Cherine Anderson ... has had two feature roles - Dancehall Queen in 1997 and One Love in 2003. - Contributed
It's hard to believe that dancehall-soul singer Cherine Anderson is being described as an emerging artiste. After all, it has been 10 years since she first dabbled in the world of entertainment as a songwriter for some of Jamaica's biggest acts as a 16-year-old.
She has written songs for groups such as Innocent Kru, toured with the legendary Sly and Robbie and the absolutely huge international bands Simply Stoopid and Spearhead.
Anderson has also appeared on tracks with the likes of Britney Spears, Madonna and the iconic Paul McCartney; and this past January she topped it all when she performed at three inauguration balls on the night the United States swore in its first black president, Barack Obama.
The petite, dark-skinned beauty, who grew up in modest circumstances in eastern Kingston and who was once told she was not pretty enough to feature in films, has so far had two feature roles - Dancehall Queen in 1997 and One Love in 2003.
Accomplishments
That doesn't sound like someone who is 'emerging'. But, in reality, she is. Relaxing on a comfortable sofa in her office at Grafton Studios off Deanery Road in east Kingston, Anderson explains: "Technically, I've only been recording two years," content with the label of emerging though it fails to adequately define the scope of her accomplishments. "I've been 10 years of an overnight success," she said. "It didn't start yesterday. I've been writing for a whole bunch of artistes, so I have been honing my skills as a songwriter since high school."
During the past decade, she also found time to travel overseas for four years to study for a degree. One of those years she spent in Japan. She also interned at MTV, Interscope Records and the independent Chris Blackwell-owned Palm Pictures.
Her experiences have prepared her well for the success she has been gleefully plunging headlong into; that, and her natural instincts. "I think it's a lot of that. It's understanding your industry and outside of being obsessed with the music and acting, working and everything entertainment, I am equally obsessed with the business side and I understand that it is a business," she said.
It is that understanding of the business side that prompted her to release her eight-song EP Cherine Anderson: The Introduction that is being gobbled up by her growing legions of fans. The EP, she explained, was to try and meet the demand for her music and prepare fans for her first CD which she believes will drop late this year. "The EP is not the album. No. The EP is the introduction to the album," she declared, her beautiful, dark eyes lighting up as she flashes a mischievous smile. Her wisdom then takes centre stage. "I've had probably over a 100 songs recorded. I could have done this, two or three years ago because I am constantly writing. But being on tour, you realise different things you don't learn in Jamaica. When you are onstage, people want a sellable product; the EP was to satisfy that need and to introduce myself to the larger international reggae market. This is what I do. I am a dancehall-soul artiste. Some of this stuff is rooted in dancehall, but its eclectic, it's a hybrid sound. It mixes R&B and pop and jazz and all the stuff I have been influenced by. It mixes that street with sweet."
The album, she promised, will have a different sound and is going to blow people away. She got a customised acoustic electric guitar on her last visit to Australia and it has only served to broaden her musical horizons even further, creating a new sound and a new feel. "I never knew nothing about playing one chord of anything, (but) by the time I was done on that tour, I was writing songs with the guitar. So, the whole songwriting has shifted and it is sounding different; and being exposed to these rock bands and alternative and funk and I'm listening to stuff that I would not have access to living in Jamaica. The music is different, it may be worldly but if you loved The Introduction, I think you're going to really love the album."
Constant travelling
Meanwhile, touring is keeping her busy. Since last August, she has been travelling almost constantly. She left the island a few weeks ago for Australia and she also has a multitude of solo dates, especially in the United States and elsewhere. "We're doing this show, it's called Coachella; it's where all the biggest bands have gone ... but the biggest thing is the Glastonbury Festival in the UK which is the next biggest festival to Woodstock and we are performing on that to 100,000 people. I cannot tell you how psyched I am," she said.
Psyched, because performing before people, who invest themselves emotionally in her music, means the world to her. "My mother always say it. When you've been selected, or somebody puts this responsibility on you doing something, do it and be amazing at what you do. For night after night when I go on that stage and you see the little young girls - that is what means the most to me - get excited. They're singing word for word."
She gives back by taking time out to sign CDs and merchandise for her fans, who also throw in a few strange requests. She admits to signing pregnant tummies and amputated legs - but she doesn't mind. She signs them all.
For all the growing fame, Anderson remains grounded. Her modest beginnings characterised by hard-working parents and siblings - two sisters - and growing up in Rockfort, east Kingston, help her not to forget where she is coming from. It also provides the inspiration for much of her music which she sometimes uses as a vehicle to address the issues she sees around her every day.
It also drives her to be the best she can be whether as a singer, songwriter or an actress. "I just owe it to myself to have an amazing life," she said.
