In our modern day parade of glamour, glitz and unmerited superstardom, Cherine Anderson has taken today’s road less traveled; the path of paying dues, cultivating her abilities and developing her signature Dancehall Soul sound; a mixture of reggae, dancehall, soul and r&b. After the past two years of constant work by the songstress, the name Cherine Anderson has become synonymous with several titles: chart topping and award winning singer, thought provoking songwriter, award winning actress, music video director, magazine cover model, dynamic stage performer, vibrant collaborator and fashion forward stylista.

The Beginning

Cherine was born in Rockfort, East Kingston, Jamaica to parents Derryck and Barbara Anderson. Her parents immersed Cherine and her two older sisters in church activities, determined to keep them off the unstable streets. It was in church that her musical talents were discovered. Cherine explains, “It wasn’t so much the message in the church songs that appealed to me at first…it was the passion and strength of peoples’ voices.” Cherine received professional training in music, dance and theatre at age 12 when she became a touring member of the Ashe Performing Arts Ensemble, one of the Caribbean’s most successful performance companies.

In The Movies

At age 14, Cherine’s formal professional career began when she starred in one of Jamaica’s most successful films, Dancehall Queen. In 2003, Cherine combined her two loves, singing and acting, starring in the film One Love. Her voice lent two heartfelt songs to the film’s soundtrack, and her acting talents earned her the MTV2/Urbanworld Film Festival Award for Best Actress in a Feature Film. Anderson returned to acting in 2007 to star in MTV Tempo’s interactive drama Choices.

The Big Time

For an artist who has yet to drop her debut album, Cherine has had the opportunity to appear alongside some of the world’s biggest artists. Cherine has been featured on the official remixes for Madonna (“Give It 2 Me”), Britney Spears (“Piece of Me”) and Sir Paul McCartney (“Nod Your Head”). She has also collaborated with Wyclef Jean for her upcoming album, and she performed with Wyclef to over 7,000 fans in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Cherine was also chosen by prolific singer/activist Michael Franti to be featured on the new Franti and Spearhead album All Rebel Rockers (September, 2008). Anderson co-wrote and sings on three songs on the project, the band’s highest charted album in their history (entered #39 on Billboard’s Hot 200 album chart). Their firstsingle “Say Hey (I Love You)”, featuring Cherine, is garnering positive radio rotation, and is being used for advertising by outlets including E! Entertainment and the CW Networks. Cherine also made her US television debut, appearing with Franti and Spearhead performing “Say Hey (I Love You)” on the popular CBS program The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Giving Reggae Some Good Love

Cherine’s formal introduction as a singer/songwriter came in the form of “Good Love”; a soul filled lover’s rock tune produced by the legendary Sly & Robbie.“Good Love” peaked at #2 on the South Florida reggae charts and also appeared on Sly & Robbie’s Grammy nominated album Anniversary. The follow up was “Coming Over Tonight”, a duet with Chuck Fenda which gave Cherine her first #1 song and video. After two love songs, Anderson showed her flex as a serious songwriter with “Kingston State of Mind”, dealing with the volatile political and economic climates in Jamaica. Cherine directed the video for “Kingston State of Mind”, which peaked at #1 on MTV Tempo and other video programs. The lyrical depth of “Kingston State of Mind” also pointed Skywritings Magazine, (the inflight magazine of Air Jamaica), to Cherine. Skywritings chose the 5’3” beauty as their feature artist and cover model for their annual Music Issue in the summer of 2008, putting her in the esteemed company of former Music Issue cover artists Alicia Keys, Erykah Badu and Norah Jones. Her next single and video, “You & Me Against the World”, demonstrated the singer’s vocal prowess and exquisite fashions. After a series of successful singles, Anderson’s team made a bold move, deciding to put out a free downloadable mixtape, instead of releasing a sellable product. The mixtape, entitled Street Anthems, was hosted by Rory of Stone Love, and gave Cherine’s fans even more to look forward to with the release of her album. Cherine also began to receive major recognition in the form of numerous award nominations, and took home the 2007 Best New Female Artist at the Excellence in Music Awards and the 2008 Best Female Vocalist award at the Caribbean Urban Music Awards.

The Introduction - dubstyle

Cherine’s first formal product to be released fall 2008 will come in the form of an eight song EP entitled The Introduction-dubstyle. This EP release grants Cherine’s fans access to some of her released singles, as well as some newly released songs including her cover of the classic “Movie Star” and her latest single climbing the charts, “Talk If Yuh Talking”.

On The Road

Cherine has been introducing herself and her Dancehall Soul sound to audiences in the form of steady touring. In addition to performing at some of the biggest reggae festivals such as Reggae Sumfest and Sting, Cherine has toured as the featured vocalist for Sly & Robbie on extensive tours, taking her across the United States , Canada and the UK. The Tailgate Summer tour of 2008 put Cherine in front of nearly 150,000 fans over 21 shows. Additionally, Anderson has toured extensively with Michael Franti & Spearhead as their opening act, as well as featured vocalist during their set in the US and Australia.

Kingston State of Mind

After writing and releasing number one songs, filming great videos, gracing the cover of magazines and touring the world, one might think the hard work is complete, but for Cherine, it’s only just beginning. 2009 will bring the release of her long anticipated debut album Kingston State of Mind, with topnotch producers and even more versatility exhibited from Cherine. Anderson says, “The world needs to hear more reggae and dancehall from a female’s perspective. I feel blessed to have such great legacy set by Bob Marley, Shabba, etc… but I want to be a part of the female movement out of Jamaica that makes a similar or even greater impression on the world.”