Tessanne Chin makes spectacular debut on "The Voice"

Tessanne Chin, one of Jamaica's most talented young singers, stepped into the international spotlight on Tuesday night when she made her first appearance in Season Five of NBC's "The Voice", one of the top rated talent shows in America.

When it was her turn to show what she was made of, Chin stepped confidently onto the stage and, almost from the first note, she won over three of the four judges - Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, and Christina Aguilera. Blake Shelton, listening keenly for that special quality in her voice, could contain himself no longer when she hit the high notes in the chorus to the song, "Try" by Pink. Like the others before,  he hit the button and spun his chair around to behold the fascinating face behind the captivating voice.

Backstage

Chin's dad, and her husband, Michael Anthony Cuffe Jnr, could hardly contain themselves backstage as they saw the reactions of the judges and the audience. Cuffe shouted "Yes! All four, baby, all four", in reference to the fact that all four judges had responded positivbely. Her father, even more animated, shouted "Show it to them, baby! Show it to them!"

When it came time to choose which of the four judges would be her coach for the rest of the contest, Chin opted for Adam Levine, who, a minute before, had described her talent as "crazy special." This choice was to the chagrin of the other three judges who had all expressed a strong desire to work with her, Aguilera saying they were "all pretty desperate to have you."

In her personal pitch, Aguilera told Chin that she admired her "passion and heart... such a powerhouse and an unbelievbly talented vocalist, such a kind and warm sense about you that I just want to be given the chance to bond with you, work with you and help you in any way that I can." Visibly moved by that appeal from Aguilera, Chin could only exclaim "Wow!".

Ultimately, however, she chose Levine, who had enthusiastically  proclaimed "My favourite music comes from where you are from! Reggae music is the greatest thing in the world to me. It would have been the greatest mistake of a lifetime, not to turn around for you... You could easily win The Voice, this year; I don't have a doubt in my mind."

Explaining her decision, Chin said "I'm a fan of music, period, and I just want to be the best vocalist, I'm very interested in learining how I can better evolve... I think I'm going to go with Adam."

Jamaican accent

That choice was met with great approval from the audience, but the best response was probably from her proud dad, who proclaimed: "Oh man! My likkle baby!" in his unmistakable Jamaican accent.

That Jamaican accent was also one of Tessanne's winning points in the exchanges with the judges as well. In response to Cee Lo Green's "Where are you from?" she proudly responded "I'm from Kingston, Jamaica!" And when she proclaimed that singing " is my bread an butta", Levine was so taken with her accent, he asked her to repeat the phrase, which she did, to thunderous applause from audience.