NahenaheNet Essays
Aloha mai kakou....There has been a lot of discussion and speculation in recent weeks about Keali'i Reichel's signing with Atlantic Records, and what impact it is going to have on his recordings, and on Hawaiian music in general.I don't have any more insight into the terms of the contract than many of you, but would like to share a few thoughts on the matter.
I don't believe for a minute that Atlantic Records is interested in using Keali'i to advance Hawaiian music on the mainland. By estimates that I have seen, Kawaipunahele has sold approximately 250,000 records. Keola and Kapono Beamer's Honolulu City Lights is the best-selling Hawaiian recording of all time with approximately 500,000 units sold, and is still a big seller some 20 years after its release. Is Atlantic Records going to be satisfied with selling 300,000 or 400,000 copies of Keali'i's albums? Maybe they should be, I don't think they have their sights set that low.
They recognize that Keali'i has a magic, charisma, some trait that has connected strongly with people here in Hawai'i and on the mainland as well. They are going to take that quality and try to apply it to a pop format. Salena didn't get a major record deal so she could sell Tex-Mex to a mainstream audience. The label wanted to make her a pop star, and they would have succeeded if she hadn't been killed so tragically. It is truly sad that her music did not connect with a mass audience until she was gone.
In my opinion, Keali'i's English offerings on his first two albums weren't an attempt to sell to a pop audience, it was to offer some variety on the album, and appeal to a slighly different island audience. Some radio stations here hardly every played Kawaipunahele, Hanohano Ka Lei Pikake, Kauanoeanuhea, or any of his Hawaiian tunes from the first album, but they played "Wanting Memories" every two hours, and "If We Hold On.." at least twice a day.
The production on those two songs was definitely not of mainland quality or appeal. This is not a knock on Keali'i or his production team, but again, I don't think that's what they were thinking of when the albums were recorded. With Atlantic, he will definitely be paired up with people who know the mass market, and I think it will show.
If there are any out there who think that Keali'i has sold his soul for a major record deal, you better think again. No one worked harder for the perpetuation of Hawaiian language and culture than Keali'i has, even before his first album, and his success has not diminished his efforts in those areas at all. I think the whole situation is going to work out to be a positive for him and for Hawaiian music in general. He may not be able to put as many traditional-type Hawaiian tunes on his Atlantic release as we would like, but by going this route he is positioning himself as an ambassador for Hawaiian music in places that still think Don Ho is the king of Hawaiian music. Mainland audiences will be exposed to the music of these islands, whether then initially like the idea or not. I'll place my bets that Keali'i will make believers out of most of them.
E Keali'i e, ke akua pu me 'oe....
'O au me ka 'oia'i'o,
Keola
Feedback to keola@maui.com.