Life Conversations with a Twist
Join me once a week for a new interview with a local, badass woman who has an amazing story to tell. Join me in conversation so you too can gain inspiration and empowerment from these stories! If you love hearing about leadership, relationships, families, motherhood and navigating hard times, then tune into my podcast and share with others. If you love what you hear, share and tag me on Instagram at @heathernelson.life. You can also visit my website at heathernelson.life.
Life Conversations with a Twist
60 & Just Getting Started: Redefining ‘Too Late’ with Tally Koren
“Every difficult situation that occurs to me, I just turn it immediately to a plus, and that is something that gives me the ability to thrive, to shine, to give." —Tally Koren
Who decided your dreams have an expiration date? The brutal truth? Society’s timeline for success is a myth—one that keeps brilliant people playing small while waiting for "the right time." But what if the most powerful chapters begin when we stop listening to the clock?
Tally Koren, an internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter and producer, spent decades defying industry ageism and rejection to carve her own path. Her journey—from childhood talent show heartbreak to charting alongside Rihanna in her 60s—proves that reinvention isn’t just possible; it’s powerful.
Press play for the ultimate masterclass in resilience: How to silence critics (including your inner saboteur), why artistic independence beats industry approval, the spiritual power of turning "minuses into pluses," and proof that your 40s/50s/60s might just be your most explosive creative era yet. Late bloomers? More like right on time.
Connect with Heather:
Episode Highlights:
02:24 A Journey of Finding Purpose
10:47 Overcoming Challenges
20:55 Musical Style and Career Milestones
22:41 Dealing with Criticism and Negativity
27:47 Memorable Moments
30:04 Thrive and Shine
37:50 The Importance of Self-Loyalty
Connect with Tally:
Tally Koren arrived in London with 1 suitcase and a dream in the late 90th, and against all odds became an international Singer - Songwriter. Despite family objections and countless music business rejections, what kept her going was turning every minus into a plus, taking every refusal to become better, and every hard situation to do something good for herself and others.
Her turning point to fulfil her childhood dreams and to become a singer happened at the age of 26, while she was in a very unhappy marriage.
A singing teacher immediately recognized her talent and thought that her low voice was reminiscent of Karen Carpenter.
In 2007, Tally made the decision to make her first album and not to wait for the record company.
Despite one of the top radio pluggers telling her that she doesn’t have a chance to make it nationally, being over 40. She made the choice to listen to the words of her song “Beauty of The Duty “saying “the only thing that holds you back is you”. Her song became a National success on BBC Radio 3 weeks later. Many of my other singles have been playlisted with over 1000 radio stations in the UK and around the world.
Heather Nelson: Welcome everyone to this week's Life Conversations With A Twist. I'm very honored to have Tally here. We actually just met. We've been back and forth trying to make this podcast happen, and I'm so glad and honored for you to want to be on this podcast, and want to share your story. I love meeting people with this podcast platform. I've met people from all over the world, which has been super special for me. It's just so unique to see, hear everyone's stories, and how they got to where they are. And I think what I love about this podcast and people sharing their story is they've learned so much, and they've been through hard times. But they've overcome that, and so those are the stories that I love sharing.
So welcome to the podcast.
Tally Koren: Thank you. Thank you for having me. I was looking forward to it.
Heather Nelson: And you're coming from England. It's so crazy how I just matched with people all over. You're from England. What's the weather like over there now?
Tally Koren: London. I can watch the river from my window, and it's a big inspiration for my music, for my well being is the river showing us that everything is flowing. We need to flow like the river.
Heather Nelson: I love that. Tell the listeners a little bit about who you are. What you're working on. And then I always love to dive into your story from the beginning, and what got you to this point?
Tally Koren: Yes. I'm a singer/songwriter, and a producer. I love what I do, and it wasn't an easy journey, which we will speak about in a moment. But what is beautiful is that when you find your purpose, suddenly, I realized that all this long journey, like I'm saying in my song that is out now, Calling You. For 40 years, I was walking on trust to find who I am, to rescue your name. So that's how I start the song. It's like 40 years. Now, it's 60 years. So we are on a journey, and we have ups and downs all the time. All the human beings in the world. There is no one human being that doesn't have that journey. And if they don't think so, they're in denial, which is easy to be either in denial. Or they're so busy. They make themselves so busy that they cannot even know that they are in that space until the universe brings you something and people cannot cope.
Heather Nelson: You told me that it took you 60 years to find your purpose?
