Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Ernandez - Contributed

From singing back-up to taking centrestage, Chantelle Ernandez is ready to sweep in the local and international awards with her strong voice.

So far, Chantelle has five songs being played on local airwaves. They are Baila, the title track for the Baila Riddim' (also being played in Panama); Tell me Why, a duet with Bunny Rugs of Third World, a Sly & Robbie Production; Spend More Time, a duet with Daddy Lizard; Dreaming with Triston Palmer, and the most recent, Break Up To Make Up, done with Anthony Q, for which she also has a music video.

She has also almost finished her debut album, If I Could See; the album's title track is done with Toots Hibbert. She is also set to release her newest singles, Why Can't We, and Lust, which demonstrate her songwriting skills, as well as her vocal talent.

Born in Kingston, Chantelle grew up mastering a full range of performing arts, including singing, dancing and acting, honing her craft both in school and on church choirs. She began playing the piano at age nine and is now an accomplished level-six classical pianist. Chantelle says she has a natural love for music, having grown up around family members who adored playing and singing music.

Started in gospel group

The songbird got her start in a gospel group. "I started in high school at 16. I was in a group called Essence. There were five of us. We we're doing demos by Grafton Studios; there I met Gumption and started doing harmonies for them," she says. From there Chantelle's solo career began as she released her first single, Something In My Heart.

Since then Chantelle has done harmonies for some the biggest names in Jamaican music, including Shaggy and Gregory Isaacs. She has performed and toured internationally with the likes of Ernie Smith, Prezident Brown, Max Romeo, Lymie Murray, Lenn Hammond, Chrisiniti, Courtney 'Yogie' John, Norris Man, Natty King, Vegas, Fantan Mojah, Jah Mason, Perfect and Lutan Fyah, just to name a few.

Not wanting to classify her music, Chantelle sings a variety of genres, including gospel, jazz and blues, reggae, rhythm and blues and Latin. Locally, she looks up to the great females in the business such as Marcia Griffiths and Carlene Davis, among others.

A turnaround for Chantelle's career came when she met veteran Toots Hibbert one day at Anchor studio. Chantelle has since sung harmonies for Toots's upcoming album and has even co-written a few songs on the set. She looks up to him as a mentor and says "first of all he's a very good man, very great, but hard to work with. It's a task, but at the end of the day everything fits and sounds great".

While Chantelle is doing well now, life as a singer has not always been easy. According to Chantelle, Toots was one of the few persons who advised her to stay true to herself and to never be afraid of her voice. She explained that "a lot of persons, big names in the business, said I'm not gonna make it cause I sing too pretty, non-Jamaican-like. Some said I should even sing off-key to sound like Tanya Stephens. But I never listened 'cause I was given my voice by God and I can't change it".