Origin Nassau, the Bahamas Albums Brettina Role Singer-songwriter Name Brettina Robinson | Years active 2010–present Instruments Vocals | |
Birth name Brettina Lorena Robinson Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, actress, print model Labels Floating Bridge Media (independent) | ||
Brettina Lorena Robinson (born December 8, 1976) is a Bahamian jazz singer-songwriter, model, and SAG actress, who lives in metropolitan Los Angeles.
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Early life
Brettina was born in Nassau, the Bahamas. She moved to Chicago with her family while she was a toddler when her mother, gospel-singer/actress Leona Coakley Spring, began acting on the popular stage plays "The Crucible," and "The Other Cinderella." Brettina moved back to the Bahamas during her school years.
Brettina began singing at age four, under the influence of her mother, as well as Theo and Kirk Coakley of the popular 1970 Funk/Soul group T-Connection.
While attending C.I. Gibson School in the Bahamas she was awarded the title "Miss C.I. Gibson", which made her eligible for Miss Bahamas Talented Teen. Brettina won the title "Miss Bahamas Talented Teen", and earned a university scholarship. She attended the University of Washington.
Musical style and career
Brettina cites as her main influences Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughan, Shirley Horn, Shirley Bassey, Sade, Adele, Diana Krall, Corinne Bailey Rae,Tiwa Savage and LIRA. She sings jazz, and describes her style as "organic".
Brettina's music is honest and unique. She sings about real life and a lot of her fans can connect with her because of that.
She's hoping to perform in South Africa sometime later as she has a huge following in that country and hopefully capture the European audience.
She draws from personal experience in her songwriting. For example, she cites her poor childhood as the inspiration for her song "Poor Old Times", her fondness for chai as the inspiration for "Chai", and childhood memories as the inspiration for covering the Belafonte-Burgess song "Island in the Sun".
In addition to her jazz career, she has worked as a print model and an actress in national advertisements. As a singer, she has performed mainly in the Seattle and Los Angeles areas.
She has performed in public on several occasions, for example:
Awards
Critical Acclaim
Brettina has been praised by a variety of critics, for example:
Philanthropy
Brettina supports several charitable causes, most visibly a donation in support of C.I. Gibson School, which she attended. She also supports All Saints Camp, a shelter for people suffering from HIV/AIDS, with her mother.
Discography
Studio albums: Brettina (2010), Taste (forthcoming)
Music videos