With fellow Maui residents cheering him on, a local musician landed a spot on NBC's "The Voice" this week.
Kamalei Kawa’a wowed judges on the music competition show with his emotional rendition of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.”
He got two chairs, Chance the Rapper and Reba McEntire, to turn around during his blind audition on Season 25 of "The Voice."
The 26-year-old Hawaiian musician is from Paukūkalo, where his ‘ohana has lived for generations.
Coach John Legend commended Kawa’a on highlighting his Hawaiian heritage.
“I just wanna say, I love how you represent your culture," Legend told him. "And I feel like you being on this show is gonna be great, because you get to share that with even more people. That’s amazing.”
“That’s the goal," Kawa'a said, "that’s the goal.”
Chance the Rapper, Kawaʻa's ultimate choice in coach, recognized the musician's song selection.
“Doing 'Redemption Song' in front of millions of people, it brought something out of me," Chance said. "It's a very radical song, and it means a lot to all oppressed people around the world. And I think having you on here and representing Pacific Islanders, Indigenous people, Hawaiians — people around the world — I think it’s really important for the show to have.”
Amid cheers from his ‘ohana backstage, Kawa’a explained what was most important to him on the show.
“That’s the goal being here, to represent all Native people. I get emotional talking about it,” Kawaʻa said.
“Talk about it, man!” Chance encouraged.
Kawa’a said his favorite line from his audition song is, “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.”
“It’s up to us to holomua, as we say in Hawaiian, to move forward, and emancipate yourselves,” he said.
Kawa’a now moves forward into the battle rounds, where fellow members of Team Chance vie to continue in the competition.
Look for Kawaʻa and Gabriel Goes of Oʻahu on "The Voice" in the weeks ahead.