Tally Koren: No. I found the purpose a little bit earlier, and I wrote the song when I was 40. For 40 years, I was doing a BA in theology and Jewish Studies. And obviously, the 40 years has the Israelite going in the desert, which symbolize, again, if we look at the biblical stories, that they are stories from our life, and we are all in a desert. We are all looking for idols and not really connected to who we are. Always looking to search outside. So I was in my story here, someone that is really stubborn to keep who I am. But to keep who I am is not just to be a singer, it is to be an artist. But what happens when you don't know who you are as an artist, when you get so many gifts as an artist, you can sing in Spanish, you can sing in English, you can dance, you can do jazz. So we have so many different layers in our life to really become who we are. My purpose is to inspire other people that despite whatever situation they are, no money, no connections, working a 9 to 5 job or 24 hours to find something that gave them the spark when they were in the area which we will talk about me as a young person, and it just disappeared because life takes it. Life takes it because we need certainty. We need to please our parents. We need so many things, and we forget who we are. So that's me from the start.
Heather Nelson: It's so funny. I'm at the dentist yesterday, and my hygienist was like, oh, I'm turning 40 this year. And I was like, that's so funny because I was just talking to my friend who just turned 50, and she was saying how she loved her 40s. I'm 43, and she said that in her 40s, it was really when she discovered herself, and really identified who you are. It speaks so much to me because I'm only a little bit into it. But I definitely have this awareness about you that you've been through a lot, and you have more to get through. But this really beautiful 10 years that I'm really excited for. But it sounds like that was similar for you too.
Tally Koren: Yeah, definitely. In the Kabbalah, which is the mysticism in Jewish, every religion has their own mysticism school. They don't allow people under the age of 40 to study that. Now, this is the religious people, the Kabbalah Center, where Madonna started to study, will let younger people. But the reason is there is something mature in us as a human being at the age of 40. For me, finding my purpose to inspire people that gave me suddenly the understanding why the journey was so long, and how wonderful it is that I have the ability to be, as I call it, as a vehicle, as an instrument, whatever word you want to call it.
Heather Nelson: What would you say your genre of music is like when you talk about being an artist? What is your type of music? What kind of music do you write for?
Tally Koren: Of course, I'm a singer/songwriter. When you write a song, you are a singer/songwriter, but you have to sing a songwriter with guitar or with piano. I do write all my stuff on piano. But I must say that with all my confidence, and I have a lot of confidence, that only through the years I gained it. Something that 10,000 hours makes you be where I don't have confidence is playing the piano and singing the same way. I played in the Royal Albert Hall, the most important venue in the UK. I was very confident. But if I need to play piano, I'm less confident, although I write everything on the piano. So now, I'm in the most beautiful phase in my life. Finally, I'm practicing the piano to perfection, because it's all about practice. I'm going to dive into another layer of who I am. So in the last 10 years, all my successful singles were electro acoustics. I write it on piano, but then you bring electronics. But in the last year, the success was when I'm doing the remixes. There is something about doing remixes that shift the song to an unbelievable level and touch more people. And I found this amazing, honest promoter. She promotes Calvin Harris, David Guetta, the best people. And she just loves my stuff. So my last single was number nine, near Rihanna, David Greta, and all these people in the club chart. And now, with Calling You, she sent me a message that it's getting amazing reports. Probably, we're going to be there in a day or two after the weekend. I am doing dance remixes right now for 2025 until I have number one.
Heather Nelson: I love it. I have no faith you're going to get there. So tell us about your journey. Where were you born? I think one of my main questions is, at what point in your life did music become this special part of your life? When did you know that that was the path that you needed to take to wrap that into your journey somewhere?
Tally Koren: I think it's very important for your listeners. And if their parents hear my journey, to hear where my parents could have done, maybe better. But again, like I'm saying in my song, I never look back. I will never regret it. We need to look forward. Forward, always forward. So children start to show talent at a very young age. At the age of two, three, children already know. If they love music, they start to show, to sing, to perform. So at the age of three, I remember performing on the table at my home. And from the age of three to seven, I was just singing, and I was copying a singer that I admired at the time so much. And then it all happened. I went to a local talent competition, all confident. I practice. We all thought that it's going to be amazing, but it wasn't because the judges said that I copied the singer instead of being myself, which is why I became so much myself. But my mother got so upset with the charity that she was volunteering that she left the charity. She was in such a trauma, which caused me to leave music from the age of 8 to 26. All the time singing in front of the mirror, dreaming to be a singer, singing in the shower, of course. But it's more singing in front of the mirror in hard times, and dreaming to become a singer. Until one day, I went to a karaoke shop. There was a karaoke shop. You paid money, and you record. And I wanted to see the dream I had if it has something to do with reality. And I did George Michael, singers that I love because I have that warm, soft voice like myself, and it definitely worked. And I went to the best singer, singing teacher, and I said, if she accepts me, I'm going for it. And she did. She really loved the low register of my voice, and said that it was a reminder of Karen Carpenter. I didn't appreciate the low register because we all want to please our family and stuff like that. But again, everything is a journey.
