Tessanne Chin

Tessanne Chin first entered the global spotlight as a participant in season five of The Voice, though she had already built a thriving career on Jamaican soil through chart success with the reggae single "Hideaway" and extensive worldwide touring alongside Jimmy Cliff. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, she grew up with a father who played in one of the island’s scarce jazz fusion outfits, E=MC2, while also serving as a sound engineer and later founding his own recording studio. He eventually added a home studio reserved for family use, which included her older sister Tami, whose debut album Out of Many...One appeared on the Universal label in 2006.

Tessanne began her professional journey several years before that release by fronting the rock-reggae band Mile High and then signing on as a member of Jimmy Cliff’s touring ensemble for performances across multiple continents. The 2007 Jamaican hit "Hideaway" marked the true start of her solo path, yet much of her visibility in the ensuing period came from collaborative work, including the single "Never Let Go" with Shaggy and the genre-blending track "Loving You" recorded with soca group Kes. After issuing the independent album In Between Words in 2010, longtime acquaintance Shaggy urged her to audition for the American televised singing competition The Voice.

Her take on P!nk’s "Try" earned her a place on the show, after which she joined Adam Levine’s team. As the season advanced she reached the top of the digital charts with renditions of Simon & Garfunkel’s "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and Whitney Houston’s "I Have Nothing," ultimately winning the competition while Jacquie Lee placed second. Late that year she released the winning entry "Tumbling Down," written by Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic. Her first Republic label album, Count on My Love, followed in July 2014.