The Jamaica Observer recently wrote a story noting that although Jamaicans all over the world are now going crazy over Tessanne Chin, who has reached the top ten on the US talent competition The Voice, her debut album three years ago was ignored. Based on comments already coming in, let me point out that I am not just talking about album sales, since I agree that we don’t buy a lot of albums. If you are honest, you’ll acknowledge that Tessanne was not regarded as one of our top artistes, ie in terms of headlining shows etc.
So how come a singer whose music was being overlooked here at home is suddenly the toast of Jamaica and the diaspora? Here are five suggestions:
- We’re spoiled. There are talented singers on every street corner in Jamaica. Talent isn’t enough for us to sit up and take notice.
- Tessanne’s music is different from that of our top female artistes, such as Queen Ifrica, Etana, Tanya Stephens – unfortunately, the market doesn’t always immediately get “different.”
- The context now is different. She’s representing Jamaica abroad – it’s not really about Tessanne, any Jamaican on that stage would get the same reaction.
- We frighten fi foreign ie we tend not to notice many of our people until they are first recognized by foreigners. We need the outside validation to acknowledge how good they are.
- We’re waggonists! Tessanne is the latest. most popular wagon around, so we all jumped on.
What do you think? And if you hadn’t seen my post on ten reasons we are rooting for Tessanne, read it here and weigh in as well.
News and Views by Dionne Jackson Miller 
November 18, 2013 at 9:30 pm
I don’t think we’re spoiled. We have some good singers but few VERY good singers with real talent like Tessanne. I think #2 is the main reason – we are so fixated on a certain type of music that her work basically got ignored apart from a devoted group of fans. And Tessanne certainly didn’t get played on the radio, so people didn’t hear it. She didn’t have a big marketing thing going either, like Etana and others. There is some truth in #5 too! Many of her fans are very new ones since she started on “The Voice.” But that doesn’t matter, she has a lot more Jamaican fans now!
November 18, 2013 at 9:53 pm
I understand your arguments and the points you have raised are all valid. However, you have not mentioned how Tessane was marketed or not market to the Jamaican market. That the market is bias to dancehall is a given, that Jamaicans don’t buy records is another given. Tessane wasn’t market to the mainstream which can be attributed to her genres of choice. Nonetheless, she is regarded as being more vocally gifted than her sister Tami. I think she has done well in Ja to- having graced the Jazz and Sumfest stage as well. So is it that her time just come- maybe!
November 18, 2013 at 9:33 pm
I think I agree only with #2, #3 and #5. Jamaicans love any opportunity to big up other Jamaicans when they’re doing well, so it could be Ninja Man or whoever won the last Rising Stars; wouldn’t matter. We’d all jump on the support wagon. She went into this competition to become an international star because even though those who knew her well in Jamaica really love her, she wasn’t as well known as she will be hereafter. Smart advice by Shaggy to her to enter this competition.
November 19, 2013 at 2:39 pm
Well I just never knew about her before since her music gets no airplay in my neck of tv woods! What a joy to see the transformation from back-up to lead in a different keyMany Rivers! As an unadulterated waggonist I am on board to wherever this goes!!
Just curious- did Bolt’s presence boost the show ratings and the Tessanne vote?
November 21, 2013 at 10:47 pm
Dionne, from my observation on social media and casual conversations around town on this subject I think your numbers 4 and 5 are the main reasons. For my part I refuse to be a part of this band waggonism so I do not watch the Voice. I wish Tessanne all the best as any normal person would though, but to be honest, I didn’t even know what the Voice was before this and I don’t intend to find out just because its the hottest thing for now.
December 21, 2013 at 10:21 pm
Of all your reasons I agree with # 3 the most. Any Jamaican on that stage would have got our support. This is because banal nationalism is very strong in Jamaica and Tess being on an international stage pushed our “banal button”. Thanks to our great cultural icons and our track and field athletes who have given us international recognition and have cultivated the the most common form of nationalism in us – banal nationalism. Because I agree with number 3 for the reason which I gave, I disagree with number 5. We are not “waggonists” we are banal to the core.
As for reason # 2, wasn’t Hideaway different? didn’t we love that one from Tess? Maybe she just has not done anything since Hideaway that many Jamaicans like. As for reason number 4, again I think we are banal and proud. It is not that we have just recognized that Tess can sing we are just happy that just as how our Olympians “run lef dem a few months ago, Tess a sing lef dem now”
And reason number 1 – I don’t know if anything is wrong with demanding that people have the entire package and not just talent. Raw talent and only that is boring. I am sure Tessanne captured the hearts of people globally because of reasons which include but are not limited to vocal prowess, ie,she had the package.