of NBC's game show Identity. Her identity was that she has "over one million MySpace friends," a number which, as of that date, stood at 1,771,920.[16] On March 4, 2007 Nguyen made a cameo appearance on the show "War At Home."[17] She also appeared as a Hooters Girl in the 2007 film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
A Shot at Love
Main article: A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila
On March 26, 2007, Tequila announced in her MySpace blog that she would be filming a reality show for VH1. Filming started in May 2007, but the show was moved to VH1's sister network MTV that summer. On October 9, 2007, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila aired on MTV. The program is a bisexual-themed reality dating show where 16 straight men and 16 lesbian women compete for Tila's affections, the twist being that the contestants were not aware of Tequila's bisexuality[18] until the end of the first episode. The ten-episode series is produced by 495 Productions and MTV.[19]
The show was at the heart of a heated online debate between Tequila and conservative Christians after an article appeared on The Christian Post on September 13, 2007.[20] After seeing the article, Tequila wrote an impassioned response in her blog on September 28, 2007, criticizing churches for "bashing" the gay community while thanking God for saving her life.[21][3]
Tila Tequila made A Shot at Love 2 again in April 2008, and her show became a popular gossip subject in Asian media, such as AsianWeek.[22]
Tila's Hot Spot and other business ventures
In 2001 Nguyen started up her website entitled "Tila's Hot Spot".[23] Originally it was a website featuring her information, quotes, blog, and pictorials[23] including content that required adult verification and a monthly payment fee to view.[24] Later the site format was revamped by TAJ Designs Inc.[25] to feature all-ages content and information to promote her current career, business ventures, personal information, and a premium membership section including videos, non-nude picture galleries, blogs, and chat sessions.[26][27]
During 2005 Nguyen launched Tilafashion.com,[28] a site featuring her custom line of clothing for men and women originally using the slogan "So hot you'll just want to take it all off!"[28] In 2006 Tila created a website entitled "Tila Zone,"[29] which features content to use on Myspace and other social networking websites including layouts, widgets, and clipart.[30]
Music career
Nguyen used modeling as a stepping stone for other ventures. At age 20, she acted on her interest in rock music and started looking for bands willing to have her join. She eventually assembled a band called Beyond Betty Jean, for which she was singer and songwriter. Following the breakup of Beyond Betty Jean, Nguyen started working in recording studios to sharpen her vocal skills and wrote music.[9] Tila Tequila became the lead singer of a band called Jealousy, which has released songs over the Internet. Jealousy has appeared on MySpace Records' inaugural compilation album, released through MySpace Records and Interscope.
A major turn in Tequila's music career occurred during the April 24, 2006 taping of MTV's Total Request Live. In an interview with the TRL VJs, will.i.am announced that Tequila was signed to the Will.I.Am music group, a record label under A&M Records. Despite her major-label signing, Tequila independently released her first single "I Love U" through iTunes on February 27, 2007, justifying the independent release through her desire to become famous by herself.[4] She shot a music video for the song, which is available for free after the song is downloaded. A preview for the video debuted on February 14, 2007 on her MySpace page. The video has also been released via mobile phones. On March 6, 2007, Tila's video was the #1 most downloaded on iTunes.
In March 2007, Washington-based record label The Saturday Team released an EP called Sex, by Tila Tequila.[4] On July 27, 2007, Italian website MusicBlob reported that The Saturday Team and distributor Icon Music Entertainment Services sued Nguyen over breaching her contract related to the album.[31] However, Tila, through a MySpace bulletin,[31], claimed the EP was not authorized for released by her, and was removed from most retailers. As of July 2008, nothing has come of the lawsuit and it is believed to have been dropped.
On October 9, 2007[32], the same day her reality show A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila premiered, Tila released her second official single, Stripper Friends. In mid-November Tila shot the video for song Paralyze, which had yet to be released. The video was shot at an upscale Los Angeles condo. Scenes were shot featuring Tila with a long dark brown wig on (at the time, she had a short blond bob) as well as without the wig. However, the scenes were originally cut from the video.
