Tenelle Christine Luafalemana (born July 21, 1988) is an American Samoan singer-songwriter from

Carson, California Carson is a city in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and the Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor regions of Los Angeles County, California, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International ...

. She represented

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

in the

American Song Contest The ''American Song Contest'' is an American music reality competition television series based on the Eurovision Song Contest. The sole season of the series was hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson; it consisted of eight episodes airing be ...

where she placed 6th in the Grand Final.

Early life

Tenelle grew up in

where she was originally a

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

player. At the age of 12, she started taking singing lessons with

vocal coach A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (though this term often applies to those working with speech and communication rather than singing), is a music teacher, usually a piano accompanist, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often al ...

Tim Carter, best known for his work with artists such as

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

and Willow Smith. After graduating from Gardena High School in 2006, Tenelle joined three of her uncles in a band called ''Chord Brown''.

Career

Tenelle started her solo career as a popular regional performer on the West Coast of the United States and in Oceania. She became internationally recognized after the release of her single "Flava" by Grammy Award, Grammy nominated artist Meghan Trainor in 2013. The song quickly rose on the iTunes singles chart, even reaching the number 1 spot. Tenelle's 2014 single "Get Some" was the most requested song on Honolulu's contemporary hits station, KCCN-FM. Her debut album ''For the Lovers'' was released on 10 March 2017 and peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. Tenelle has performed and collaborated with fellow Pacific Islander artists such as George 'Fiji' Veikoso, Drew Deezy, Adeaze, Anuhea Jenkins, Anuhea, and Kimie. She has toured in the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Australia, New Zealand, Japan,

, and Samoa.

Discography

Albums

Singles

* "Flava" (2013) * "Tell Me" (2013) * "Get Some" (2014) * "Number One" (2015) * "All I Want Is You" (2016) * "Girl Like Me" (2016) * "Ride or Die" (2016)

References

External links

Official Website
Living people American people of Samoan descent American women singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from California 1988 births 21st-century American women People from Carson, California Musicians from Los Angeles County, California {{US-singer-songwriter-stub