Heather Nelson: A quick question for you. When you were singing other people's songs, what was like the one song that you always love to sing?
Tally Koren: Oh, that's a lovely question. There is a difference between as a child that I loved Tina Charles. I've got the answer completely. Bee Gees, how deep is your love? I love that song. I'm actually practicing it on piano. I always love the Bee Gees. But when I became a singer, George Michael Careless Whisper was a song that I used to look in front of the mirror, and imagine that I'm a singer. And when I was in Mexico City at the age of 17 all by myself, a very difficult time, I used to wake up in the middle of the night and sing the song of fame from the movie Fame. Sometimes I wonder where I've been. So it's amazing that that song is actually about my journey. There are different songs. love
Heather Nelson: Okay, so you get back to music, you find this beautiful karaoke shop. Which is so funny because I did karaoke this weekend, but I am not a singer. But it's still fun. So you get back into music, and then what?
Tally Koren: And then going to a singing teacher to get tools. You must go to a singing teacher to practice your voice. And luckily, the singing teacher loved my voice. What do you do as a singer? When you start to want to become a singer, you look for songs. So I started to look for songs. Meeting a lot of famous producers. They all loved my voice and the low quality, their artistic quality. I didn't appreciate it at the time because I wanted more to be a pop star. And then I realized that I write songs, I compose songs. I always wrote poetry from a very young age. But composing, it's the biggest gift that I got. So then I do that. And you shop around, you go to managers, you go to record companies, and I hear the same story all the time. The story is, you don't need a manager. I was really upset because I do need everyone. And the funny thing is that when I moved and came to the UK, I heard the same story again. So I did have managers, but somehow I created the journey that I'm doing all by myself. And my mother sadly, she has a very advanced Alzheimer's so she cannot talk about when she was the one that pushed me. She said, no one could tell you what to do, even as a child. So nothing, she couldn't tell me anything. I learned everything on my own. So in my journey, it's a good thing. But it's also something I'm overcoming, because it's not a good thing to do all by yourself. You cannot succeed to the level that I know my potential is, and it's not that I didn't have through the years deals and managers.
Heather Nelson: You're currently doing this all on your own.
Tally Koren: With the help of some people. I just learned how to do it. I have managers, but it changed. But the good thing is when you learn to do it all by yourself, including from makeup, to production, to editing, to social media, you are in control of everything. So when you hire people, you know what you want. So in a way, I've gained such a wonderful experience that gives me the confidence, the power and the control. Look at Taylor Swift. With all her money, fame and success, she had to go and remaster all her catalog because the record label took money. It's a good thing, but I am changing it. Well, we are a result of evolution.
Heather Nelson: I always hear this, and you probably can share your experience on this that people who want to be an artist or a singer, or even an actor, it's such a saturated market. It's so hard. You get told NO so many times till you get that. Was that the experience that you had as well?
Tally Koren: Definitely. But it took me years to understand that it's not really rejection. You are not the right person for this person at the right time, because I hire many people as well, from designers, to producer, to guitarist, to people in my video, and I just say, no, no, no, no, no. Many of my rejection, the main thing was that people did not know where to place me because I refused to be in a box so people just don't know what to do. People don't have the same vision. If you are over 20 in my industry, or people that are in the acting entertainment industry, you don't have much chance. Only if you know inside that you're so good, or you're very good, and you have something to give, then you keep going. Like one of my songs, Keep Going.
Heather Nelson: Well, you even said practicing. You continue to have to practice, whether that's singing, or songwriting, or the guitar, or anything. You have to keep trying. I always tell my son, because he gets frustrated with soccer. I'm like, all these famous athletes didn't become these great athletes just by not trying. They practice, they live their life practicing, and that's how you get good. And I think sometimes, people, you have to put the work in to get to that point.
Tally Koren: You need to. And I think what I'm doing now is something refined. You bake a cake and it's all mixed, it's all lovely. But the last part of making the cake, the cream, the decoration, and you have to do it as well. So on yourself. So for example, I'm just practicing a certain exercise that I got in 2014 from a teacher that helped Adele when she lost her voice. She's more of a doctor. I went to her because I was nervous before performing at the Royal Albert Hall. And she gave me those exercises and said, oh, you need to sit by the piano every day and just brush it. I said, what do you mean? Brush it, but refine it. And only now from 2014 that I'm brushing it. I'm enjoying doing it, so I'm not going to tell myself off. Well done to me. My voice since 2014 became so much stronger because I'm practicing everyday when I tidy my flat with certain exercises. But now I'm ready to do what she said, and ready to do the piano. And become a better version of yourself.
