On the Scene with Yvette Nii

Yvette Nii was moving and cooing to music videos before she could talk, singing along to her big sister’s Mariah Carey cassette when she was 4. She grew up in Ewa Beach with dreams of a career in entertainment, and talent contests at Campbell High School were only the beginning.

Nii’s portrayal of newlywed Tina Vitale in a Maui production of “Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding” caught the eye of an agent who got her an engagement playing Tina in Las Vegas. An introduction to Hiroshima leader Dan Kuramoto was the start of a productive working relationship with the popular jazz fusion group; Hawaii saw Nii perform with Hiroshima at the Blue Note Hawaii last year.

This summer the 33-year-old singer-actor will appear on Fox TV’s update of the “Love Connection” dating show, which airs at 8 p.m. Thursdays.

JOHN BERGER: I know you’re prohibited from saying anything about “Love Connection,” so what else are you working on?

YVETTE NII: I’m promoting my first CD. Its called “Simplicity.” It’s a work of all original songs and its an acoustic version of my life and the experiences that I’ve gone through and put to music. I’ve been gigging all over L.A. and there’s the possibility of a Japan tour coming up.

JB: How did you get your first big break?

YN: John Valentine was my vocal coach when I was 15 years old and competing in talent contests. When I was 18 years old he called my mom and said he wanted to offer me a job singing at the Sheraton Waikiki Hanohano Room, so the week after I graduated from high school I was at the Hanohano Room singing with John and (keyboardist) Brian Robertshaw. I was there for about five years.

JB: There’s a great clip on YouTube of your performance as Miss Ko Olina in the 2008 Miss Hawaii pageant. Nicole Fox got the title that year; what did you get?

YN: I learned how good it feels to give back to the community. I work with a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles, Girls on the Run of Los Angeles, an after-school running program for kids from third to sixth grade where they can get their good core values and exercise at the same time.

JB: Where would you like to be 10 years from now?

YN: I would love to be on Broadway. That’s my ultimate goal — but every time I try to move to New York another music opportunity in Los Angeles pops up.

“On the Scene” appears weekly in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Sunday Magazine. Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.