Shining the spotlight on homegrown, local talent of the next generation — that was the goal of the first annual Nā Pua Mele O Hawaiʻi Song contest, which brought in nearly 70 high school applicants from across the state and country.
The competition was hosted by Mana Maoli, a nonprofit working to foster a healed, grounded, and educated younger generation. The organization opened applications in October, calling on ninth through 12th graders who had an original song, a cover or a mele o Hawaiʻi to submit.
This was how the top four finalists — ʻIliahi Kaʻonohi, Zoe Douglas, Timoteo Esene and Ikualono Jackson — heard about the Nā Pua Mele O Hawaiʻi contest. The application pool was narrowed down to 25 artists who were invited to a workshop where they were coached by local legend Amy Hānaialiʻi on their stage presence, vocal strength and marketing skills.
“Fostering these young students has been amazing, and I think it's really important to create platforms for our young artists,” Hānaialiʻi said.
“Hawaiʻi artists are very, very talented. A lot of us grow up in the backyard playing music, or through the theater, so I think it's really good for kids to break out of their shell.”
The final four performed with Hānaialiʻi at her exclusive event at the Blue Note Hawaiʻi in Waikīkī, where the audience voted to crown freshman Kaʻonohi as the winner. The 14-year-old is originally from Hauʻula, Oʻahu, but currently lives in Utah and flew in for the contest.
She says she's grateful to have found a community on the continental U.S. to share her music and culture while she's so far from home.
“The goal is to spread Hawaiian music, to spread aloha, to everywhere around the world,” Kaʻonohi said. “I just want them to be proud of who they are. Singing, dancing and speaking ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi can really help them to remember who they are and encourage them to be proud.”
Kamehameha junior Esene, who took third place overall, said this competition came at a crucial time, as he submitted his audition video the same week a lawsuit challenged his school's admission policy. He said this inspired him to represent his people, his place and the pride he has for his home.
“I think in times like these, it's definitely important for us to be singing these songs and telling these moʻolelo from our ancestors — to not lose sight of our identity and our values, and not to get discouraged by attempts from people outside to change things,” Esene said.
Each of the four finalists took home a cash prize and a scholarship for music lessons with an organization of their choice, while the top two scored a private recording session.
