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Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe ( ; born February 6, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Pasadena, California, as a child, where she pursued work in entertainment. Her roles include a motion-capture performance in the animated film The Polar Express (2004), Robin Wheeler in the Cartoon Network television series Out of Jimmy's Head (2007–2008), and a recurring role in the CBS series Two and a Half Men (2008–2009). From 2007 to 2011, she was a member of the girl group the Stunners. After they disbanded, Tinashe released her first musical projects, the mixtapes In Case We Die (2012), Reverie (2012) and Black Water (2013).
Tinashe emerged into mainstream success with her 2014 major label debut single, "2 On" (featuring Schoolboy Q). The song peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and served as lead single for her debut studio album Aquarius (2014), which debuted at number 17 on the US Billboard 200. Her second and third studio albums, Nightride (2016) and Joyride (2018), peaked at number 89 and 58 of the Billboard 200, respectively. Following her departure from RCA, Tinashe independently released four albums— Songs for You (2019), 333 (2021), BB/Ang3l (2023) and Quantum Baby (2024). The albums were received with critical acclaim. The lead single of Quantum Baby, "Nasty", became a viral hit and was her first solo entry on the Billboard Hot 100. A remix of the album's single "No Broke Boys" with Disco Lines saw global commercial success, charting in numerous top 10s across the globe.
In 2007, Tinashe joined girl group the Stunners, founded by Vitamin C. Her bandmates were friends Marisol Esparza, Allie Gonino, Hayley Kiyoko, and Kelsey Sanders. Six months after their formation, the group signed with Columbia Records, and later signed a production deal with Lionsgate Entertainment for scripted television show for MTV. In October, the group released a five-song EP, influenced by artists such as Madonna, Gwen Stefani, and Rihanna. The music video for their promo single, "We Got It", was released on February 22, 2010, and they performed the song on The Today Show and The Wendy Williams Show. After signing with Universal Republic Records, they released a single, "Dancin' Around the Truth" in 2010. The music video premiered on June 2, 2010, just before the group was announced as an opening act on Justin Bieber's My World Tour.
After the Bieber tour the Stunners returned to the recording studio, but disbanded in 2011, and Tinashe began pursuing a solo career. After the Stunners disbanded, Tinashe "bought a bunch of equipment, a camera, and microphones", and began to teach herself how to record and mix music. She wrote and recorded songs in her room studio. She produced beats with Logic Pro, and also filmed and edited her own music videos with Pro Tools and Final Cut Pro. Tinashe cites YouTube as her "teacher".
On May 3, 2011, Tinashe gave her first televised solo performance during a Dodgers–Chicago Cubs game, singing "God Bless America". On June 24, 2011, Tinashe released her first solo music video, a cover of Lil Wayne's single "How to Love". The song was later released as a free digital download via Tinashe's official website. Tinashe was featured on the dance single "Artificial People" by OFM, released on September 12, 2011. On November 25, 2011, Tinashe released the music video for "Can't Say No", her first original solo song. Tinashe stated that the song samples an instrumental of Britney Spears's song "Blur". "Can't Say No" was released for download on November 28, 2011.
On July 13, 2012, Tinashe announced that she had signed with RCA Records. Following the signing, her second mixtape, Reverie, was released on September 6, 2012, through her official website. The mixtape released three singles: the first "Stargazing", released on August 21, 2012; Denver Sean of LoveBScott.com noted "BMarz of The Hills Club 's flawless production" of the first single, saying "'Stargazing', takes a similar approach to, Noah '40' Shebib's productions, but it's as if he strapped one to a rocket and shot it into the galaxy." The second, "Ecstasy", was released on December 18, 2012; and the final, "Who Am I Working For?", was released on March 12, 2013. Upon its release, reviews for Reverie were generally positive.
