Two Oʻahu teenagers have managed to pull off a near-impossible task: wowing Simon Cowell, the famously grumpy judge of "America’s Got Talent."
Nyjah Music and Zyah Rhythm hail from Oʻahu’s North Shore. The brothers are making a national name for themselves with a star-studded family tree supporting them.
Their father is pro surfer Billy Kemper, and their mother, Tahiti Hernandez, is a former vocalist of The Lylas, and they count Bruno Mars as an uncle.
The complex lyrics of their songs belie their age, just 15 and 16.
Nyjah and Zyah made their debut on "America’s Got Talent" back in June. Take a listen to their performance on the show, where they sang their original song, "Heartbeat."
HPR spoke with Nyjah and Zyah before their next appearance on the national competition show on Tuesday. They started with what singing has meant to them.
"We have always sung since we were little," Nyjah said. "We first started singing karaoke with our family, our grandma mostly. She was the one who taught us a lot about music, and my mom has helped us through this journey since we were little."
The pair draws influence for their music from Hawaiʻi's beaches and lifestyle, which in turn showcases where they're from in their sound.
Since being on AGT, the brothers have gained more exposure through new followers, producers offering work, and additional opportunities.
Looking back at their audition, Zyah remembered the nerves leading up to their performance.
"Once we stepped on stage, there were lots of people cheering for us," Zyah said. "It got us super comfortable with the crowd, and then we just kind of had it. And once we started singing, we got pretty comfortable on stage, and the judges really liked us, and we were pretty happy to get all yeses."
Nyjah told HPR that they want to show the world their expressions of themselves through music.
The brothers look forward to the future when one of their songs hits number one.
Hear Nyjah and Zyah sing their hearts out on the next episode of America’s Got Talent, on Aug. 4 on NBC and Peacock.
This story aired on The Conversation on Aug. 3, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
