JAMAICAN singer Tessanne Chin blew away the four celebrity coaches on America’s top vocal competition show, The Voice, with a powerful rendition of US singer Pink’s hit song Try.

The audience at the blind audition show, aired last night on NBC, erupted in wild cheers and applause when coach Christina Aguilera hit her power button to turn her chair around, signalling her interest in having Chin on her team, approximately five seconds after she started singing.

The audience erupted again when fellow coaches CeeLo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton turned their chairs around before Chin had even finished the first verse of the song.

At the end of her performance, Chin was praised by the coaches, all of whom are top musicians.

“You could easily win The Voice this year, I don’t have a doubt in my mind,” said Levine, the lead singer of pop rock band Maroon 5.

Shelton, a country music singer, in his bid to woo Chin to join his team of competitors, said: “I won’t lie to you like Adam and tell you you could easily win… it’s very hard to win this. It takes a lot of hard work, but you’re so far ahead of the game.”

Blake then asked Chin if she has been “singing for a long time”.

She replied: “Yes sir, that’s my bread and butter back home.”

Levine, obviously fascinated by Chin’s Jamaican accent, asked her to say bread and butter one more time. She obliged, giving him great pleasure.

“My favourite music comes from where you’re from,” he told her.

“True?” Chin responded.

“Yeah. Reggae music is the greatest thing in the world to me,” he said, eliciting a “Thank you, that’s a big honour,” from Chin.

Levine, obviously burning to have Chin join his team, told her: “I would have made the mistake of a lifetime to not turn around for this. You got something crazy special. I want it, I want it so bad.”

Aguilera, in her attempt to get Chin on her team, told the Jamaican: “We’re all pretty desperate to have you on our team… What I’m getting from you is just so much passion and so much heart for what you do, and you’re such a powerhouse and unbelievably talented vocalist; but you have such a kind, warm sense about you and I just want to be given a chance to bond with you, work with you and help you in any way that I can.”

Blake, in his sales pitch, told Chin that he was fascinated by her.

However, when he asked her who she would pick as her coach, Chin chose Levine.

“I’m a fan of music, period,” she said, “and I just want to be the best vocalist, and I’m very interested in learning how I can better evolve, and for me I think I’m gonna go with Adam.”

Her choice, of course, had Levine celebrating. “I’m madly in love with her as a singer. I did not expect to win the battle for Tessanne, but man, I’m very happy,” he said.

Chin, in her post-audition interview, said “I tried to just give a good show, but when I saw those chairs turn, boy, I had to remain in the show, and not go oohh.”

Last night, after watching the recorded show with her family and friends here in Kingston, Chin tweeted: “Just wanna say a huge thank you for all the love and support I am truly overwhelmed!!!! Words fail me.”

NBC explains on its website that during the blind auditions the coaches sit in rotating chairs with their backs turned to the stage. Their decisions are therefore based solely on the performer’s voice.

If a coach is impressed by the artiste’s voice, the coach pushes a button to select the artiste for his/her team. “At this point, the coach’s chair will swivel so that he/she can face the artiste. If more than one coach pushes his/her button, the power then shifts to the artiste to choose which coach the artiste wants to work with. If no coach pushes his/her button, the artiste is eliminated from the competition.”

Chin will now go into the battle rounds, getting advice from Levine.

The competition gets more difficult with each round, leading up to the final live performance.

The eventual winner is named ‘The Voice’ and rewarded with a recording contract.