She shot the music video for Stripper Friends in early December 2007 at a Los Angeles strip club. The video premiered via Yahoo! Music on February 26, 2007 and was released to iTunes on March 4, 2008. The single has yet to make impact on the charts. On April 2, 2008 the music video for Paralyze was released also via Yahoo! Music and the single was released to iTunes on April 8, 2008. Wellheart Music Journal was one of the first major music publications to review the new single Paralyze. The review was glowing, calling the track soulful and adding "With the proper promotion and the video just having premiered, it shouldn't be surprising if this is her breakthrough smash."[33]
In July 2008 the song "Hideaway" was leaked through Tila's MySpace and received good response from fans. The song was taken down later that same day, although Tila did announce [34] that she would be releasing her first full-length debut album in the winter. She also stated that because of the fan response, the new song "Hideaway" would appear on the album. On July 11, 2008, the full 3 minute studio version of Tila's song "Knock U Out" was leaked onto the internet. The original snippet of the song had leaked in early 2007. It is unclear if this song will appear on the album.
Early life
Nguyen was born in Singapore, where her family had emigrated from Vietnam after the Vietnam War.[3][4] When Nguyen was a year old,[4] she and her family moved to Alief, a suburb of Houston. Where they lived, until they were admitted to a gated community run by a strict Buddhist temple.[5] The family left the community when Nguyen was eight.[6]
While in middle school, Nguyen became a tomboy and was eventually sent to a boarding school for six months for her combative behavior before transferring to another school.[6] While in high school, she used her sister's identification card to enter nightclubs. Where she began recreational drug use[6] and joined a gang. In an interview with Import Tuner, Nguyen said she had been searching for a sense of identity: "I was really confused then, [because] at first I thought I was black, then I thought I was Hispanic and joined a cholo gang".[7] Later, some friends outside the gang briefly helped turn her life around, however her past caught up with her, and she fled to Queens, New York at the age of 16.[5]
Career
Modeling and actingNguyen's career began at the age of 18 when she was discovered at the Sharpstown Mall by a Playboy scout and was offered a chance to model nude for the magazine. She did a test shoot,[8] then eventually moved to Southern California and was featured as Playboy’s Cyber Girl of the week on April 22, 2002, and soon thereafter she became the first Asian Cyber Girl of the Month.[9] A few more pictorials for the magazine followed.[3]
Nguyen gained further popularity through the import racing scene. She has been featured on the cover of Import Tuner magazine, at car shows such as Hot Import Nights, and in the video game Street Racing Syndicate.[10] In 2003, she was a contestant on VH1's Surviving Nugent, a reality TV show where participants performed compromising tasks and stunts for rock star Ted Nugent.[11] She was also the most frequent host on the first season of Fuse TV's dance show, Pants-Off Dance-Off, on which a group of contestants strip to music videos.[3] Tila has also previously worked with VH1 as a commentator on WebJunks's 40 Greatest Internet Superstars.
Nguyen was featured on the cover of the April 2006 issue of Stuff magazine; in the interview, she claimed that her nickname "Tila Tequila" came about when she experimented with alcohol in middle school and had a severe allergic reaction.[12] She was later included in Stuff’s 100 Sexiest Women Online. She appeared on the August 2006 Maxim UK cover, was named #88 in their Hot 100 List,[13][14] and also appeared in the December 2007 issue.[15]
Tequila made an appearance as one of the 12 strangers in the first game on the April 6, 2007 episode of NBC's game show Identity. Her identity was that she has "over one million MySpace friends," a number which, as of that date, stood at 1,771,920.[16] On March 4, 2007 Nguyen made a cameo appearance on the show "War At Home."[17] She also appeared as a Hooters Girl in the 2007 film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
A Shot at Love
Main article: A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila
On March 26, 2007, Tequila announced in her MySpace blog that she would be filming a reality show for VH1. Filming started in May 2007, but the show was moved to VH1's sister network MTV that summer. On October 9, 2007, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila aired on MTV. The program is a bisexual-themed reality dating show where 16 straight men and 16 lesbian women compete for Tila's affections, the twist being that the contestants were not aware of Tequila's bisexuality[18] until the end of the first episode. The ten-episode series is produced by 495 Productions and MTV.[19]
