Hearing someone talk about a dream they have carried since childhood, makes you sit up and listen, particularly when that dream has been put to one side, questioned and almost abandoned before finding its way back into the picture. That is what struck me about talking to Tamara Aliyaah, a 22-year-old singer from Stockton-on-Tees who has only started pursuing music professionally this year, despite knowing from a very young age that being on a stage was where she wanted to be. Her story isn't one of overnight success, and perhaps that's what makes it even more interesting. It is about self-doubt, finding your confidence, taking opportunities when they appear and eventually deciding that perhaps the dream you thought was too big might actually be the one worth chasing.
You were only three when your mum realised you could sing. When did singing become something you actually thought could be part of your future?
My mum tells me that when I was three I learnt all the words to No One by Alicia Keys, which I think was probably the first sign that singing was always going to be somewhere in my life. As I got older, she became my "singing teacher", although really that meant making me sing the same song over and over again. Bless her, she really did try. She even put me forward for Britain's Got Talent when I was ten. I got through a couple of rounds but just missed out on actually being on television, which looking back was probably a good thing because I was incredibly shy and self-conscious, particularly about my appearance.
School wasn't exactly the highlight of my life. I was bullied at different points and was teased about my weight and appearance from quite a young age. I was always a bit of a unique kid, which some people called weird, and I had these big dreams and saw the world differently to everyone else. Even now, people tell me I live in my own fantasy world, but I've never really wanted to just accept reality. I like thinking there is more out there.
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You eventually moved away from singing and into acting. Was that because the dream had changed?
Around 14 or 15, after years of self-doubt and pushing myself down, I started thinking maybe singing just wasn't for me. Singing felt incredibly personal. It was like showing people a part of me that I wasn't comfortable letting them see, and I honestly think if I'd been teased about my singing as well, I probably wouldn't be getting on a stage now.
So I chose acting for my GCSEs and then studied Acting for Stage and Screen at college. I enjoyed parts of it, particularly the dressing up, but I realised that being an actor wasn't the life I wanted. After college I went into work and ended up doing all sorts of jobs, from retail and cleaning to working in a bar and as a shop assistant. I never seemed able to stay in one place because I wasn't happy, although at the time I don't think I fully understood why.
So what happened that made you realise you couldn't ignore music anymore?
It was December 2024 and I was working as a cleaner at the Globe in Stockton. The Broadway show SIX was there for two weeks and I managed to sneak in at the back to watch them perform. Watching those women sing and dance was literally like a switch flipping in my head. I remember thinking, this is it. If I wanted to be the happiest version of myself, I needed to be on a stage. I needed to perform. That was the moment the dream came back properly.
I reached out to Marina Josephina, who is still my vocal coach, and we started working on my voice but also building my confidence. I slowly started putting singing videos on social media, which was terrifying at first, but then I absolutely loved it and started posting all the time.
But then things slowed down again?
Yes. Towards the end of that year I wasn't posting as much and I wasn't doing anything particularly creative for a while. I could feel myself getting into a hole and it really affected my mood. Then in February 2026 I had a moment where I realised that if I wanted to change my life, I was the person who had to actually do something about it. I called Marina, who I hadn't seen for months, and told her I wanted to start seeing her again. She told me about First Notes, a Newcastle-based programme for artists and bands who wanted to release music but needed support. I needed A LOT of help!
The programme gave us workshops covering things like marketing, music law and songwriting, as well as mentors who were brilliant because I always have a million and one questions. They also covered studio time, which I'm incredibly grateful for. I also took part in their Next Up programme, a collaboration with NrthBaby, which involved a songwriting camp where we created an original song and recorded it in around 16 hours. I met some amazing people there and, unexpectedly, it led to my first gig.
How did you find your musical identity?
One of the artists I met at the songwriting camp, a rapper and producer called Frikan, told me that he and some other artists were doing a gig at The Link at Stockton Globe with NrthBaby and asked if I wanted to join them. Obviously I said yes. I prepared a short set of covers; I Will Survive, I'd Rather Go Blind and Beautiful, which was quite soulful and R&B. I loved performing and the experience gave me a real taste of being on stage, but I also knew it wasn't quite where I wanted to go musically. I wanted to make Pop and Pop R&B, but I wasn't confident enough yet to completely go in that direction.
That gig helped me realise that if I was going to really love what I was doing, I needed to stop trying to fit myself into what I thought I should sound like and start making the music I actually wanted to make.
And now you've released your first single. How does it feel to actually say that?
Honestly, I can't believe I'm saying it! My debut single, This Could Be It, was released on 23 August at 6pm. It's Pop, R&B and a little bit of Pop Punk, and it's fun and energetic. When I played it to family and friends, they said it sounded like something that would be in one of those early 2000s chick flicks, which I absolutely love. It will be available across the major streaming platforms and I'm performing it live for the first time at The Cluny in Newcastle on 26 August.
There have been so many people involved in getting me to this point. Marina Josephina composed the song and helped me with some of the writing, Martin at Harbour Productions produced, mixed and mastered it, and the team at Generator have been incredible in helping make the whole thing possible.
You've got some pretty big ambitions. What does the future look like for Tamara?
Big. Very big!
I know exactly what I want. I want to travel the world and sing. I want to perform in arenas and on some of the biggest stages in the world, from Coachella and Lollapalooza to Glastonbury. I want to build a career that allows me to connect with people through music wherever I am in the world. But there is something else I want to do too. I want anyone who comes from a small town, doesn't come from a lot of money or has spent their life feeling like the odd one out to know that they don't have to make their dreams smaller just to make other people comfortable.
You don't have to wash your dreams down to fit in.
You can dream big, work hard and still believe there is something more out there for you. And perhaps that's the thing I find most refreshing about Tamara's story. She hasn't arrived at the stage of having everything figured out. She's still at the beginning, still learning, still finding her sound and still building her confidence, but she has stopped apologising for wanting more. Go listen and dowload This Could Be It across all streaming platforms.
And imagine at 22, with her debut single out now and and her first live performance of her own music just days away, perhaps the girl who was once told she was a little bit different was right all along.
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