The outpouring of support from across the Caribbean has been tremendous for Tessanne Chin, the Jamaican singer and ambassador of "bread an butta" who was the favourite to win the USA's singing competition The Voice.During the finals of the programme which took place last night and Monday night on NBC, Trinidadians have taken to social media sites Facebook and Twitter to urge people to vote for Chin and purchase recordings of her performances on iTunes.
After the recent deportation of 13 Jamaicans from this country, there was a call for the boycott of T&T products by Jamaicans but Trinidadians have ignored this and are rallying around Chin like one of their own.
She has been embraced in America as well, and during the show, celebrities have been showing their support. Actress Debra Messing from the TV show Will and Grace tweeted: "Sobbing listening to Tessanne Chin sing Whitney Houston's I Have Nothing." The Whitney Houston cover is the song many critics said would help her to capture the grand prize of a recording contract.
Following the show, Chin's cover shot to number one on the iTunes charts. Her coach and judge on the show, the pop singer Adam Levine, told her she was already the winner in his eyes, a controversial statement, as he has also coached another finalist, Will Champlin.
Simon Baptiste of Question Mark Entertainment, the management company for Kes The Band, whose lead singer Kees Dieffanthaller recorded the song Loving You with Chin in 2010, considers the Jamaican a good friend. Baptiste said Chin is a "hard worker" who made no jokes with her craft and described what he believes was Chin's stand out moment on The Voice.
"When she sang Bridge Under Troubled Waters, for her to find that place, I don't know what she drew on," Baptiste said. "I heard that when people do a role that has a certain level of emotion, they tap into a memory that was very traumatic, and I think with her she had a family member that passed away, and she just tapped into those emotions.
"You could feel it from the very first note. You were so drawn in, so captivated by her. She was always so consistent, but that particular night it was from such a different place that you couldn't help but be mesmerised by it... She always had jitters before she takes the stage but once she walks on that stage she lets it go and just channels it in a positive light."Baptiste believes that the 28-year-old has now proven to the world that she can hold her own with the likes of Celine Dion or Mariah Carey.
When the Jamaican singer started her journey on The Voice, Laura Dowrich-Phillips, editor of Metro Magazine, had the opportunity to interview her. Unlike many who are now supporting Chin, Dowrich-Phillips is an avid fan of the programme, having looked at all five seasons."I think she was excellent throughout the show," she said. "She's always wanted to be a singer and not be categorised as a Jamaican singer or a dancehall singer." said Dowrich-Phillips.
Dowrich-Phillips said she was not surprised that Chin had made it so far in the competition, "Initially I was worried because the level of singing tends to be pretty high, so I was nervous about her in the battle rounds, but when she cleared the battle rounds I felt confident," she said.Many of The Voice's finalists have faded on the pop circuit, but Dowrich feels confident that Chin will become a much bigger star than she was before.
Several past winners of the The Voice, which first premiered in 2011, have been country singers. But Tessanne Chin brings a different style to the show. This Dowrich believes is a definite advantage, as she thinks that after the success of Bajan pop star Rihanna, the American music industry has been on the look out for the next "hot Caribbean flavour".
