Maui’s Own Kamalei Kawa‘a to compete on NBC’s ‘The Voice’

… An interview with the singer

A powerful, emotive version of Bob Marley’s classic “Redemption Song” earned Maui’s Kamalei Kawa‘a an opportunity on Monday night to compete on NBC’s Emmy-winning “The Voice.” A former lead singer with the NƗ Hǀknj Hanohano Award winning group NƗ Wai ‘EhƗ, Kawa‘a performed at the blind auditions, winning a two-chair turn from Chance the Rapper and country star Reba McEntire.

“It was surreal,” Kawa‘a said about the opportunity to perform before millions on the show. “I really can’t put it into words except for being very proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and doing something that I never would have imagined myself doing in a million years.”

Chance the Rapper hit his buzzer 7 seconds into the song and a few seconds before its closing, McEntire added her buzzer.

Full of praise for Kawa‘a’s soulful delivery, Chance the Rapper enthused: “Doing ‘Redemption Song’ in front of millions of people it brought something out of me. It’s a very radical song, and it means a lot to all oppressed peoples around the world. 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.”

Kawa‘a said he chose the song as a big fan of Marley’s music and in particular because of the potent meaning behind “Redemption Song.” “Bob Marley is one of my biggest inspirations, the messages of love and peace and unity that he spread,” he explained. “Specifically, the song speaks to emancipating yourselves from anything that holds you down. Not just past things that happened to you and your people or not just oppression, but anyone who’s going through hard times or struggling with anything. It’s up to yourself to emancipate yourself from all of that hardship. I felt like that was the message that our people right now, especially in Hawaii, need to hear. Regardless of what happened to us years ago, it’s our time now to choose whether or not we’re going to move forward. I thought that message was super important and what a platform to do it on.”

“The Voice” judge John Legend also praised Kawa‘a. “I just want to say I love how you represent your culture. I feel like you being on the show is going to be great, because you get to share that with even more people.”

And McEntire added, “I love that you represent your people. I love Maui. That song touched my heart. I knew that I had heard it before, but not like the way you sang it. It’s something about you being so proud of your heritage and carrying on the ways of your people that, it just came through in that song. It was very spiritual to me.”

Entertainment Tonight picked up Kawa‘a’s talent, reporting “Native Hawaiian singer Kamalei Kawa‘a brought an impressive voice and powerful message to his blind audition.”

Kawa‘a chose Team Chance as his coach. “Kamalei is a force,” said the hip-hop star. “I really think that he’s a star. He has a voice like no other.”

Performing with NƗ Wai ‘EhƗ, Kawa‘a and the Maui group won Most Promising Artist of the Year at the 2019 Hǀknj Awards for their self-titled debut. Their album “Lovely Sunrise,” won Group of the Year, Hawaiian Music Album of the Year, and the Hawaiian Language Performance Award at the 2020 Hǀknj Awards. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Regional Roots category. Kawa‘a was a featured singer on “Hawaiian Falsetto Vol. 1,” which won Compilation of the Year in 2023.

The group recently disbanded. “We went our separate ways on good terms and everybody had different goals musically,” he said. “Everything is all good.”

In conclusion, Kawa‘a said, “I feel like I’ve accomplished some pretty cool things in Hawaiian music, and all of those things were great, but I’ve never felt this kind of excitement in a long time. It’s something much bigger. I’m just super proud and super happy to be able to represent Hawaii, and all of our people.”

Season 25 of “The Voice” continues on Monday and Tuesday nights on NBC.