The show was at the heart of a heated online debate between Tequila and conservative Christians after an article appeared on The Christian Post on September 13, 2007.[20] After seeing the article, Tequila wrote an impassioned response in her blog on September 28, 2007, criticizing churches for "bashing" the gay community while thanking God for saving her life.[21][3]
Tila Tequila made A Shot at Love 2 again in April 2008, and her show became a popular gossip subject in Asian media, such as AsianWeek.[22]
Tila's Hot Spot and other business ventures
In 2001 Nguyen started up her website entitled "Tila's Hot Spot".[23] Originally it was a website featuring her information, quotes, blog, and pictorials[23] including content that required adult verification and a monthly payment fee to view.[24] Later the site format was revamped by TAJ Designs Inc.[25] to feature all-ages content and information to promote her current career, business ventures, personal information, and a premium membership section including videos, non-nude picture galleries, blogs, and chat sessions.[26][27]
During 2005 Nguyen launched Tilafashion.com,[28] a site featuring her custom line of clothing for men and women originally using the slogan "So hot you'll just want to take it all off!"[28] In 2006 Tila created a website entitled "Tila Zone,"[29] which features content to use on Myspace and other social networking websites including layouts, widgets, and clipart.[30]
Music careerNguyen used modeling as a stepping stone for other ventures. At age 20, she acted on her interest in rock music and started looking for bands willing to have her join. She eventually assembled a band called Beyond Betty Jean, for which she was singer and songwriter. Following the breakup of Beyond Betty Jean, Nguyen started working in recording studios to sharpen her vocal skills and wrote music.[9] Tila Tequila became the lead singer of a band called Jealousy, which has released songs over the Internet. Jealousy has appeared on MySpace Records' inaugural compilation album, released through MySpace Records and Interscope.
A major turn in Tequila's music career occurred during the April 24, 2006 taping of MTV's Total Request Live. In an interview with the TRL VJs, will.i.am announced that Tequila was signed to the Will.I.Am music group, a record label under A&M Records. Despite her major-label signing, Tequila independently released her first single "I Love U" through iTunes on February 27, 2007, justifying the independent release through her desire to become famous by herself.[4] She shot a music video for the song, which is available for free after the song is downloaded. A preview for the video debuted on February 14, 2007 on her MySpace page. The video has also been released via mobile phones. On March 6, 2007, Tila's video was the #1 most downloaded on iTunes.
In March 2007, Washington-based record label The Saturday Team released an EP called Sex, by Tila Tequila.[4] On July 27, 2007, Italian website MusicBlob reported that The Saturday Team and distributor Icon Music Entertainment Services sued Nguyen over breaching her contract related to the album.[31] However, Tila, through a MySpace bulletin,[31], claimed the EP was not authorized for released by her, and was removed from most retailers. As of July 2008, nothing has come of the lawsuit and it is believed to have been dropped.
On October 9, 2007[32], the same day her reality show A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila premiered, Tila released her second official single, Stripper Friends. In mid-November Tila shot the video for song Paralyze, which had yet to be released. The video was shot at an upscale Los Angeles condo. Scenes were shot featuring Tila with a long dark brown wig on (at the time, she had a short blond bob) as well as without the wig. However, the scenes were originally cut from the video.
She shot the music video for Stripper Friends in early December 2007 at a Los Angeles strip club. The video premiered via Yahoo! Music on February 26, 2007 and was released to iTunes on March 4, 2008. The single has yet to make impact on the charts. On April 2, 2008 the music video for Paralyze was released also via Yahoo! Music and the single was released to iTunes on April 8, 2008. Wellheart Music Journal was one of the first major music publications to review the new single Paralyze. The review was glowing, calling the track soulful and adding "With the proper promotion and the video just having premiered, it shouldn't be surprising if this is her breakthrough smash."[33]
In July 2008 the song "Hideaway" was leaked through Tila's MySpace and received good response from fans. The song was taken down later that same day, although Tila did announce [34] that she would be releasing her first full-length debut album in the winter. She also stated that because of the fan response, the new song "Hideaway" would appear on the album. On July 11, 2008, the full 3 minute studio version of Tila's song "Knock U Out" was leaked onto the internet. The original snippet of the song had leaked in early 2007. It is unclear if this song will appear on the album.
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