* En anglais uniquement
While she was introduced to most of the world as a contestant on season five of The Voice, singer
Tessanne Chin already had a successful career back home in Jamaica, charting with the reggae hit "Hideaway" and touring the globe with the legendary
Jimmy Cliff. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, her father was in one of the island's few jazz fusion bands, E=MC2, while he was moonlighting as a soundman, and eventually, opening his own recording studio. He later built a home studio strictly for family, including
Tessanne's older sister
Tami, who released her debut album,
Out of Many...One, on the Universal label in 2006.
Tessanne launched her career a few years earlier, at first leading the rock-reggae group Mile High and then joining
Jimmy Cliff's band for a worldwide tour. In 2007, her hit Jamaican single "Hideaway" kicked off her solo career in earnest, but she was more known for her collaborations in the following years, releasing the single "Never Let Go" with superstar
Shaggy, while mixing genres with the soca group Kes on their hit single "Loving You." After releasing the indie album In Between Words in 2010, old friend
Shaggy encouraged her to compete on the U.S. televised singing competition The Voice. She made the cut after auditioning with her version of
P!nk's "Try," and as the season progressed, she joined
Adam Levine's team, topped the digital charts with her versions of
Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and
Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing," and finally won the competition with contestant
Jacquie Lee as runner-up. Late in the year she released the competition's winning song, "Tumbling Down," written by
Ryan Tedder of
OneRepublic. Her first album for the Republic label, Count on My Love, was released in July 2014. ~ David Jeffries