‘It feels amazing to be home!’

Those were the first words from Jamaican singer Tessanne Chin, winner of season five of the NBC talent show The Voice, as she addressed a press conference in her honor upon her return to the island late Friday evening at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.

Top:The Meadowbrook High School choir cheers on Tessanne as she leaves the airport on Frid

Bottom: Tessanne gets a reassuring squeeze from mentor, diamondselling reggae act Shaggy who encouraged her to audition for The Voice.

“I am completely overwhelmed and in shock,” she continued.

Chin thanked her family, coach Adam Levine, friends and associates who helped her along the way to winning the popular American contest.

“My family has been so supportive. Shaggy, thank you will never be enough,” Chin said in homage to the man whose influence led to her new-found fame.

It’s a family affair as the Chin and Cuffe families gather for a moment with the songbird. From left her father-in-law Michael Anthony Cuffe, husband Michael Anthony Cuffe Jr, sister Tami, brother-in-law Wayne Marshall and father Richard. 

“Burkie [Sharon Burke], you have always been there for me, supported and rallied for me, and I thank you. Let me take a minute to thank Digicel. The private jet ride was so great, I don’t know how to fly commercial again. I will not stop singing Adam’s praises. He was there for me, a tower of strength… Coach, thank you!”

But it was her Jamaican people for whom she reserved highest praise.

“I felt your energy and love coming through and that sustained me. I was doing it for you too… I am so happy to be home,” an emotional Chin stated.

The Voice, Tessanne Chin, holds aloft the winner’s trophy during a press conference at the Norman Manley International Airport following her return home on Friday. 

In addition to her family, Chin was greeted upon arrival by Government ministers Lisa Hanna and Dr Wykeham McNeill, junior minister Damion Crawford, as well as former culture minister Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, Digicel CEO Barry O’Brien and ATL Group Deputy Chairman and Jamaica Observer CEO Adam Stewart who presented her with a framed collage of Daily Observer front-page reports of her journey through The Voice.