Tinashe is already being pitted as the poster girl for the next generation of R&B stars. At only 22, she is already basking from the success of smash singles like “2 On” to her numerous world tours. This past year has proven that she is a musical force to be reckoned with.
Tinashe Kachingwe is not only a singer and songwriter, but also a professional dancer and actress. Her music career began in 2007 with the formation of a girl group called The Stunners. There are musicians and artists who can claim some experience in the world of show business, some from a relatively early age. Tinashe arguably trumps all of them, having been consistently modeling, acting and studying ballet, tap and jazz dance forms since the age of 3.
She cut short her time at the Crescenta Valley High School in Los Angeles to focus on music full time. Vitamin C, the “Graduation (Friends Forever)” singer formed The Stunners when Tinashe was 14 and they were signed to Columbia six months later. The group released one EP, toured with Justin Bieber and were going to record an album before they split in 2011.
The same year, Tinashe gave her first ever televised singing performance, in front of a live crowd of 57,000 at a baseball game and soon after that she signed with music giants, Universal. If all this is sounding a little too Disney Princess for you, her first solo E.P, entitled “In Case We Die” cryptically enough, was recorded entirely herself in her home studio and saw comparisons to the likes of Frank Ocean.
Since then her march to take over the world has taken her to the upper reaches of the Billboard charts, her single “2 On” peaked at number 24 on the Hot 100 and her debut album “Aquarius” went straight in at number 17 on the album charts.
The second single from that album, “Pretend” saw her working with A$AP Rocky and with that, it´s become clear that it’s only a matter of time before she becomes something of a legend. She is the perfect link between pop accessibility and the artist’s touch of a true auteur.
Tinashe is a true performer in every sense. She is a phenomenal dancer and often opens her concerts with breathtaking dance routines. She is known to interact with fans during the show, sometimes taking their phones and recording or making them sing. She has already toured with Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Nicky Minaj.
This November sees the release of her second album Joyride on which she´s enlisted the big guns! Take Drake, Dr. Luke, Max Martin (who has just racked up his 20th No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Bad Blood”), Cirkut and Rock City. Tinashe is envisioning this upcoming album as her most authentic statement thus far.
“With this album, I have a much clearer direction going into it of what I want as opposed to just shooting darts at the wall,” she says. With Aquarius, I knew what I wanted to do, but everybody that I was working with really had no clue who I was or what I wanted to do. They came up with a lot of stuff that wasn’t necessarily true to me.
“What I’ve learned with this second album is to not waste time making records that aren’t going to end up on the project. Don’t waste time spending the first day getting to know the producer and just cutting whatever they want. I used to do stuff like that, breaking the ice, and we would end up with a lot of material that I didn’t necessarily want in the end.”
FASHIONISTA
While her music is predominately R&B mixed with a generous helping of hip hop, Tinashe likes to take fashion risks – leaving the hip hop, swagga gear at home and pioneering new fashion forward looks from icons that have inspired her.
Take her 2015 MTV VMA outfit, a vintage Alaia dress from 1991- which she paired with killer over-the-knee Dior boots. The singer´s inspiration was 90´s supermodels. “It´s a look I like to call Naomi Campbell meets Cindy Crawford,” she said.
Her most recent look at Jeremy Scott´s New York Fashion Week runway show cheekily consisted of a Moschino tape measure dress in homage to all the US fashion designers showcasing at the event.
TENACIOUS ACTRESS
Not a lot of people of recent Tinashe fans know she is also an acclaimed actress. She made her acting debut in the television film Cora Unashamed in 2000. In 2004, Tinashe appeared in box-office hit The Polar Express alongside actor Tom Hanks, providing the motion capture for the female protagonist.
From 2008 to 2009, Tinashe had a recurring role in hit American sitcom Two and a Half Men as Celeste, Jake’s girlfriend. While she appears to have put her acting career on hold to concentrate on music, Tinashe has said that she would like to go back into films at a later date.
Think Jennifer Lopez at the peak of her day when she often took the lead roles in films such as Maid in Manhatten and Out of Sight with George Clooney whilst still pursuing her musical career, notching up No.1´s and Oscar nods.
Tinashe totally knows where she wants to be going and this R&B goddess definitely has the skills, talent and drive to take her there.
