The Kani Ka Pila Grille Talent Search named its winner, ʻĀlewa, on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Made in Hawaiʻi Festival. This year, the winning singers and musicians are still in high school.
ʻĀlewa is an ‘ōpio ‘ōlapa hula band, which consists of four teenagers: Kamaha'o Haumea-Thronas, Kamalu Tupou, Kainalu Jacang and Hayden Kaaialii. During the competition, the group took the stage wearing plumeria lei and as soon as they finished their set, the audience erupted into shouts of “Hana hou!”
The finalists for the talent search included Makana Arce, Moon Kahale, Keawe Kaluhiwa and ʻĀlewa. Each group performed three songs or for up to 20 minutes.
Noe Tupou, whose son, Kamalu, is part of ʻĀlewa, has heard the quartet rehearsing at their house.
“They'll be chatting, chatting, chatting, and then all of a sudden it sounds like they put on a record because they just snap into it,” she said.
The grand prize winner gets a one-month paid performance contract at Kani Ka Pila Grille, a poolside restaurant and bar that offers live Hawaiian music at the Outrigger Reef Waikīkī Beach Resort. The winners also get a personalized social media marketing package, and promotional audio and video clips recorded at the University of Hawaiʻi Honolulu Community College’s Mike Curb Music and Entertainment Learning Experience (MELE) Studios.
Judges of the talent search contest this year include Kawika Kahiapo, an award-winning musician, singer-songwriter and slack key player; Milton Lau, CEO of the Ki-Hoʻalu Foundation and founder of the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festivals; Bobby Moderow Jr., an award-winning musician, singer-songwriter and slack key player; and Eric Lagrimas, assistant professor of the Music and Entertainment Learning Experience (MELE) at Honolulu Community College.
Before the winners were announced Luana Maitland, known as “Aunty Luana,” Outrigger’s area director of cultural experience, took the stage and thanked the artists and everyone who came out to listen.
“I just wanted to take this opportunity to just share that none of this is possible if you didn't enjoy Hawaiian music,” she told event attendees. “Kani Ka Pila Grille would not be successful for 18 years if it wasn't for the locals that came out and even our visitors. I'm telling you half of the audience at Kani Ka Pila every night is from outside Hawaiʻi. They want — and they love — Hawaiian music.”
The previous four Kani Ka Pila Grille Talent Search winners – ʻŌlauniu, Rickey Kamai, Kahiau Lam Ho, and Anthony Pfluke – were all nominated for Na Hōkū Hanohano Awards in 2026. ʻŌlauniu and Anthony Pfluke took home awards. Last month, Ei Nei, which won the Kani Ka Pila Grille Talent Search in 2017, won six Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards.
Follow ʻĀlewa on Instagram.
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
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