It is amazing when you meet someone with a gift who has remained humble, despite all of their successes and triumphs. What is rare is being gifted with the ability to bellow captivating notes as well as being an accomplished keyboardist and percussionist. Getting up on a stage and performing in front of hundreds, even thousands sounds scary, but for Teddyson John, it is simply what he loves to do. If we were present for the first moments after his birth, no doubt his cry must have been like hallowed angels singing. After interviewing him, Dazzle is under the impression that he is a born musician and we share more about the man behind the voice, the art and the creativity.
Teddyson John known as Teddy or TJ to his friends and family, has been wowing audiences since, “before his feet could even touch the peddles of the drum set”. Teddyson admits that neither his mother nor father is musically inclined yet he and his two brothers, “seemed to have gotten it from somewhere”. His brothers, Francis John is the founder of the band, Blue Mango and Hervin John has his own band on the cruise ship line, Royal Caribbean.
Teddyson’s first recording was a song called ‘Sweeter’. We know you’re thinking ‘it must have been a soca’, but believe it or not, it is a gospel song as Teddyson actually started off singing and performing in church. This song was recorded at the legendary Den Studio.
We often hear people talk about their first love, Teddyson admits that he simply “just had a love for music” and it has only deepened over the years.
He tells us: “I did a gospel concert in the Boulevard. I was really young. The drummer didn’t show up but I knew the songs and I used to drum on NIDO tins and bottles at the back of our house so I was able to fill in for the drummer. I remember after the performance Ricardo Francois gave me my first pair of drumsticks.” Teddy shared this fond musical memory and his exuberance when relaying the story made us relive it with him.
We know Teddyson is no stranger to the stage! His performing experience however stems from his school days when he attended Sir Ira Simmons Secondary School, participating in events such as Mr. & Ms. Teen Talent and Mr. & Ms. Valentine. It is those early performances that paved the way for him to shine bright at the Groovy Soca Monarch and Power Soca Monarch competitions leading him to have won the crown twice of the four times he has entered since 2007.
“It’s an amazing feeling for me being on stage; when you love what you do, it shows. I love to give the people a good show. I love to see people enjoying themselves to what I do!” Teddyson said of his passion.
The cliché, ‘practice makes perfect’ is essential for anyone in the music business but in Teddyson’s words, “the more you do it, the better you get at it.”
It is also often said that behind every successful man is a good woman, and Teddyson attributes his success to “an understanding and amazing wife!”
“She understands everything I do, she knows what it takes. She too is a performer as a dancer. When you meet somebody in their passion, you don’t try to change it but you support it. Having a strong relationship and the other person understands makes the perfect balance”. He explained.
There are two sides to Teddyson, a Soca side and a Jazz side. This diversity has allowed him to perform all over the world, including Miami, New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Barbados, Martinique, Cayenne, Paris and of course his home, Saint Lucia. Teddyson has also performed with world famous artiste Patti LaBelle and the likes of James Ingram, Bebe Winans, and Brick & Lace. He has also been afforded the opportunity to open for Destra and Machel Montano.
While he has worked with these renowned artistes, his collaboration dreams keep growing. “Locally I would love to work with Ricky T. and in the Soca world Kes and Machel.” Teddyson however has always admired R. Kelly and still does today. What he admires most is R. Kelly’s creativity, musical diversity and writing skills. “My ultimate collaboration would be with R. Kelly.” He added.
For songwriting, he would have wanted to work with the late Michael Jackson and have Ne-Yo and The Dream write him a tune.
Teddyson’s achievements are not limited to winning local music titles. He is the only artist from the Caribbean to audition for the show ‘Making the Band’ hosted by P. Diddy, in 2010, in Los Angeles. He auditioned for the role of drummer and was able to make it through the first six rounds. “It was a nice experience. I was at Centre Stage, which is where lots of artists come to rehearse. I was in the room where Michael Jackson, two weeks before his death had rehearsed for the movie ‘This is It’.” Teddyson recalled.
Dazzle Magazine would like to thank Teddyson for sharing his journey with us. Teddyson opened up for Ne-Yo at the Saint Lucia Jazz Festival in 2010 and we distinctly remember hearing thousands screaming for him for an encore, which is commonplace at his performances. Dazzle cannot wait to see what he comes up with next; his wardrobe, delivery and performances are always spectacular! Already, he has the TJ Project, which is made up of a cast of “carefully selected musicians: Dean (bass and musical director), Peppy and Eric (keyboardists), Zack (guitarist) and Gregory (drums).” Teddyson John is definitely on his way to making history and we have hopes that every Saint Lucian supports him.
