HILO — A Hilo-born singer-songwriter now living on Maui is the only Hawaii-based artist nominated this year for a Grammy Award.
Kalani Pe‘a received a nomination Tuesday in the Best Regional Roots Music Album category for his debut CD, “E Walea.”
The 12 tracks on the album feature seven songs either written or co-written by Pe‘a, including “Ku‘u Poliahu,” a song he wrote comparing the beauty of the snow goddess of Mauna Kea to his mother. Also included are covers of two 1970s hits, “You Are So Beautiful” and “Always and Forever,” both with lyrics in English and Hawaiian.
“E Walea” debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes World Music Chart when it was released on Aug. 5. It also reached No. 12 on the Billboard World Music Chart.
The 33-year-old Pe‘a grew up in Panaewa, where his parents still live. He said he’s “really surprised” to be nominated, considering the longer list culled down to the final nominees included artists such as Amy Hanaiali‘i and Kuana Torres Kahele.
“I woke up on the Grammy-nominations morning with notifications and emails at 5 a.m., which was 10 a.m. Eastern time, and I get this information by Meghan Trainor (the “All About That Bass” singer), who said, ‘Kalani, you’re on the ballot. Congratulations!’” he said. “I just went, ‘Oh my God,’ and I cried. I cried because I was so happy, so grateful. I felt so blessed. It’s also a blessing to hear from artists like Uncle Willie K, who lives here on Maui, who texted me and said, ‘Good job, brother. Good luck and be a star.’ And that means a lot, to be a new artist and to hear from legends.”
No Hawaiian album has ever won in the category, established in 2011 by combining the genres of Hawaiian, Native American, polka, zydeco and Cajun in an effort to streamline the number of categories.
The Kona-based Hawaiian swing band Kahulanui was nominated in the regional roots category in 2014 for the album “Hula Ku‘i.” Past nominees also have included Keola Beamer, Keali‘i Reichel, George Kahumoku Jr., Natalie Ai Kamauu and Kamaka Kukona.
Regional roots category nominations have been dominated by Louisiana artists, and that is the case again this year.
The other nominees are: “Broken Promised Land,” by Cajun musicians Barry Jean Ancelet and Sam Broussard; “Gulfstream” by Cajun and Creole band Roddie Romero and The Hub City All-Stars; Cajun album “I Wanna Sing Right: Rediscovering Lomax In The Evangeline Country” by various artists; and “It’s A Cree Thing,” by Native American artists Northern Cree.
Pe‘a, a 2001 graduate of Ke Kula ‘o Nawahiokalani‘opu‘u, a Hawaiian-language immersion school in Keaau, is the Hawaiian resource coordinator for Kamehameha Schools-Maui. He describes himself as a “millennial Hawaiian” and said he’s “honored and blessed” to represent Hawaii at the Grammys.
“I want to be there to represent Hawaii with my desire to share the aloha spirit in various facets, whether it’s with Hawaiian music, language, culture, whatever,” he said. “I want to be there for all the pre-parties and after-parties to network. It’s all about pilina, building relationships.”
And in the future?
“Right now, I’m writing music for the second album,” he said. “Artists are never satisfied with what we have. We also want to do better.”
The Grammys will air Feb. 12 on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Grammy Awards are given each year by The Recording Academy for “outstanding achievements in the music industry.”