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No longer holding back, Stacie Ku\u2018ulei prepares for the big time with the upcoming release of her \u201cbig girl\u201d album \u2014 the singer’s first in nearly two decades.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n As elegantly attired as Stacie Ku\u2018ulei often is these days, there was a time when the songbird wouldn’t be caught dead in a dress.<\/p>\n Consider the moment when her former vocal coach, the acclaimed Eunice DeMello, suggested she run for Miss Hawai\u2018i. With images of snug-fitting sequined outfits in mind, Ku\u2018ulei needed just two words to succinctly sum up her thoughts on the proposal.<\/p>\n \u201cUm, no,\u201d she answered matter-of-factly.<\/p>\n The Taniguchi \u2018ohana: (clockwise from top) Shane, Stacie, Aurelia, Kazu, and sisters Melody and Shala.<\/p><\/div>\n Putting on a garment of grandeur was frankly unconscionable to the self-professed tomboy, who as a youth preferred climbing trees and getting into her share of dust-ups over being in anything clean and exquisite. She was, after all, raised in the red dirt-packed village of P\u0101kal\u0101 on Kaua\u2018i.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t see myself as a Miss Hawai\u2018i type because, to me, they were all very dainty,\u201d Ku\u2018ulei explains. \u201cGrowing up, everybody would look at me and be like, \u2018You’re always in T-shirts and jeans! Why aren’t you wearing more dresses?’<\/p>\n \u201cEven when I was young, I hated the frilly ruffled socks and shiny shoes my mom would put on me, and so I’d end up throwing them off.\u201d<\/p>\n Time eventually softened Ku\u2018ulei’s hard stance on dresses. She credits much of what she’s since learned about acceptable wardrobes and overall presentation to fellow vocalist Nohelani Cypriano.<\/p>\n Among the many to help Stacie Ku\u2018ulei with her new album were Louis \u201cMoon\u201d Kauakahi, left, and Horace Dudoit. PHOTOS COURTESY STACIE KU\u2018ULEI<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n \u201cNohe hired me to work on the Atlantis Navatek cruises years ago, and she really trained me to be an entertainer,\u201d says Ku\u2018ulei. \u201cUp until then, I was just a singer. But she took me aside and taught me what type of dresses to wear, how to put on my makeup, how to do my hair, and how to be a true mistress of ceremonies.\u201d<\/p>\n The lessons learned then continue to show forth today, and in spectacular fashion. Not only is Ku\u2018ulei comfortable with her stylishness and the favorable impression she’s leaving with audiences, but she’s also content with the music she’s finally producing again.<\/p>\n Her eponymous album \u2014 which has been a year in the making \u2014 is scheduled to drop later this month. It will mark her first project released since 2003’s Stacie<\/em>, which featured original reggae music.<\/p>\n Stacie Ku\u2018ulei is a powerhouse singer who, although known for her contemporary Hawaiian music, is also comfortable singing R&B, pop, gospel and classical opera. LAWRENCE TABUDLO PHOTO<\/strong> \u201cActually, that one was more like naughty reggae done when I was young,\u201d confesses a laughing Ku\u2018ulei. \u201cThis one will be my \u2018big girl’ album.\u201d<\/p>\n Her grown-up project features 10 contemporary Hawaiian and hapa haole tracks, including E \u2018Apo Mai K\u0101ua<\/em>, a ballad about star-crossed lovers; and Rise Up E Ala E<\/em>, a song written by Andra Day but repackaged \u201cwith a Hawaiian twist\u201d courtesy of Kumu Keli\u2018i Puchalski, who helped the artist with the translation.<\/p>\n \u201cI really wanted to do a song to recognize our kings and queens, or our first responders and essential workers,\u201d explains the singer\/songwriter, who is up for a N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano Award this year for her holiday-themed song Christmas Joy<\/em>. \u201cA good friend of mine who’s a nurse at Kapi\u2018olani Medical Center had shared with me that when the pandemic first came out, she wasn’t able to go home to her kids, and it killed her that she could only see them from outside a window. I felt that, and I wanted to do something for her and others.\u201d<\/p>\n The budding singer had already grown comfortable with a mic in hand by age 7.<\/p><\/div>\n As for E \u2018Apo Mai K\u0101ua<\/em>, Ku\u2018ulei says the song was born out of her penchant for carefully watching others and honestly attempting to understand the complexities of their relationships.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m a psych major, so I love to observe people and talk about their relationships and trials,\u201d says Ku\u2018ulei, who recently returned to Tapa Bar at Hilton Hawaiian Village for Sunday evening performances and who continues to be a fill-in for Glenn Medeiros at the Hale Koa Hotel’s L\u016b\u2018au Show. \u201cThis song is more like Romeo and Juliet \u2014 two people who love each other so much but who can’t be together. I actually know people who are going through something similar, so that’s how the song came about.\u201d<\/p>\n But what makes this hula-friendly album particularly special for her are the guiding hands behind it. They include well-known artists Horace Dudoit of Ho\u2018okena, former M\u0101kaha Sons’ backbone Louis \u201cMoon\u201d Kauakahi \u2014 whom Ku\u2018ulei affectionately refers to as \u201cAnakala (Uncle) Moonie\u201d \u2014 and producers Gerard Gonsalves and Aron Nelson. Even vocalist\/guitarist Eric Lee makes an appearance on the track Mokihana Lullaby<\/em>.