Heather Nelson: So when you become, I guess you would say famous, or you're more known to others because you sing, or you're in the spotlight, how have you run up against people on social media, or people talking bad about you, or saying mean comments? Have you experienced that? How have you overcome some of that?
Tally Koren: In general, I'm a very positive person, upbeat and inspiring so I don't get much of it. But at the end of the day, not everyone is going to like my voice and my style of music. A few weeks ago, I really got only once in a whole bed reaction. You can see someone from, I don't know what kind of country, but not English speaking. It's more of a spam. Someone wanted me to do karaoke, but it was negative because he said something else negative. Immediately, you're just blocking. You don't want negativity in your life. Not on social media, not in friendship. I do the same with my friends when someone is negative and doesn't support me in my journey, because we need so much energy to be an instrument to give to millions and billions of people. I need energy. A friend from childhood, he actually was my first boyfriend, and he was a drummer. But he chose a solid job, and became a manager of a music school. But he's dying to be in the spotlight. And he's a very close friend.
He suddenly said to me, Tally, when are you going to get real? And he knows about the success that I had. I don't need to prove it to anyone. But obviously, my aims are much higher. And we were eating lunch, and he said to me, Tally, when are you going to wake up? I said, sorry. What do you mean? So he said, when are you going to wake up? What he meant is either not giving the highest ring that I have in my goals. So you know what I did? I said, I really like you, and I really thank you for being there for me when my mother is unwell. I had a challenging two years, and I really, really appreciate it, but you don't have any place to be my friend. He was shocked. And I stood. Then he walked up and said, Tally, I'm shocked by your behavior. You are living in a movie. I said, it's wonderful to live in a movie. We all create our life. That's how it is. So this is how loyal I am to myself. But again, it's not something that happened like this. So many people through the years include the family. You still want the approval. You still want them to ask about musing about your success. I know they never ask. They don't ask, so don't ask. So no expectation. Because when we have expectations from people that are important to us and we don't get them, that's when we get disappointed.
Heather Nelson: Yep, I agree. These people who are always upset about how somebody makes them feel, don't be around them. Why put yourself through that? You should surround yourself with people who are going to support, love and raise you up, be there for you, and all the things. And I think, WE, as humans get to choose that, we get to choose who's in our life. And it's okay if that person doesn't fit the mold anymore.
Tally Koren: Exactly. When I delete a few people because I'm going like shifting my gear, going up, you need more energy. And energy is by the food that we eat, and not by wasting it on the wrong people, or getting upset and all those things. If someone gets us upset, it just occupies your mind all the time. We don't need that.
Heather Nelson: I totally agree with that. During your journey and your career, what was one of the most memorable moments for you? Whether that was on a stage, or somebody you met, or an experience. What would you say is your number one memorable moment?
Tally Koren: Being on the BBC playlist. When I heard the news, it was great. But performing at the Royal Albert Hall, having my late husband in the first row, he almost waited more than the doctors gave him just to see me there. He was a coach and hypnotherapist, and he taught me how much I need to practice, because I took my gift for granted for years. So being on the stage, having all this 5000 people, that was beautiful. Beautiful to sing, to see the confidence, to give the love, and get the love. Definitely the biggest moment.
Heather Nelson: Who's your biggest idol? I feel like we all have somebody we look up to or admire. Who would be that person in your life?
Tally Koren: You mean from music, or from music, from music? I don't have idols. Probably when I lost the competition at a young age, I kind of stopped having idols. But I love Coldplay, the singer. I always say, if I was 30 or 40 years younger and a male, I would want to be him. I love his performance. The fact that he changed from guitar to piano, for his energy, I definitely like it.
Heather Nelson: Through your life, through this journey, through your career, is there anything else that came up along the way that taught you something? Or made you think differently? Or something that maybe shifts? What was a big shift for you?
Tally Koren: I think my philosophy, I don't think I had that knowledge when I came to London 20 years ago, or 30 years ago. I think when I really understand every difficult situation that occurs to me, from rejection to losing someone, to fighting with someone, any negative situation, or not negative, bad situation, I just turn it immediately to a plus. And that is something that gives me the ability to thrive, to shine, to give. Because when I'm down, like everyone, I don't give myself. When I'm down, I'm down. And I'm human. I love how life takes power. And the next day, something new come.If your audience loves to hear my songs, my river keeps going, raindrops keep falling. Many of my songs are about turning the minus into plus, and free will is about choosing in every moment.
