Inspiring Arts
Inspiring Arts Profile
The Gift That Gave Back
by Mike Yoshiura
RAIATEA HELM received an introduction to Hawaiian falsetto music watching the Kamehameha Schools Song Contest on television. Today, almost eight years later, the singer from Molokai is standing at the helm of her own label, Raiatea Helm Records.
In 1999 Raiatea attentively watched Nina Kealiiwahamana's rendition of "Pua Tuberose" in the Ho`ike performance, and it would end up changing her life forever. Inspired by the performance, the awestruck teenager immediately set her mind to learning the traditional falsetto song. Raiatea's father, Zachary, was an aspiring musician almost 22 years ago, but his 15-year-old daughter had no background in music, except for what was passed on to her by way of the gene pool. Raiatea talked her parents into buying her a four-string concert ukulele, and behind closed doors she sang and strummed to her heart's content.
"I had no idea what traditional Hawaiian music was. I remember hearing Nina Kealiiwahamana for the first time and being in awe," said Helm, who was born on Oahu, but raised on Molokai. "Singing falsetto is one of the hardest ways of singing Hawaiian music because of the variation of pitches. I had a recording of her performance, and I played it over and over again. I picked up the song in a couple of weeks just by listening to it."
According to the late historian George Kanahele, falsetto music stems from a combination of early Hawaiian chants, missionary hymn songs, and popular 19th century European music. Falsetto music became popular in the late 1800s when the paniola started settling down in Hawaii.
About five months after she first heard "Pua Tuberose," Raiatea sang it in front of family and friends as a birthday present to her mother. At first she admits to being reluctant, but once the performance was through she knew it was a moment she would remember. "After I finished the song, everyone stopped what they were doing and no one said a thing. Everyone was in shock and they were crying. It was a special moment in my life, and it was only the beginning."
Fast forward five years to 2005 and the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, where Raiatea walked away with four awards for her second album, "Sweet & Lovely". In 2003, the local music sensation burst onto the scene after she won the Hoku for best female vocalist for her debut album, "Far Away Heaven."
The 22-year-old has come a long way from being that shy teenager singing at her mother's birthday party. Getting thrust into the spotlight wasn't always an easy transition, but with help from her family she learned how to cope with all of the attention. "After the first album everyone wanted to know who I was. My career was starting to take shape and it was a little overwhelming! I had just graduated, I was starting college, and it was a little difficult to take at times. It was kind of scary, but my family has always kept me grounded. They're the bomb!"
Raiatea's sophomore album, "Sweet & Lovely," was nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award, and has sold an estimated 40,000 copies. It was also the first album produced under her label, Raiatea Helm Records, and her third album is scheduled for release later this month.
"Going to the Grammy's was so amazing. You see stars like Mariah Carey, Queen Latifah, and U2 and you realize they're regular people just like us," said Helm, who still considers herself a regular person even after all of her success. "I'll leave the judging for all the other people."