<\/p>\n And while good friend and vocalist Natalie Ai Kamauu doesn’t appear on the album, she has been reserved for a special role.<\/p>\n \u201cNatalie’s going to be dancing hula in one of my videos \u2014 so that’s a surprise,\u201d gushes Ku\u2018ulei with excitement.<\/p>\n As much as it would appear that Ku\u2018ulei’s world revolves solely around music, the truth is that it doesn’t. On most fall, winter and spring days, she can be found teaching 7thgrade English at Kal\u0101kaua Middle School. She even remains busy during the summers, too, guiding students at Kamehameha Schools.<\/p>\n And although she’s had some experience at the elementary (\u201cI taught third grade and it was the toughest year of my life because I cried every day\u201d) and high school levels (\u201cSome students started writing love letters to me, and when I complained to the principal about it, he laughed at me and said I was being ridiculous\u201d), she soon came to the conclusion that middle school was \u201cperfect\u201d for her.<\/p>\n \u201cI love doing what I do, which is teaching the kids,\u201d admits Ku\u2018ulei, who received both her undergraduate and master’s degrees in teaching from Chaminade University. \u201cMy students inspire me, but they crack me up as well because they’re middle-schoolers. They’re sassy and they’re wise; they’re also puberty stricken, so every day is a new day with them.\u201d<\/p>\n While the children remain her heart, singing has always been her passion \u2014 even though she had no aspirations of becoming a professional recording artist until the day DeMello told her \u201cyou have a voice that should be recorded.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI never really thought of singing as a career or something that I had to do to make money,\u201d explains Ku\u2018ulei. \u201cMy mom used to say to me, \u2018I know you love to sing, but you always need a backup plan. So maybe teaching would be good, and then who knows? Maybe when you move to Honolulu, you’ll get big?’\u201d<\/p>\n Thinking back on her mom’s comments and how she’s been prepared for a life in the limelight, Ku\u2018ulei says, \u201cIt pretty much worked out the way she said it would.\u201d<\/p>\n The youngest of four children born to Kazu and Aurelia Taniguchi, Ku\u2018ulei (her given middle name) was raised in a devout Christian household. Her father served as pastor of two churches \u2014 first at The Way of Salvation and later at Door of Faith in Kekaha \u2014 and chose to limit the type of music his children could listen to.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were a close-knit family, but my dad was strict. We couldn’t listen to the radio because he’d call it devil music,\u201d laughs Ku\u2018ulei.<\/p>\n Despite that standard, music still flourished in the home.<\/p>\n \u201cThe weekends were all kanikapila,\u201d she notes. \u201cMy entire family is musically inclined, so it’s basically anybody with the \u2018ukulele and guitar. We’d even make music with spoons and buckets. And it was always, \u2018Stacie, get up there and sing because Aunty wants to dance hula!’\u201d<\/p>\n When she was 7, she composed her very first song. It would be the first of \u201c1,001 songs I wrote in diary books and on folding paper.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was probably done all in pidgin,\u201d she recalls with a chuckle, \u201cbut I remember hearing my brother, who ran cross country, talking to my dad one day about how upset he was and how he thought he was going to be in the top three in this race. I remember saying, \u2018It’s OK, Big Brother’ \u2014 that’s what I used to call him \u2014 \u2018you’ll do better next time.’ \u201cWhen we got home, I started writing about him, about how he worked out every day running in the sand from P\u0101kal\u0101 to Waimea and hoping that he was going to finish in the top three. And, of course, how sad he was when he didn’t.\u201d<\/p>\n In many ways, Ku\u2018ulei owes much of her growth as a somewhat reserved performer turned powerhouse singer to her brother Shane, who passed away 16 years ago at age 38.<\/p>\n \u201cI used to hold back a lot as a singer because people could be mean and sometimes come across as jealous, and they’d tell me, \u2018All you want to do is show off!’ And that used to bother me,\u201d she explains. \u201cThen, one day, I remember my brother telling me, \u2018Why you care about what people think? God gave you a gift, so just share it.’\u201d<\/p>\n Following her brother’s death, Ku\u2018ulei insists she stopped listening to her naysayers and began dilating upon \u201cgiving it my all.\u201d<\/p>\n For the dressed-for-success entertainer, being true to her heart is what matters the most.<\/p>\n Or as she succinctly puts it, \u201cI’m not holding back anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" No longer holding back, Stacie Ku\u2018ulei prepares for the big time with the upcoming release of her \u201cbig girl\u201d album..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1283,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-story"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/mw-cover-080421-stacie-kuulei-family.jpg\")
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