The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

Tebby Burrows is a woman who knows that she wants and is not afraid to go after it. At this stage in her life, it is the young singer’s goal to became a household name in the Bahamas and beyond. To this end, Tebby – she only goes by her first name professionally – upped her level of exposure by performing at one of New York City’s premier live music venues and at the popular Irie Weekend in Miami this summer.

The singer/songwriter, who names artists like Etta James, Tracey Chapman, Annie Lennox and Maroon 5 as her influences, said her motto for 2016 was, “What do I have to lose?”

“I’ve been performing and travelling a lot. I had the privilege of performing at the legendary BB King Blues Club & Grill in NYC this summer and at the famous Irie Weekend in Miami, Florida. In August, I teamed up for a really cool performance at the Miami Beach Fit Festival. I also had the privilege of performing at the Bahamian Icon Awards, and most recently the Miss Universe Pageant at Albany. In between that I perform monthly at places like Compass Point, Hard Rock Café and Pirate Republic, so I’ve been keeping busy,” she told Tribune Woman.

And despite having already put in years of work and having collaborated with many other artists, Tebby believes this is just the beginning. She said she considers every day she continues down this path a milestone.  

“Making the decision to go after what you want and live an unconventional life can be a scary thing, so I try to celebrate every step – the first time I performed internationally, the first time my music video was played on television – they were all moments where I kind of paused and smiled and thought this is good, this gives me a boost of energy to keep going. I think it was three years ago when I decided to audition to sing at a little restaurant in Cable Beach called Mojo’s. That was one of the first steps I took since moving back to the Bahamas towards doing what I love,” she said.

Just recently, Tebby released a music video for her new song called “Watch Me Do Me”. She collaborated with videographer Farreno Ferguson and dancer Myrkeeva Johnson for an innovative visual launch.

“When I heard this beat produced by Young Aristotle I just started writing. What came out if it was this dance anthem that’s all about owning your glow and not being afraid to do you,” she said.

“It’s about not waiting for anyone’s permission or approval. It’s a nod to everyone who, as the song says, is ‘putting in your time, steady on your grind.’

Speaking about the visual concept for the music video, Tebby said she wanted to do something different, so she and her team came up with the idea of a lyric video – a concept that is extremely popular with international artists at the moment. And as someone who loves to dance, Tebby thought it would be creative to combine the lyric concept with some dance moves that capture the essence and energy of the song. 

“Feedback has been awesome. This is the first time there’s been a lyric video locally so people love that it’s different. You can find it on my website www.tebbysworld.com or on my social media @tebbysworld. We’d love for the video to be on TV and that’s definitely in the works,” the singer said.

“The video for my first single released this summer called ‘Settle Down’ is actually currently number two on TEMPO’s Cross Caribbean Countdown which airs internationally, so the goal is always to share with as many people as possible,” she said.