A trip to Hawaii is something many people dream of. For Jody Watley, the idea of coming here for three nights at Blue Note Hawaii came to her on a night when she couldn’t even sleep well — let alone dream.

“I was having insomnia, and I thought, ‘I want to go to Hawaii. I wonder if there’s a Blue Note in Hawaii,”’ she said, calling from her home in Los Angeles.

The morning after Watley’s sleepless night, she checked to see whether there was a Blue Note here. The next step was calling her agent.

She opens a three-night engagement on Thursday.

“It’s my first time at Blue Note Hawaii. I have performed at Blue Note in Tokyo when my album ‘Intimacy’ came out (in 1993) — intimate themes, intimate venues,” she said. “And what’s not to love about Honolulu? We are going to be filming a new music video there for Shalamar Reloaded, and the director who directed our current video for Shalamar Reloaded, ‘O.R.I.G.IN.A.L,’ is coming down with us.”

Shalamar Reloaded — Watley, Rosero McCoy and Nate Allen Smith — is the trio she put together last year in response to what she describes as “some misuse of my likeness by some former members” of Shalamar, a group assembled by Soul Train founder Don Cornelius in 1977. Watley was a standout dancer on the wildly popular television show when Cornelius offered her a spot with Shalamar, a trio. Five people, including Watley, had been members of Shalamar when she left for a solo career in 1983; several more came and went after that.

Watley quickly established herself as a solo artist. She won the 1988 Grammy Award for best new artist and continued on with a series of pop- and dance-chart hits. She also enjoyed success as a songwriter, record label executive, record producer, fashion designer and occasional fashion model. In 1996 she appeared as Rizzo in the Broadway production of “Grease.”

Shalamar continued on with various members. The issue of misusing Watley’s likeness came up when a group billed as Shalamar used promotional photos of the trio that included her.

Watley became the legal registered owner of the name “Shalamar” in 2014. She added the word “Reloaded” to let the public know that the trio was not a reunion with past members, and that she isn’t doing an “oldies” show.

Her set list includes songs from Watley’s six years with Shalamar, along with her solo hits — “Looking for a New Love” and “Don’t You Want Me,” to name two. Shalamar Reloaded is also very much in the present. The trio’s current single and video, “O.R.I.G.IN.A.L,” has an edgy contemporary sound and delivers the trio’s response to the assorted freelance haters, trolls, freaks, skeezers and weirdos they’ve encountered.

“I didn’t want to do a nostalgia thing where it’s, like, let’s just recapture that (old sound). I want to bring it to a new generation,” she said. “Rosero McCoy, I’ve worked with him since ’98. He’s a dear friend of mine. He’s a renowned choreographer in music videos, feature films, television, concert staging. When we auditioned Nate Smith — about 100 guys tried out for that spot and he was perfect.”

Like many veteran artists who actively handle their careers, Watley has mixed emotions about the impact of modern technology — music files, YouTube and social media — on the music business and her livelihood.

“With anything there is an upside and a downside. I look at the upside of everything while being realistic of the not-so-positive part,” she said. “I think that real hard-core fans will always support the music — they’ll buy it, they’ll come to the concerts — and then you’ll have the bootleggers and whatnot. It’s depressing, and then you have to release (the anger about it) because you can’t really control it. You just have to find ways that reduce it.

“A YouTube clip or film from a cellphone at bad angles will never capture the community of being there with other people and enjoying that experience.”

One of the upsides she sees to social media is that it can make it easier to reach other people, she says. Watley has recorded with people who contacted her via social media, and she uses it to stay in touch with fellow artists like Erykah Badu and Alicia Keys.

“If you want to hear a song or see a video you can do it any time you like, and over and over and over if you want,” she said. “I personally enjoy connecting directly with my fans on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter and everything. With Shalamar Reloaded I was able to create a new brand with them, and get people to know Nate and Rosero in ways that they never would have.”