Jake Shimabukuro is a Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso and composer known for his fast and complex finger work. His music combines elements of jazz, blues, funk, rock, bluegrass, classical, folk, and flamenco. Shimabukuro has written numerous original compositions, including the entire soundtracks to two Japanese films, Hula Girls (2007) and Sideways (2009), the Japanese remake of the same name.
Sunday Morning is ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro's first full-length solo album. It was released in the U.S. in October 2002 by Four Strings Productions / Hitchhike Records. The album was released in Japan the following year on August 12, 2003 by Sony Music Distribution.
Roman Tesorio Villame, better known as Yoyoy Villame, was a Filipino singer, composer, lyricist, actor and comedian.
Janno Ronaldo Ilagan Gibbs is a Filipino singer-songwriter, actor, and comedian in the Philippines. He was a regular host of GMA Network television shows SOP Rules, Nuts Entertainment, Eat Bulaga!, Kakasa Ka Ba Sa Grade 5?, Power of 10, Party Pilipinas and Sunday All Stars.
Liana Pia Coronado Guanio-Mago is a Filipino actress and television presenter. She served as an anchor of Showbiz Central and 24 Oras, and a former co-host of Eat Bulaga!. She currently hosts Kada Umaga on Net 25.
Rhea Santos-de Guzman is a Filipino broadcast journalist and television presenter currently based in Canada. She is known for co-anchoring GMA Network's morning show Unang Hirit and hosting several news and public affairs programs including Reporter's Notebook and Tunay na Buhay. After 19 years of being a broadcast journalist, she left the Philippines to study and eventually resume her profession in Vancouver, Canada.
Teresa Bright is a native-Hawaiian entertainer who plays 'ukulele and guitar. Her music is popular in Japan as well as in Hawaii and the United States mainland. Much of her repertoire features lyrics in the Hawaiian Language, but she has an extensive jazz and hapa-haole repertoire as well.
Keahiwai was a Hawaiian music duo composed of musicians Mailani Makainai and Lei Melket from Mililani, Hawaii.
Kamuela Kahoano is a singer/songwriter, painter/visual artist and music producer from Honolulu, Hawaii. His music has elements of acoustic, folk, indie and alternative with Hawaiian influences. He performs solo and was formerly the lead singer of the band Analog(ic). He is an accomplished player of both the ukulele and guitar, playing both left-handed; he also plays the djembe. Kahoano claims many influences, including Coldplay, U2 and the Beatles.
Richard Reyes Faulkerson Jr., popularly known as Alden Richards, is a Filipino actor, host, ambassador, recording artist, product endorser, producer and entrepreneur. He is dubbed as "The Asia's Multimedia Star" after receiving the Asian Star Prize awards in 14th Seoul International Drama Awards of 2019 for acting.
Walter James B. Bayola, popularly known as Wally Bayola, is a Filipino comedian and actor. He is best known for portraying Lola Nidora in the Kalyeserye portion of the noontime television variety show Eat Bulaga!. He appears alongside his co-hosts Jose Manalo and Paolo Ballesteros, the trio also known as JoWaPao, in the "Juan for All, All for Juan" segment of the said show.
Ryzza Mae de Guzman Dizon is a Filipino teen actress and television personality. She rose to prominence in 2012 when she won that year's edition of Eat Bulaga!'s Little Miss Philippines. She is currently the second youngest host in the variety show E.A.T.
The Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, occasionally called the Nā Hōkū Awards or Hoku Awards, are the premier music awards in Hawaii. They are considered to be Hawaii's equivalent of the Grammy Awards. "Nā Hōkū Hanohano" means "Stars of Distinction" in Hawaiian – "hōkū" means "star", "nā" makes it plural, and "hanohano" means "glorious, worthy of praises". The awards were founded in 1978 by radio personality Krash Kealoha of KCCN-AM, a radio station which focused on traditional Hawaiian music. He launched the first awards with the support of the owner of the radio station Sydney Grayson, and his fellow DJs Kimo Kaho‘āno and Jacqueline “Skylark” Rossetti.
Kūkahi Lee, professionally known mononymously as Kūkahi, is a Native Hawaiian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Kūkahi began writing music at a young age and performed in musical venues around the world throughout his early teens. After graduating from high school in 2015, he founded an independent record label that is distributed and funded by Makaliʻi Productions.
Matt Sproat is a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winning Hawaiian musician, singer, producer, and story-teller. He is a guitarist and singer with the Hawaiian music trio, Waipuna. He is the great-grandnephew of the legendary musician and story-teller Kindy Sproat, who was a 1988 NEA National Heritage Fellow.
Jaye Nāpua Greig-Nakasone, known professionally as Nāpua Greig, is a Hawaiian musician, vocalist, songwriter, record producer, kumu hula, and educator from Maui, Hawaii. Known primarily for her contributions as kumu hula of Hālau Nā Lei Kaumaka O Uka, she arranges traditional Hawaiian music as well, performing and recording with instruments such as ukulele, ipu, and other traditional Hawaiian hula implements. She has released four solo albums, each earning a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award.
Thomas Iannucci is a two-time Nā Hōkū Hanohano award-winning rapper, writer, and poet from Kaua’i, Hawaii. Iannucci has been the recipient of several notable awards, including the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards for Best Hip Hop Album in 2018 and 2020, as well as the Best Hip Hop Song (Finalist) in the 2016 National John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Iannucci was also a member of the Rapzilla Freshman Class of 2020, wherein he won the popular vote portion of the process. Iannucci is an outspoken advocate for social issues within Hawaii, and was named by KHON2 News as part of the next generation of rappers pushing the limits of Hawaii Hip Hop. He is also an internationally-published author, making his fiction debut in 2023 when his short story “Hā’ule Hau” was published in New Zealand-based literary journal Takahē Magazine.
Puakea Nogelmeier is a kumu hula, linguist, scholar, researcher, writer and American composer of Hawaiian music and chant who is Professor Emeritus of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Executive Director of Awaiaulu. Nogelmeier was Professor at the Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. His translation of The Epic Tale of Hiʻiakaikapoliopele won the 2008 Samuel M. Kamakau Award for books of the year.
Brittni Paiva is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer. She is best known for playing the ukulele and has won several Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, including Most Promising Artist of the Year for her album, Brittni x 3, which she won at fifteen years old in 2005. She has performed with Carlos Santana and her 2012 album release, Tell U What, features artists Michael McDonald, and Chuck Findley, among others.
A‘ea‘e is a Hawaiian music group composed of Keola Donaghy, Tarvin Makia, Kenneth Makuakāne, Māpuana Makia and Jeff Dayton. The group was established in 2022, and released its debut EP on December 30, 2022. The release included a vocal performance by Māpuana Makia. A‘ea‘e was entered in ten categories for the 46th Annual Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards and a finalist in four categories. They were honored with two awards - Hawaiian EP of the Year and as Group of the Year at the Awards program held on July 1, 2023 at the Hawaii Theatre.