From August to November 2012, a series of remixes of songs from Tinashe's two mixtapes leaked online to critical acclaim. On November 26, 2013, Tinashe released her third mixtape, Black Water. The mixtape was composed of thirteen tracks produced by Dev Hynes, Boi-1da, Ryan Hemsworth, and Tinashe herself. The single "Vulnerable", which features rapper Travis Scott, was declared a "Must-Hear Pop Song of the Week" by MTV's Buzzworthy on November 26, 2013.
Tinashe worked on her debut studio album in 2014. Recording took place in Los Angeles, London, Atlanta, New York, and Toronto. Tinashe worked with several producers, including Clams Casino, Ryan Hemsworth, Stuart Matthewman, DJ Mustard, T-Minus, Mike Will Made It, Boi-1da, Fisticuffs, Best Kept Secret, Ritz Reynolds and London on da Track. On January 13, 2014, Tinashe released her first single from her debut album, "2 On". The song features American rapper Schoolboy Q, and was produced by DJ Mustard. The song entered the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 89, and has since peaked at number 24.
On June 29, 2014, Tinashe made her national television debut, performing her single "2 On" at the BET Awards pre-show. That same day, she also announced that her anticipated debut album, Aquarius, would be officially released on October 7, 2014. Speaking about the theme of the album, Tinashe said: "It combines the essence of all my previous work. I've stayed true to who I am. Obviously, there's some progression as I've grown as an artist, and I'm influenced by new things and what not. I think my fans will be really happy with it. I think it really embodies who I am and where I am creatively right now". The second single, "Pretend" featuring ASAP Rocky, was released on August 22, 2014. Aquarius debuted at number 17 on Billboard 200 with 18,800 copies sold in its first week. "All Hands on Deck" became the last single off of the album. Tinashe kicked the year off with a visual bang, appearing on the cover of the Jan 15 issue of V Magazine.
On September 2, 2015, Tinashe released a teaser for her then second studio album Joyride on YouTube. She explained to Billboard about the meaning behind the title: "I always had it in the back of my head, but it started to become more and more relevant to my current state of my career. With all this traveling I've done this past year and everything I've gone through, it just really feels like an adventure, a journey, a ride", and when asked why she feels she isn't being heard she stated, "I feel like I've been working really hard this year at developing a fan base, a touring base. I'm continuing to grow, but you always feel like you're a little bit under appreciated, undervalued. Especially for me, it's exciting to have new music and to give people a chance to rediscover me again." On September 9, Tinashe leaked the buzz single called "Party Favors" featuring rapper Young Thug as a way to get the ball rolling from her label. On October 2, 2015, Tinashe released another song "Player", featuring Chris Brown. On October 21, 2015, Tinashe was featured on British electronic duo Snakeships' track "All My Friends", which also featured Chance the Rapper.
In the summer of 2015 Tinashe joined Nicki Minaj for US concerts on the Pinkprint Tour, and in September and October she toured South America with Katy Perry on the Prismatic World Tour. Meanwhile, she was featured in a November 2015 fashion spread in Vogue, and was the cover feature in the Winter 2015 issue of Dazed magazine. Tinashe announced the Joyride World Tour on January 12, 2016, to support the album Joyride. Beginning in February 2016, it was scheduled through May 2016 including dates in North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The tour was ultimately canceled as Tinashe wanted to focus on making new songs for the album. Tinashe also revealed another promotional single, "Ride of Your Life", on February 2, 2016.
In February 2016, MAC Cosmetics announced a limited-edition collaboration with Tinashe for its #MACFutureForward campaign, along with Halsey, Lion Babe, and Dej Loaf. In April she was again featured in Vogue. During the summer, Tinashe was set to debut on Hot 97's Summer Jam main stage as the only female artist but the event was canceled due to an extreme weather alert. On July 15, 2016, Tinashe released a new single "Superlove". The music video, directed by Hannah Lux Davis and filmed in Malibu, California, made its debut on August 12, 2016. The video on YouTube reached one million views in just a day and a half. On September 15, 2016, Tinashe performed her new song "Company" on MTV's Wonderland. Unlike her previous work, "Company" was written by The-Dream without Tinashe as co-writer. On October 25, 2016, Tinashe was confirmed working with American singer Britney Spears for a remix version of Spears' song, "Slumber Party".
