Tessanne Chin is an R&B singer who first gained widespread attention after winning the fifth season of the NBC reality competition, The Voice. Born into a musical family, she was unsurprisingly introduced to music at a very age. By the time she was six, Chin was performing with two of Jamaica’s best performing arts schools, Teen Players Club and Cathy Levy’s Little People. Coached by none other than her mother, she also devoted much of her youth penning songs.
At the age of twenty one, the aspiring vocalist became a member of a Jamaican rock band known as Mile High; together with the group, she sang at a number of local venues, accumulating experience on the way. From there, she eventually joined fellow Jamaican reggae singer Jimmy Cliff on tour as a backup vocalist. After travelling and performing with him for three years, Chin decided ultimately to embark on a solo music career.
Determined to release her own independent material, Chin began writing her first album in the mid 2000’s. With the help of record producers Rudy Valentino and Paul KasticK, she later released her debut entitled, In Between Worlds in the winter of 2010. While it didn’t manage to reach the charts, it proved to be hugely popular among reggae fans, having garnered glowing reviews from individuals.
As far as singles go, the Jamaican-native also came out with the hit track, Hideaway which was heavily played on a number of New York and Caribbean radio stations. Some of her other noted songs include Black Books (2007), Messenger (2008), and Loving You (2010). Throughout her early career, she has collaborated with a number of artists including Protoje, Shaggy, Kes, and Third World. In the spring of 2011, she was even invited to perform at New York City’s Third World at the Highline Ballroom.
Two years later in 2013, it was announced that Chin would be featured in the fifth season of NBC’s reality competition, The Voice as one of the main competitors. For her subsequent auditions, she sang a rendition of Try by Pink, a stunning performance that led all four judges to turn their chairs for her; she ultimately chose Adam Levine as her coach. After an eventful few weeks performing on stage, Chin was revealed to be the winner of the season during the finale results show- making her the only foreign-born competitor to have ever won in the series’ history. After signing with Universal Records, as part of her winnings, she released her major-label debut, Count On My Love in the summer of 2014.
What has the R&B recording artist been up to since then? Has she been working on any new projects? Will she be releasing any new material in the upcoming future? What does she have planned for fans? What happened to Tessanne Chin? Where is she now in 2018?
Tessanne Chin’s Early Life and Career Beginnings
Born on September 20, 1985 in Kingston, Jamaica, Tessanne Amanda Chin is the daughter of a Jamaican-Chinese father, and an English-African mother; she has an older sister named Tami Chynn who is also a vocalist. Raised in a musical household (both her parents were involved in a band and had a recording studio in their Jamaican home), Chin grew up surrounded by music. By the time she was six years old, she was performing with two of the country’s top performing arts schools, Teen Players Club and Cathy Levy’s Little People. Coached by her mother, as well as Lecie Wright, she started to develop her vocal skills as a young teetn. At the age of twelve, she and her family relocated to England; to cope with the move, she spent much of her spare time songwriting.
In 2006, Chin returned to Jamaica and joined a local rock band called Mile High; with the group, she entertained crowds at a number of local venues, amassing experience on the way. From there, she eventually joined Jamaican reggae singer Jimmy Cliff on a three-year-long tour as a backup vocalist, after which she made the decision to embark on a solo music career. Determined to release her own independent album, she started to write songs and later recruited the help of record producers Paul KasticK and Rudy Valentino. Prior to the release of her debut album, Chin dropped a hit single, Hideaway.
Tessanne Chin’s Initial Music Releases
Written entirely by herself, the song was considered to be a blend between reggae and reggae fusion. Described as a “soulful ballad about love”, its lyrics feature Chin trying to convey feelings to a man who she has seemingly fallen for. Produced by her in-house music producers, Hideaway received a fair amount of air time on various Jamaican radio stations, as well as select stations in Europe and New York. Accompanied by a music video directed by Delano Forbes, it has since been downloaded close to 16,000 times according to Neilsen Soundscan.
On December 26, 2010, Chin released her independent debut album entitled, In Between Words. Preceded by the previously mentioned single, its production was once again handled by Paul Kastic, Rudy Valentino and the singer herself. Recorded in her hometown of Kingston, Jamaica, it consisted of fourteen tracks- all of which were written by Chin; some of the included titles include Are Yah Gonna (Control), Guilty by Design, The Right One, You and Me, Black Books, and Flying High.
