As her singles “Don’t Want Another Man” and “In My Dreams” find their way to the top of the club charts, Tina Ann takes it in stride, glorying in the opportunity she has to share her voice, her beats, and her moves with larger and more enthusiastic audiences “I kind of fell into the success I have,” she says with a shy smile. “I went with whatever came to me.” Not to say that she didn’t work hard for it. “I’ve been training since I was a little girl. I’ve always had vocal training in opera, in the classics. I’ve studied ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop. I’ve been dancing forever.” And it wasn’t only in the pursuit of a career as a musician that she showed determination. Even as she geared up as a songstress, she doubled up her classes at college and tore through in two years. | |Upon graduation, she headed out to the West Coast, made a demo, and from there came the record deal Despite her petite yet shapely figure of the dancer she was and is, Tina Ann’s voice has the heft of her triumvirate of musical idols-Mariah, Whitney and Janet. “I’m always marveled at the strength of those singers with big vocals.” “They were my real influences-and the record of the Broadway show ‘Annie’ that I used to listen to all the time as a kid” The power of that big voice along with the tight production and quintessential club-friendly beats, have sent her music up the charts. The combination has also made Tina Ann a new-school Dancehall queen who showcases her array of talents to throngs of club-goers around the world. Tina Ann gets a performer’ high from playing to the enthusiastic crowds. “I get a thrill when people sing along at a performance” she says, a smile crossing her face as she recalls a recent show. “I am not an artist that likes to stand still. I like to provide my audience with a huge show - bring something different to the table” Even at rest Tina Ann keeps the joyfully hectic balance that reflects her career. She lives at home in a crowded house with parents, siblings, cats, dogs and birds. “She’s always singing around the house,” says her mom. “We love her music, but she never stops.” The good natured exasperation belies the exceptional unity of the family. Along with her mom and dad, Tina Ann’s brother worked with her, serving as a backup dancer early in her career. “I even brought my 70-year old grandmother to a show once,” | |Tina Ann says. “She had to wear earplugs, but she cried the whole time. She was so proud” Poised at the brink of stardom, Tina Ann has high hopes and big ambitions for the future. But her goals go beyond the usual laundry list of money, fame and a paparazzi-induced lifestyle. “More than anything else,” she says, “I want to be recognized for what I have to offer the music world.” Tina Ann is a multi-talented and strong-willed young woman whose integrity impels her to control as much of the artistic process as she can. From songwriting to production to album covers to choreography and wardrobe (she designs all her own clothes) Tina Ann is the rare, unselfish perfectionist Her next goal is to bring her eclectic tastes and ambitions to an album-in-progress that redefines the dance music genre. “I want to bring together dance and pop music. I want to come out with an album that has a different DJ with a different remix for each song - a crossover record with a little bit of everything” As Tina Ann brings to bear her passion, focus, and family-derived sense of community to this upcoming album, as she brings her vocal magnitude and the lyrics derived from life’s lessons that characterize her singles, as she keeps her commitment to aesthetic overachievement, one can only imagine that her grandmother has many more tears of pride yet to shed. |
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