Tinashe appeared on the cover of Nylon's October 2016 issue, just as designer brand Alexander Wang was collaborating with her in a video for its Fall 2016 campaign. On November 4, 2016, Tinashe released a digital album and short film titled Nightride which she said had been in production for two years alongside her Joyride album. Rolling Stone described Nightride as "dark, alluring and dangerous". In March 2017, Tinashe joined Maroon 5 on the Maroon V Tour. The same month, Pepsi, in association with iHeartMedia, Shazam, and Viacom, announced that Tinashe would join its music platform, The Sound Drop. On March 16, Tinashe premiered a new single, "Flame". It was also confirmed that Tinashe would appear in the new season of Empire. On April 2, 2017, as part of WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, Tinashe performed "America the Beautiful".
On June, she appeared at two concerts with Aaron Carter at WHTA's Birthday Bash. On August 2017, she was the cover feature, along with an interview, in Galore. On July 11, 2017, Tinashe stated that she is working on her second album, Joyride, with producers Mike WiLL Made It, TM88, Metro Boomin, Diplo, Boi-1da, Charlie Handsome and others. On January 18, 2018, she released "No Drama" featuring Offset, the lead single from her long-anticipated album, Joyride. "Faded Love" featuring Future was released as the second single on February 12, 2018. Joyride was released on April 13, 2018.
Fox announced a live adaption to the musical Rent, as , in which Tinashe portrayed the lead female role of Mimi Marquez, an exotic dancer who struggles with addiction and HIV. Promotional videos and series of pictures were released featuring Tinashe and other cast members in rehearsal and costumes during the lead up to the airing. As a fan of the musical since middle school, she tells Us Weekly on her role and the musical overall, "It still has a lot of the topics that are definitely not necessarily children topics, but I think it's important because they're very relevant and we deal with them in a beautiful, awesome, fun, exciting way". The musical aired on Fox on January 27, 2019. The television special received five Primetime Emmy Awards.
In February 2019, Tinashe's manager announced she had parted ways with RCA, stating that the "positive split" was "giving her back creative control." After her departure, HotNewHipHop published a report believing she was in the midst of being courted by multiple major labels. She signed a management deal with Roc Nation on November 7. Tinashe released her first self-released studio album, Songs for You, on November 20. The album has been described by Idolator and The Cut as "excellent", with The Wall Street Journals Ben Dandridge-Lemco suggesting that it is "tough to find a negative review about the project anywhere." On July 17, 2020, nearly eight months after the release of Songs for You, Tinashe released the single "Rascal (Superstar)".
In August, Tinashe confirmed she would be featured on Iggy Azalea's single "Dance Like Nobody's Watching". The song was their second collaboration after 2015's "All Hands on Deck" remix. On November 25, 2020, Tinashe released a Christmas EP titled Comfort & Joy.
On July 29, 2022, Tinashe released the single "New to You" alongside Calvin Harris, Normani and Offset, for Harris' album Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2. In January 2023, Tinashe made a guest appearance in the film adaptation of House Party, alongside Jacob Latimore, Mya, Kid Cudi, & LeBron James. She was also cast in the reality-competition series Stars on Mars, which premiered on June 5, 2023. The series is hosted by American actor William Shatner among other "celebronauts" where she finished as runner-up. On July 21, 2023, she released "Talk to Me Nice", the first single from her sixth studio album, BB/Ang3l. On August 18, 2023, she released the album's second single, "Needs". She released the album on September 8, 2023.
Tinashe released the single "Nasty" on April 12, 2024, as the lead single for her new album. The song achieved viral success after appearing in a dance video on TikTok. On June 12, 2024, she performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The track peaked at number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number 1 on the US Rhythmic Radio Chart, marking her second number one. "Nasty" was named TikTok's number 1 Song of the Summer in the United Kingdom, and number 2 in the United States.