Regarding her decision to release the album via digital download, Chin had stated that she  wanted to allow her music to reach individuals around the world. Although the album itself didn’t manage to reach any charts, the material received much praise from critics; for instance, Embrace You Magazine lauded its soulfulness while The Reggae Vibe described it as having been “beautifully put together”. Self-described to be an infusion of soul, reggae, and rock, In Between Words went on to spawn a total of three singles, Hideaway, Black Books, and Messenger, the first of which remains to be one of her most popular songs to date.
Tessanne Chin Competing on The Voice
In the fall of 2013, it was made known that she would be participating in the fifth season of NBC’s reality competition, The Voice as a competitor; as it was later revealed, reggae singer Shaggy her persuaded her to take part in the show, for a chance to attain international stardom. Making her debut on the Blind Auditions telecasted on September 24, 2013, she sang a rendition of Pink’s Try; having impressed the judges, it led all four of them (e.g. Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green) to turn their chairs. Ultimately, Chin decided on having Adam Levine as her coach.
Advancing to the semifinals, Chin sang the pop classic, Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel in the subsequent round, which quickly rose to number one on the iTunes music chart- making her the first competitor to have ever achieved such a feat. Additionally, the song also peaked in several US charts, including the Heatseekers Song Chart, the Digital Songs Chart and the US Hot 100.
During the Battle Rounds, which had the coaches pairing up their singers for a performance together, after which only one advances through to the next stage, Chin was grouped with fellow contestant, Donna Allen. Having impressed Levine with her performance of Emeil Sande’s Next to Me, she was ultimately saved and advanced to the next round of the competition.
In the subsequent Knockout Rounds, Chin was paired up with Ashley DuBose; the former sang Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger (What Does Kill You) while the latter performed Hey, Soul Sister by Train. At the end of it, DuBose was eliminated while Chin was once again selected and saved by Levine.
Having made it to the Live Playoffs, the reggae singer than performed Jimmy Cliff’s Many Rivers to Cross, which luckily led her to be saved by public vote. Continuing with the competition, she then advanced to the Live Top 12 in which she sang Emeli Sande’s My Kind of Love, which brought her to the next stage  of the show. For the Live Top 10, she sang If I Were Your Woman by Gladys Knight & the Pips– another performance that earned her a save by public vote. Before long, Chin was in the semifinals competing against fellow artists Jacquie Lee, Will Champlin, Cole Vosbury, James Wolpert and Matthew Schuler.
For the highly anticipated live finale, Chin performed three numbers- Pink’s Try, The Beatles’ Let It Be (with Adam Levine), and Whitney Houston’s I Have Nothing. After many weeks worth of challenges, it was announced during the finale results show that she was the winner of the fifth season- making her the only foreign-born competitor to date to win the competition.
Tessanne Chin’s Major Label Debut
As part of her winnings, Chin was then signed with Universal Records. On July 1, 2014, she released her second studio album entitled, Count on My Love under the label. Recorded in various studios in New York, Atlanta, and Miami, its production was handled by Jerry Duplessis, Chuck Harmoney, Willy Chin, The Supa Dups, among others. Over half an hour in runnning length, the reggae album boasted ten songs including the titles Count on My Love, I Heart U, Loudest Silence, Heaven Knows, One Step Closer, and People Change.
Upon its release, Count on My Love entered the US Billboard Top 200 at forty one; it eventually also managed to reach number twenty on the Top Digital Albums Chart. Critical reception wise, reviews from critics were primarily positive; for example, Embrace You Magazine awarded it a perfect five star rating while Allmusic gave it three and a half stars. Despite this however, the album only sold approximately 7000 weeks within the first week- the lowest first-week sales ever to have been achieved by a winner of The Voice; this would later be attributed to a lack of promotional activities by the company.
Still, Count on My Love did go on to spawn two singles, Tumbling Down and Everything Reminds Me of You.
What’s Tessanne Chin Doing Now in 2018 – Recent Updates
Although its been a few years since her win on The Voice, the reggae singer still appears to be going on strong. In fact, just last month, it was announced that she will be performing at a Couples Resorts Fundraising Event held by The Issa Trust Foundation in Jamaica. Scheduled to take place on June 24, 2017 at the Sans Souci ni Ocho Rios, it will also featured the hit band, Air Supply. Be sure to save the date!
In other news, the Jamaican recording artist has recently made the headlines advocating for fellow Jamaicans to support the Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run, which benefits a number of institutions that help to provide health care to children in Jamaica.
If you’d like to keep in touch with the 31-year-old reggae singer, you can do so by following her on social media- you can find Tessanne Chin on Twitter at @Tessanne or on Instagram at @thebestess. Be sure to also check out her official website for some of her latest news and announcements.
