The daughter of an architect and a speech and drama teacher, Tara was introduced to the world of drama and music at a young age, studying Speech and Drama up to grade eight in the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
Tara Blaise’s singing career began at 16 when she formed a band called Les Legumes with some school friends, but it was her stint as a backing singer with Dublin band The Wilde Oscars that first brought her to the attention of the Irish music scene.
After The Wilde Oscars came Igloo. Having made a name for themselves on the Irish live circuit, they entered the studio and produced a couple of well-received singles. Subsequently, when much-vaunted band Kaydee sought her out after their singer quit, she agreed to join. The Kaydee album on EMI was re-recorded to feature Tara’s vocals and released to very positive reviews. However, despite regular touring including a Midem showcase and a London live club residency, Kaydee never quite hit the big time.
Having just decided to go solo, Tara received a call from a friend who hooked her up with John Hughes, (manager of The Corrs, Musical Director of Alan Parker’s film of The Commitments, and former musician with Minor Detail).
John Hughes was in the middle of his own instrumental album (Wild Ocean released in October 2004 by 14th Floor Records/Warner UK), and he was looking for a vocalist/lyricist. They collaborated on one track, "Dancing In the Wind", and the association worked so well that they recorded another, "Come Away". Concurrently, Tara took the time to complete a course in Drama at Dublin’s Gaiety School of Acting, finishing in time to add vocals to Deo, the first single from the Wild Ocean album. Tara also appears in the video for Deo, shot in County Antrim, including The Giant’s Causeway.
John Hughes offered her an album deal on his own Spokes label, and sent her to Los Angeles to work with Corrs producer Olle Romo, resulting in her debut album Dancing On Tables Barefoot. The first Tara Blaise solo single was "Fool For Love", featuring only Tara’s voice and a string quartet. Both "Fool For Love" and follow up "Paperback Cliché" were playlisted by BBC Radio 2 in the UK and Tara covered much ground with a tour of UK regional radio stations, perform with Corrs’ guitarist Anthony Drennan.
"Paperback Cliché" was a huge radio hit in Ireland, gaining more than 4,00 plays, and listed at No 2 in the Irish artist airplay Chart, behind U2.
The album Dancing On Tables Barefoot was released in the summer of 2005, and described by Hot Press as “a warm and honest record, lit by a genuine sense of personal adventure, and delivered with feelng and panache in equal measure.” The Sunday Times said ‘Pretty much everything here could be a single..’
Live shows in the summer of 2005 included The Isle Of Wight Festival (where a video was shot for third single "The Three Degrees"), T In The Park, the Richmond Festival, Yorks, The Secret Garden, V Festivals in Chelmsford & Staffs and in Ireland the Oxegen Festival (Naas, County Kildare). She headlined London’s Bush Hall in September 2005, and had her first headlining Irish tour, culminating in a Dublin show at the Sugar Club in November.
Little Girl
Tara Blaise Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You’ve been here before
And you breathe deep
And you cry to sleep
But you didn’t break,
You’ve done it all before.
Little girl, she’s a rebel
Because we did it all before,
And she runs wild
And she comes to hide
With her pride
Like before.
Once bitten twice shy,
Can you look me in the eye?
She just has to look at me,
She knows how to melt me like before.
Little girls to little women
Out on your own again,
You did it all before.
And she sets them free
And she pulls them in
Under the wing
Like before.
Once bitten twice shy,
Can you look me in the eye?
She just has to look at me,
She knows how to melt me like before.
And she means everything to me.
She knows how to melt me like before.
The song "Little Girl" by Tara Blaise addresses a young woman who has been hurt before but is not defeated. The lines "Little girl with the lights down and he's gone, you've been here before" suggest that the woman has experienced loss or heartbreak previously. However, the following lines "And you breathe deep and you cry to sleep, but you didn't break, you've done it all before" convey a sense of resilience and strength. The woman has been through tough times but has come out the other side and has the confidence to face difficult situations again.
The lyrics also touch on the theme of rebellion, with the line "Little girl, she's a rebel and we know because we did it all before." This could be interpreted as the woman being unafraid to go against societal norms or expectations, perhaps as a result of her past experiences. The idea of past experiences continuing to shape the woman's actions is also evident in the chorus, which repeats the line "Once bitten twice shy, can you look me in the eye?"
The final verse of the song suggests that the woman has grown and matured into a "little woman" who is capable of taking care of others. "And she sets them free and she pulls them in under the wing like before" implies that she has found newfound freedom and independence while also supporting and nurturing others. Overall, the song's themes of resilience, rebellion, and personal growth make it a powerful tribute to the strength of women.
Line by Line Meaning
Little girl with the lights down and he’s gone,
A girl who has been abandoned in the dark and alone before.
You’ve been here before
She has experienced this situation previously in her life.
And you breathe deep
She collects herself and tries to remain calm.
And you cry to sleep
She gives herself a release and cries every night, but eventually falls asleep.
But you didn’t break,
She did not let the situation completely break her spirit.
You’ve done it all before.
She has already faced similar challenges in her life.
Little girl, she’s a rebel
The girl has a rebellious streak in her personality.
And we know
The artist is identifying with the girl in some way.
Because we did it all before,
The artist and the girl have a shared experience that explains their knowing of each other.
And she runs wild
The girl has a tendency to be free-spirited and unpredictable.
And she comes to hide
The girl has a need to seek refuge and hide away from time to time.
With her pride
Her sense of self-worth is a significant part of who she is.
Like before.
The girl has acted similarly in the past.
Once bitten twice shy,
Bad experiences can make us hesitant to repeat our actions or trust again.
Can you look me in the eye?
The singer is asking for honesty and vulnerability from the girl.
She just has to look at me,
The girl has the power to influence the artist by just making eye contact.
She knows how to melt me like before.
The girl's charm is something to which the artist is susceptible.
Little girls to little women
The maturing of a girl into adulthood.
Out on your own again,
Having to make a life for oneself independently.
You did it all before.
The girl has already faced challenges in her life before.
And she sets them free
The girl has a tendency to empower others.
And she pulls them in
She is also magnetic and draws people towards her.
Under the wing
She provides a sense of protection and care for those around her.
Like before.
This is something she has done in the past as well.
She means everything to me.
The girl is of significant importance to the singer in some way.
She knows how to melt me like before.
The girl has a power over the singer that has already been exerted in the past.
Contributed by Xavier M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Sally Rose
@SR031989 and I also think that she did a beautiful cover of "Living on a pray". Go Tara!
CorrsFanPortugal3
i looooove this performance
Sally Rose
I think she sang very good.
jack Jackson3
This girl deserved a chance
Nick M
I thought Tara sang this beautifully, compare her to the previous contestant and hear the nerves. I think the judges need to be questioned. Check out Tara's other videos on you tube.
sabu kusumi
oh i ordered her album right now!!!!
Mery Pru
I'm listening to her rigth now on spotify.. she had beautiful songs like Fool for love, or Little girl, and the "famous" The three degrees... whay they didn't choose her!! SHARON! PLEASE?? O_O en fin
david nygiantsfan
remember her in kaydee.great band and album
moleman1961
Lovely! She was the parsons wife on the War of the worlds live show with Jeff. Wayne! Brilliant! See it!
mojo60s
This only highlights even more the ineptitude of reality talent shows & their "judges"