By Amber Garrett from wetpaint

Photo: Tessanne Chin, The Voice Season 5 Winner Credit: Trae Patton/NBC © NBC Universal, Inc.

Tessanne Chin’s friends, family, and fans in Jamaica may not have been able to show their support with votes, but that doesn’t mean she did it without their help. In fact, when Tess sat down with People to talk about her win on Season 5 of The Voice, it was clear the Caribbean singer feels a debt to her cheerleaders back home.

“When I decided I wanted to do this competition, I never thought that I’d be taking a whole little country with me,” she says of the outpouring of support from her fellow islanders.

“They made it so much more special, and even though they couldn’t vote or do anything like that, I felt their love — I felt the love in the diaspora, the entire Caribbean diaspora, in the United States and I’m just so grateful to share this with them.

Now that the grueling competition is over, Tess is back in Jamaica with her family for the holidays. Arriving in Kingston in style — on a private plane, no less — she’ll get to enjoy some of the Jamaican food she’s been missing. However, it’s soon back to the States to appear at the Tournament of the Roses Parade in Pasadena before getting to work with OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder on her debut album.

Source: People

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http://www.wetpaint.com/the-voice/articles/2013-12-26-tessanne-chin-jamaica-helped-win