The lead soloist of the band Tiktak opens up about the pressure he experienced.
Tiktak was a real musical phenomenon at the turn of the 21st century. MERVI LIQUID
Tiktak was a real musical phenomenon at the turn of the 21st century. Many people have remembered the songs Heroine, Stop it and To heaven tonight. Petra Gargano, known as the band’s soloist, opens up about her youth and band days in her new biography Comeback (January, 2026).
The band members were still minors when the music world took them away. In his book, Gargano highlights how they tried hard to turn the band into the next international success band.
The band toured in the United States and served as a warm-up act on the tour of Aaron Carter, known from the band Backstreet Boys. Along with gigging and traveling, the young women had to take care of their studies at the same time.
The momentum and pressure began to eat away at Gargano’s strength.
– I arrived home late in the evening from a promotional trip in Europe. When I got through the door, my gloves literally fell off my hand. I had dropped all my things and burst into uncontrollable tears. I was so tired. Mother took off my clothes and carried me to bed through the shower. I had been praying all that time that I wouldn’t have to leave tomorrow: “maybe mom will do something when I can’t,” Gargano recalls in the book.
When the tour was over, Gargano thought he could rest easy. However, this did not happen, instead the band was offered yet another tour as Carter’s opening act. At this point, the singer was at breaking point and didn’t want to leave.
In the book, Gargano tells how he experienced the pressure from the record company and Manager.
– I was burning out, and I couldn’t help it. The other girls were disappointed and even angry. No wonder. The record company and the manager incited them to my persuasion. Whereas my phone was filled with pressuring messages and calls, Noora’s phone was filled with calls asking her to talk Petra over. “Now talk some more sense into it.” We were manipulated from every direction.
Petra Gargano talks about her band days in a new book. Pete Anikari
The worst was yet to come. In the book, Gargano recalls how the manager informed the singer that a new soloist would join the band.
– I had been working hard for Tiktak for years, so this really hurt. After all the fuss, I could be replaced with one phone call. That would take all of Tiktak for me. I felt insignificant and small. Did my contribution count for nothing? Didn’t I matter? I was round zero, Gargano says in the book.
At the crisis meeting called by the record company, all the band members were present with their parents. The topic was replacing Gargano with a new soloist. However, the other parents did not approve of this, so Gargano remained in the band.
Tiktak drifted into crisis when Petra Gargano was exhausted. MERVI LIQUID
However, the experience left a deep mark on the singer.
– After that episode, I was no longer the same. I couldn’t trust anyone. Not to myself, not to my friends. Unbelievable, the band plodded on as if nothing had happened. I was actually insecure about my position in the band, and the other band members were bitter when the tour was canceled, Gargano admits in the book.
The quotes are direct quotes from Petra Gargano’s book Comeback (January, 2026), which will be published on March 11.