Three-time Grammy winner, Kalani Peʻa sings everything from classical, musicals, ballads, R&B, soul to traditional and original Hawaiian music, displaying his wide-ranging talents as a songwriter and music composer. His talent for lyrics and Hawaiian language fluency is on display in his original Hawaiian songs alongside his affectionate bilingual arrangements of R&B favorites –a nod to the western music he grew up with.
It all started at age four when Peʻa was diagnosed with a speech impediment; his mother introduced him to singing and music to help him pronounce his words. His father, who hails from a musical family, and his mother encouraged him to take vocal lessons and choir. From the time he was eight years old, Peʻa was winning numerous talent competitions, including while receiving his degree from Colorado Mesa University. “From speech therapy to a college graduate in communications,” laughs Peʻa’s father, “Kalani can’t stop talking and singing.”
Kalani Peʻa’s debut album, E Walea, brought him to Dave Tucciarone, a 13-time Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winning engineer and producer based in Honolulu. E Walea made Hawaiian music history as the only album ever to win both a Grammy and Nā Hōkū Award. This successful collaboration continued with Kalani’s second CD, No ‘Ane‘i (”We Belong Here”) and 3rd CD, Kau Ka Pe‘a, both earning him Grammy Awards. His 3rd release also won him 2 Nā Hōkū Awards, including the coveted Male Vocalist of the Year and Song of the Year. Award-winning Hawaiian vocalist, Darlene Ahuna, says, “His voice will take you to the heavens. His passion … will have you rockin’ in your seat."
A fluent Hawaiian speaker, Peʻa started his career as an educator, publishing five Hawaiian-language children’s stories. He taught at Kamehameha Schools in Kona, then Maui, teaching Hawaiian culture (with a science focus), and creating curriculum. When his Grammy wins opened the door for his performing and touring career, he was honored by the Hawai‘i State House of Representatives with an official proclamation: “It is vital that Native Hawaiian culture and the arts be perpetuated for future generations: Kalani Pe’a is a torchbearer and we recognize his accolades, accomplishments, and continued work on behalf of Native Hawaiians.”
February 2020 saw his New York debut at a sold-out performance at Jazz at Lincoln Center for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook, the first and only Hawaiian artist to be featured on the series. His song “E Na Kini” was featured on the 2021 Netflix release Finding ‘Ohana. Committed to his Hawaiian culture, in 2019, he made his debut appearance at the prestigious Merrie Monarch hula competition, with an original song for Hula Halau ‘O Kamuela, the top winner that year.
Most recently, his Purple Hawaiian Christmas release won him the Nā Hōkū for Best Contemporary Album in 2023. The Maui News praises “[his] distinguished…flair for Hawaiian language composition, a talent for fusing traditional and contemporary elements into his music and his wide, expressive vocal range.”
Self-described as a “Hawaiian contemporary soul,” Kalani Pe‘a was awarded a prestigious Native Arts & Cultures Foundation Fellowship in 2018. www.kalanipeamusic.com