Kaunaloa
| Kaunaloa | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Kuana Torres Kahele | ||||
| Released | June 28, 2011 | |||
| Genre | Hawaiian music | |||
| Label | Mountain Apple Company | |||
| Producer | Dave Tucciarone, Kuana Torres Kahele | |||
| Kuana Torres Kahele chronology | ||||
| ||||
Kaunaloa is the debut album by Kuana Torres Kahele, released in 2011. The album went on to win Kahele six Hoku Awards, including Album of the Year.[1] The album was co-produced by both Kahele and Dave Tucciarone, and led to Kahele earning Album of the Year as both a producer and artist.[2] Kaunaloa stayed at No. 2 on the Top Word Albums chart for two years, and also reached No. 38 on the Top Independent Albums chart and No. 9 on Top Heatseekers.[3]
Production
According to Kahele, writing the album was "an old promise" to his deceased grandmother, as "she knew what direction I was going in, and she wanted me to do a solo album before I jumped in the group with Na Palapalai. That was her only wish, and, you know, I was young, I was in my teens back then, naive, eager to jump into the fire with the band, and I never listened to her."[4] Also, "There’s been moments in between every Na Palapalai album release that I tried to fulfill that promise, but it just didn’t work [until now]."[4]
His track "Na Vaqueros" was written to "commemorate the Spanish-speaking Mexican cowboys who had come to Hawaii in the 1830s to teach Hawaiians how to handle cattle." The song contains song lyrics in Spanish, with Kahele's friend Jose Acevedo helping write the words and translation to Spanish.[2]
Release
On June 28, 2011 Kahele released his debut solo album Kaunaloa through the Mountain Apple Company label.[1]
Reception
The album went on to win Kahele six Hoku Awards, including Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Male Vocalist of the Year for the first time.[1] The album was co-produced by both Kahele and Dave Tucciarone, and led to Kahele earning Album of the Year as both a producer and artist.[2] His track "Na Vaqueros" won Song of the Year.[2]
Kaunaloa stayed at No. 2 on the Top Word Albums chart for two years, both 2011 and 2012, and in 2013 was still charting at No. 5. In 2011 the album also reached No. 38 on the Top Independent Albums chart and No. 9 on Top Heatseekers.[3]
Charts
| Year | Chart | Chart peaks |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Billboard World Albums | 2 |
| 2012 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 5 | |
Hoku Awards
| Yr | Award | Nominated work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Hōkū Awards | Kuana Torres Kahele | Male Vocalist of the Year | Won |
| Entertainer of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Kaunaloa | Album of the Year | Won | ||
| Hawaiian Album of the Year | Won | |||
| Hawaiian Language Performance | Nominated | |||
| Best Album Graphics | Nominated | |||
| Best Liner Notes | Won | |||
| “Na Vacqueros” | Song of the Year | Won | ||
| “Waikahuli” | Composition of the Year | Nominated | ||
| “Waimanu i Ka Lauoha” | Composition of the Year | Nominated | ||
Personnel
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Chun, Gary (December 10, 2012). "Try Wait: 'Holidays' caps busy year for Kahele". Honolulu Pulse. Retrieved 2015-01-24.
- 1 2 3 4 Berger, John (2012). "Kuana Torres Kahele wins six Hoku Awards". Hawaii.com. Retrieved 2015-01-24.
- 1 2 "Billboard Awards for Kuana Torres Kahele". Allmusic. Retrieved 2015-01-24.
- 1 2 Berger, John (August 12, 2011). "Kuana Torres Kahele's solo venture is a tribute to his hanai mother". Honolulu Pulse. Retrieved 2015-01-24.