Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Michelle Phipps-Evans
The small island nation of Jamaica, West Indies, erupted in celebration on Dec. 17, 2013, when its homegrown performer, Tessanne Chin, snagged first place in the reality singing competition show, “The Voice,” Season 5.
At Half-Way Tree, a neighborhood in the capital city, Kingston, hundreds of people gathered around a large theater-like screen to see Chin win “The Voice.” They jumped up and down, swinging towels over their heads. They blew car horns and they embraced each other in a party-like atmosphere.
And with good reason. Their own homegrown thespian, Chin, a half-Chinese-Jamaican, walked away with a $100,000 recording contract with Universal Music Group, a brand new car, and worldwide critical acclaim for her performances.
“A better coach for me I could not find. I thank you every day for choosing me,” Chin said to her coach, Adam Levine on the final day of competition.
One Jamaica-born, New York-based attorney remembered Chin in her in her early years:
“Traveling down memory lane in our early performing days starting out in Little People. Such incredible memories,” said Vanessa Watson. “Remembering little Tessanne at about 7 years old. Now in the big league…win The Voice. So incredibly proud of her and who she has become.” Chin started her stage career when she was six years old with Cathy Levy’s Little People and Teen Players Club, one of Jamaica’s top performing arts school.
Born and raised in Kingston in 1985, Chin is the first Jamaican and the first Asian to win “The Voice,” a three-year-old reality singing show originally created by Dutch television producer John de Mol and Dutch singer Roel van Velzen, and now has franchises around the world, including Thailand, Vietnam, China and South Korea among others. In the show, singing auditions are blind with the judges having their backs turned from competitors. Once selected, the judge turns toward the competitor. After these, the coaches train their competitors through knock-out battles, public voting and until there’s one competitor left who’ll be named The Voice.
Chin’s parents introduced her to music at an early age. Her mother, a half black and white Jamaican was the trumpeter and singer in her band called Carnations. Her father, who’s Chinese and part Cherokee, was the drummer. Chin is one of five offspring from the union.
Chin learned firsthand about cultural diversity when she moved to England at age 12. She devoted a lot of time to writing songs that expressed her feelings about her new life in what was to her, a completely different world. Upon her return to Jamaica, she joined the Jamaican rock band, Mile High and performed for crowds at numerous local venues including Jazz fest, Rock fest, and RETV Unplugged. Before “The Voice,” Chin enjoyed a solo career as a reggae-dancehall ion recording artist with edgy rock riffs mixed with honest, conscious lyrics she pens herself.
During this time, she said, she came out of her shell vocally.
“I learned how to really and truly sing in a different way…. my way,” she said in a Jamaican newspaper. “It was an amazing experience because I also realized my lifelong dream–to sing my own songs…I have something to say and it was a great release for me to share that part of myself with others.”
She toured the world as a backup singer with the Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff for three years and has collaborated with artists such as Ky-Mani Marley and Diana King. She has opened on stage for other musical greats such as Patti Labelle, Gladys Knight, Roberta Flack, Mary J. Blige, and Neyo among others. Her older sister is Tami Chynn, an international dancehall, reggae fusion artist who has collaborated with Akon and Shaggy.
Chin began her journey on “The Voice” in September when she auditioned to become one of the singers on the show. All four judges—Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera and Cee-lo Green—turn their chairs to her.
Before she picked Levine as her coach, he prophesied her victory. Throughout the show, she wowed the judges and audiences in the knockout, battle and live show rounds. For two consecutive weeks, Chin also secured the number one spot on iTunes for her rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” and “I Have Nothing.”
Her dream came true when she performed with superstar Celine Dion during the Voice finale. In 2011, Chin admitted in an interview on the website, Jamaicans.com, that Dion is her hero.
“Not only is she an amazing singer and performer but she also has a lovely personality,” Chin said on the website that is about all things Jamaica. “She is an example of one who successfully manages to balance her career and family life.”
The sixth season of The Voice is Feb. 24.