Heather Nelson: I would love to put your link to your music. I started kind of stalking you on Spotify, but I would love to include that for our listeners to listen in. One of the emails that you had sent when we were first chatting, you had met Lady Gaga and Rihanna. I'm curious to know, this is always a curious question, who is the coolest artist or experience you had with someone else in the industry?
Tally Koren: I haven't met them.
Heather Nelson: I thought you met them.
Tally Koren: I was in the same chart with them.
Heather Nelson: What an honor.
Tally Koren: It's wonderful. I cannot comment, but I must say that when I released Calling You many years ago, not the remix, the PR at the time, and he worked for me as a PA for a short time, he was the person that helped Lady Gaga before she became famous. Used to work for Geffen Records where she was signed, and used to go with her with her keyboard to night clubs. There were not many people, she would play the keyboard. She is such, first of all, talented, but determined. I'm 61 now. I played in many, many places with the piano. But the picture of seeing her going to night clubs when it's not empty, she's gone a long way, and they're both wonderful. They're not my type of singers, but I respect people that succeed. And they're both doing good to the world, as well with their faith.
Heather Nelson: One thing I love about your story that's very inspiring is that everybody is in this state of, oh, I'm getting older. I'm in my 40s, or I just hit my 50s. And what's so inspiring me to you is you're almost at your peak. You're 60. And so for me, it's very inspiring to know that my journey isn't over yet. I have so much growing up, and so much left in me to be this person, and to find myself, and to find what my passion and where I'm meant to be. And so I just want to say that that's very inspiring to me.
Tally Koren: Thank you so much. I think that's the most important thing. When I'm 16, I was worried.
Heather Nelson: You just manifested that.
Tally Koren: I can sense it more and more, but I really, truly believe that I'm only starting my life. It's in my head, but it's true. I'm not trying to say it because it sounds good. Tiktok has the hashtags feelgoodat40, feelgoodat50. A few weeks ago, a woman that didn't look 60, looked more. She looked like it was the end of her life, and she was complaining that people hustle her for her age, and insulting her. I wonder why. She's in her head. People say when they're 40, oh, I'm getting older. I'm getting older. It is crazy. We have so much potential, and that's where I came to this world, to inspire people. And thank you for saying it.
Heather Nelson: I love that. What do you want to leave our listeners with? Is there anything that we didn't talk about? Any last tidbit that you would love to leave the listeners with?
Tally Koren: I like to speak about my remix, that hopefully, we'll get to the chart in the coming week. I'm calling you now, I'm alone. I'm calling you my angel. Make me strong. That's a chorus. So I want you all to know that, yes, I am strong, but we all have moments that we break down. And I wrote that song when I was on that stage. First of all, I didn't have the tools of turning the minus to plus. Like today, I know that it's always going to be okay because I was much more lonely here in the UK, no family, no jobs, all kinds of things, But there is something about letting ourselves be fragile, and knowing to ask for help. That's what I want to leave the people. Ask for help at any level. When I was writing that song and asking sincerely from the angel, the universe, whatever you call, I met my late husband. He came to my life, and was a very big love. And now, as we know, I'm calling because I'm ready for the next phase of my life. So ask for help. Give yourself to be vulnerable. But most important, be loyal to yourself.
Heather Nelson: So good, so good. This is why I love doing my podcast on Fridays because I always feel like the end of a week, I just get so inspired and so excited to meet women that are doing really cool things. We will definitely put your information in. How do you get to the top of the charts? What does that mean? I'm always curious. How is that? How many people listen to it? How many radios does it have? How to get there?
Tally Koren: You have a different chart right now. I'm in the UK club chart, the biggest club chart. People play my music in the night clubs. So the DJs reported to a promoter that does David Guetta and Calvin Harris, and I'm in the same category. When I will be on the billboard, then I will be happy. Then I will know that I fulfill my potential to get much wider. And again, it will happen. It has to happen with the right music, with the right time, with the right money. Everything is money as well. So everything is possible.
Heather Nelson: Well, I wish you nothing but the best. I have full confidence you'll get to where you want to be. And I think there needs to be more people, even like myself, that are inspiring and that are kind and want people to do well in the world. I'm so glad that we got connected. I'm so glad you shared your story on my podcast, so thank you for being here.
Tally Koren: Welcome. Thank you so much for having me.