The past year for Jamaican-born singer Tessanne Chin has been an absolute whirlwind as she’ll be quick to tell you. Early last year, she was a little-known singer from the Caribbean. Since then she’s gone on to win season five on The Voice, dropped a major label debut album Count on My Love, toured North America and shared the stage with the likes of Aretha Franklin and Janelle Monae at a White House concert.
We caught up with the young singer while she was taking a brief break at home in Jamaica to discuss her wild ride to fame over the past year and to find out what is in store for the future.
Since winning The Voice, you’ve stayed incredibly busy with tours, recording a new album and even philanthropic work. What have been some of the most memorable moments during this time?
Definitely performing at the White House and getting to meet all those amazing women there. I had to pinch myself because I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be in that situation. And also getting a chance to get on stage with the legendary David Foster was amazing. And also, singing with Adam was an amazing experience. It’s been a pretty mind-blowing six months.
You originally hail from Jamaica, which is mostly known for reggae and dancehall. But your music and new album Count on My Lovehas many different styles to it including rock and pop. What made you decide to incorporate so many different sounds on your new album?
I didn’t want to be put in a box. Dancers don’t learn one type of dance, you know? They learn ballet, jazz, modern, tap and so on. I feel the same way about music. All these different sounds and influences are what create me as an artist. I am very proud of it and very proud that we were able to incorporate not just the new sounds like soul and dubstep and rock but to also stay in contact with my roots with the reggae as well.
Well, it’s interesting because Jamaicans actually love all kinds of music. Artists like Celine Dion sell out massive concerts on the island.
That’s is so true! When Celine Dion came the other day, everyone wanted more! And Jamaicans love Kenny Rogers too. They’ll sing every song of his when he comes down here. We are a very eclectic group. We love all different types of music and I think it’s a stereotype that we only love reggae. We love country, rock, opera, blues … all of that.
You worked with fellow Jamaican Supa Dups, who has produced for Drake and many others, on the single “Everything Reminds Me of You,” how did you end up linking up with him?
Supa Dups has always been on my radar because I think he’s an awesome producer who is able to bridge that gap between his roots in Jamaica and that radio friendly sound. So working with him it was just a natural progression and to be able to be in the studio with him, it kind of felt like family. It felt like I was coming home. “Everything Reminds Me of You” was the last song recorded for this album and it just turned out to be awesome. I love that song! It makes me want to dance and every time I sing it I can see all the heads bobbing in the crowd.
What was your musical upbringing like?
You know being from Jamaica we listen to the greats like Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Beres Hammond and Marcia Griffiths. But I was also very much in love with the likes of Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Tina Turner and so on. I have brothers who were into bands like Oasis and The Cranberries too! So there are a lot of rock groups that I also gravitated towards. Then, when I went to high school in England I was exposed to even more different types of music again. It kind of helped to broaden my horizons and my tastes in music. I always knew that whatever type of music I was going to do — no matter how much I was told, “nuh man, just stick to reggae” — I always knew I kind of wanted to fuse it with other styles.
Your story is really fascinating in that you come from such a unique and varied background. What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career?
The biggest challenges I’ve faced in my career is just the same thing we’ve been talking about: being the victim of a stereotype. Or feeling that because I am from Jamaica that I need to do something very specific. I think being on The Voice really helped me to branch out in that way. I love reggae. It’s in my blood. It’s something I can’t change and won’t change. But I also love pop, I love soul, I love rock, I love R&B. So you know, I wanted to be judged as a singer and a vocalist. That was a big turning point in my career that showed me that I could do other sounds as well. It helped open my eyes too because I had to really step out of my comfort zone.
Early on in your career, you developed a relationship with Shaggy, another Jamaican-born star who was able to crossover into the US mainstream. Tell us about how you met Shaggy and the importance of your friendship with him.
Shaggy was the one who actually came to me with the idea of The Voice. Naturally, I was very afraid and wasn’t sure about it. But I was at a point where I literally had nothing to lose. If you want something you’ve never had then you got to do something you’ve never done, you know? And that was the catalyst that helped me launch in a whole different way and I owe a lot of that to Shaggy. He also kind of knew that I wanted to have an international career and that I wanted to branch out and do more that what was just expected of me.
Shaggy and I have kind of always collaborated in Jamaica too. For example, he has an amazing foundation here in Jamaica for the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Jamaica. We did songs and shows to help fund and provide new equipment for the hospital. Then when Haiti had that terrible earthquake, they assigned him to do a song with other Caribbean artists, where we worked together.
As for the future, what do you hope to achieve next?
I hope to be able to just continue to have success in music. And by that I mean to be able to sing live and perform this recent album all over the world. For me, recording this album was something that was very close to my heart. Coming off of a show like The Voice where you’re singing other people’s songs, it is so important for you to establish yourself as an artist individually. I didn’t want the album to be rushed even though there was a momentum there that we needed to capitalize on. I wanted it to mean something. I wanted to give the people who awaiting on it something really special and I think we were able to do it.
In 25 years, what do you want people to think of when they hear your name?
I think I want to be remembered not just for the music I did but the message. When I look at all the people I look up to like Bob Marley and Aretha Franklin, they all have a message. And it doesn’t have to be just music alone. I think of people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi. Their message is still one that is relevant and lives on. That’s why we remember them. So for me, no matter what I am doing musically or with my life, I want it to be a positive thing that it will touch people in a positive way.
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