Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine July 2017 | Page 356

Tessanne
Chin
shared with Mélange . . .
About Tessanne About your other accolades
I was born and raised in Kingston Jamaica to
musical parents. The earliest memory I have of
singing is when I was about 5 years old at my
parents rehearsals, I sang "Stand by Me" and just
knew that this was what I was meant to be doing.
My whole family is musical in some way shape or
form - it's in our blood. The Gleaner Honor award 2013. That meant a lot
to me because I got to share it with an amazing
woman who is also a big inspiration to me,
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. It means a lot to me to
be honored by my country so for sure that stands
out but I have been honored to receive many
others. I received the Gold Medal of the City of
Kingston; An award from the University of the
West Indies (UWI) Benefit Gala; The United States
House of Representative Proclamation on behalf
of Congress Woman Yvette D. Clarke. Those are
the ones that stands out.
Who has been your greatest
influencer/role model?
The people I look up to most are definitely my
parents and my sisters. They've taught me what it
means to follow my dreams and how to persevere
through life's ups and downs. Singing wise: Aretha
Franklin, Celine Dion, Tina Turner. All strong
women who made their mark with their incredible
talent.
About winning The Voice, Season 5.
The voice was definitely a huge turning point
in my life. It called on me to come out of my
comfort zone as a person and an artiste. It pushed
me to be better. It also opened up amazing
opportunities for me to fulfill my dreams of
having an international career and for that I will
be forever grateful.
Shaggy came to me with the idea of participating
and my initial reaction was fear. It wasn't
something I thought of doing before and I was
scared of the unknown. Eventually I spoke to my
family and friends and it became clear to me that
I had nothing to lose and so I took a chance and
here we are today :)
About your debut album,
”Count On My Love.“
The album was inspired by all things based on
LOVE. It was really a dedication to my fans as they
were the reason for that album. It was a dream
come true to work with amazing producers &
writers such as Rock City, Supa Dups, Claude Kelly,
Chuck Harmony, Toby Gad and Diane Warren.
About new releases
Yes!!! We have been taking our time I know :) I
needed to reconnect with myself and take a
moment to process everything that was going
on in my life professionally and personally, I'm
a firm believer in taking the necessary time
that is needed to create something that means
something to me, that way I can give something
that I honestly feel is my best, so I know I've been
taking my time but it will be worth it.