On August 16, Tinashe released her seventh studio album, Quantum Baby, part two of a three-album trilogy starting with BB/Ang3l. Quantum Baby was reviewed positively. She also announced the 2024-2025 , spanning across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. In May 2025, American DJ Disco Lines shared a snippet of a remix to Tinashe's 2024 song "No Broke Boys". It gained viral traction on TikTok. Released on June 6, 2025, the song charted at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Disco Line's first and Tinashe's sixth overall entry on the chart. The song also reached number 1 on the US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
Regarding her musical style, she is "really inspired by R&B, hip-hop, and alternative music". In 2016, Tinashe said she feels she does not "fit into any particular genre." She later said she considers herself "a pop artist who makes R&B-tinged pop music". In the early stages of her career, she was often compared to and considered the successor to Ciara, whom she cites as an inspiration. Her style has also been compared to Janet Jackson, Aaliyah, James Blake and Mya. Tinashe was inspired by the music her parents would play in the house when she was young. She considers Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Sade, Christina Aguilera, James Blake, the xx, and SBTRKT as significant influences on her.
She has a black belt in Taekwondo. In June 2020, she attended the George Floyd protests in Los Angeles.
| + Films ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |
| The Polar Express | Hero Girl | Motion capture | ||
| + Television ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |
| Soul Train Music Awards | Performer | |||
| BET Awards Pre-Show | ||||
| MTV Movie & TV Awards | With Ty Dolla Sign & Charli XCX | |||
| Backstage Diaries | Herself | Episode: "The Neighbourhood, Troye Sivan, Tinashe, Kat Graham " | ||
| Conan | Musical Guest | Episode: "Billy Gardell/Erin and Sara Foster/Tinashe" | ||
| MTV | Performer | Episode: "Tinashe, Ty Dolla $ign & BROODS" | ||
| Host | ||||
| America's Next Top Model | Performer | Episode: "Cycle 23 Finale" | ||
| WrestleMania 33 | ||||
| Desus & Mero | Herself | 1 episode | ||
| Whose Line is it Anyway? | Herself | Episode: "Tinashe" | ||
| The Outsiders? | Herself | YouTube Originals | ||
| Host (Celebrity Correspondent) | ||||
| MTV Cribs | Guest | Episode: Mustard/Kathy Griffin/Tinashe | ||
| Choreo Cage Fight | Host | Facebook Watch series Also Creator and Executive Producer | ||
| NAACP Image Awards Nominee Announcements | Host | |||
| The Kelly Clarkson Show | Herself; Musical Guest | Episode: "Jeff Foxworthy & Tinashe" | ||
| MTV | Herself | Episode: "Amsterdamned" | ||
| The Jennifer Hudson Show | Guest | Episode: "Andie MacDowell/Tinashe" | ||
| The Eric Andre Show | Episode: "Football Is Back" | |||
| Stars on Mars | Contestant | Runner-up | ||
| MTV Video Music Awards | Presenter | |||
| Best Young Ensemble Performance in a TV Series | Out of Jimmy's Head | |||
| BET Awards | Best New Artist | |||
| BMI Award | Most Performed R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 2 On | ||
| Soul Train Music Awards | Best New Artist | Herself | ||
| African Women Awards | Star Power Award | |||
| Zimbabwe Achievers Awards | Special Recognition Awards | Herself | ||
| Zimbabwe Achievers Awards | Music Artist of the Year | |||
| MTV Video Music Awards | Best Trending Video | Nasty | ||
| BreakTudo Awards | International Artist on the Rise | Herself | ||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best R&B | |||
| Best Live Performance | Uh Huh - Vevo | |||
| Juno Awards | Music Video of the Year | Nasty | ||
| BRIT Awards | International Song of the Year | No Broke Boys | ||
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