Tinashe is no stranger to life on the road: As a teenager, the now-22-year-old singer-producer toured with Justin Bieber as a member of the Stunners, a pop quintet. But it wasn’t enough for her.
“When I was 18, I took it upon myself to create a home studio,” she told Rolling Stone US earlier this year. “That was when I started teaching myself how to record and mix my own stuff. I wrote and recorded it all there in my room.”
Those early sessions eventually led to “2 On,” one of the biggest R&B hits of 2014, and a headlining tour of her own. When that tour landed in the city where it all started, Tinashe let our cameras follow her through her preparations, then document the extra-hype set that closed the night. Later, she gave us her commentary on each of our shots.
Photos by Theonepointeight. Captions by Tinashe.
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Tinashe kicks off her Australian tour this weekend:
Sunday, February 15: Triffid, Brisbane
Wednesday, February 18: The Metro, Sydney
Thursday, February 19: Chevron Festival Gardens, Perth
Friday, February 20: The HiFi, Melbourne
Tickets available via TinasheNow.com.
What can I say? I like to eat to animal crackers while my hairstylist, Sylvia does my hair!
A moment for spritze and hair flips before I roll onstage.
I’m a perfectionist, so everything must be right. Right before I got onstage, I made a few minor edits to my slideshow.
My drummer, DJ, is the dopest. Hands down.
Just sound-checking with my dancers, making sure that everything is just right for the show tonight. Honestly, being onstage is when I feel most at home.
Overall, I would describe my show as moody and atmospheric mixed with moments of high energy. This particular moment, I was performing my track ‘Bated Breath,’ which I recorded in my home studio.
Seeing my name on a landmark marquee in my hometown is a ‘Wow’ moment for me.
I truly love and appreciate my fans because their support is unreal! So to be able to take photos with them before the show is my way of saying thanks.
I love my glam team, but sometimes I like to do my own makeup!
Sometimes you get to meet some real life icons.
My dancers are nothing short of amazing! Three of them – Xavier, Adrian and Denee (from left) – prepare in the green room, alongside manager Mike Nazzaro.
I have to take a moment for myself before I hit the stage, just to say a prayer and take a few deep breaths.
I definitely consider myself more of a loner, but once I hit the stage that all changes and I become Tinashe ‘the entertainer’ – and she is far from that!
When I’m serenading the crowd, I really like to connect with the fans and look them in their eyes.
At the end of my set, I like to thank my fans for allowing me to fulfill my dreams of being an entertainer.
Tinashe shows her dad and brother a pair of Jordans that she received from someone in the crowd: The craziest thing about my fans is that they go real hard!
Earlier this year, I got the chance to work with RZA on the Dr. Pepper ‘One of a Kind’ collaboration and he had never seen me perform on stage. So to say that that I was excited to have him at my show would be an understatement.
