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Growing up in Waimanalo in the 1980s, Paula Fuga didn’t have an easy life. Her father left the family when she was 4. Living with her mother eventually meant living in a tent on the beach and sometimes scavenging for food. Fuga bounced around between her mother, various aunts and uncles, and her grandparents.
Her grandmother became her mentor and role model; music became her inspiration. Fuga sang whenever she had the chance. She took classes at one of Roy Sakuma’s ukulele studios, and entered the Brown Bags to Stardom and Keiki Stars talent contests.
Fuga (pronounced “funga”) was living in an environment that could be described as “at risk,” but she didn’t succumb to the temptations around her. Instead she graduated from Kailua High School in 1996 and moved to the Big Island to continue her education at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. She returned to Oahu a year later and continued to pursue her interest in music.
In 2003, Fuga auditioned for “American Idol” in Hawaii wearing a T-shirt that read “Big Girls Rock.” She didn’t get on the show, but the producers invited her to Hollywood to participate in the “American Idol: Uncut, Uncensored and Untalented” show, which she describes as “catching up with the rejects,” that gave her national visibility. Fuga returned home to find that local radio stations were interested in what she was going to do next. So was Spencer Toyama, who had been a production assistant on the Oahu set of the “American Idol” auditions.
Toyama became her business partner. He recommended that she record as an independent artist on her own label. Her debut album, “Lilikoi,” earned her a Na Hoku Hanohano Award in 2007.
Fuga’s career took another step forward after Jack Johnson heard her at a North Shore kickball tournament. Johnson invited her to play his Kokua Festival in 2007. It was the start of a working relationship that continues to this day.
Fuga, 43, welcomes Johnson as a guest on her long-awaited second album, “Rain on Sunday,” that will be officially released on Friday.
First of all, congratulations on the new album. It’s been 11 years since your last solo project (“Misery’s End,” a 2010 EP). What made now the right time to release it?
I believe in divine timing, and it just kind of happened this way. I certainly wanted an album to come out years ago and it just didn’t happen, the timing wasn’t right, and I believe everything happens in its own perfect time and not a moment sooner. This is the perfect time for this album to come out, and I trust in the timing of this.
Is there a song on the album that best represents where you are now?
“You Got This Girl,” because I’ve come a long way in my life since where I began. There have been times since I recorded it till now that it was all I could listen to to remind me that I got this. When I needed something to encourage me, to revitalize my belief in myself and my belief in my purpose on this Earth and my path in life, this is the song that reminds me of how strong I am, and how I have everything I need in order to succeed in life and accomplish the goals that I have set for my own self.
What else should we know about the album?
We recorded everything live. To me, the best part of music is being up there on the stage making music with people that I love. To capture that feeling in the studio is really special, and it’s something that was important to me in making this album.
Do people thank you for being an inspiration to them in facing problems and challenges in their lives?
They do, and when people share those things with me, it’s a reminder that I’m on the right path, that this is the work that I’m supposed to be doing here on Earth.
Going back to 2007, were you surprised to get a Hoku Award?
I was, and I was truly honored. But when I went to the Hokus, I didn’t care if I won any awards because I knew it was an honor (to be a finalist) and to be there in the company of 20 people who would spend money to be there to support me on that night — who believed in me whether I won anything or not. To win was an extra bonus. I’m so grateful to have won that award.
How old were you when you started thinking about music as a career?
I was 4. I was in Waikiki in my mother’s friend’s apartment listening to the radio. “Song for Someone” came on the radio, and I remember thinking to myself, “This is such a cool song. This guy is writing a song about not being able to write a song! I’m gonna write a song like this one day.” At 4 years old I was thinking about songwriting.
What advice do you have for the next generation?
Make the music that occurs naturally inside of you. That’s always been the thing I’ve tried to do. I just make the music that moves me in my sound and hopefully — I just know that whoever is meant to hear it will be attracted to it. I don’t see myself in competition with anyone else — except myself.
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REVIEW: Fuga’s second album worth the long wait
“Rain on Sunday”
Paula Fuga
Brushfire
Paula Fuga introduced herself as a recording artist with the release of her debut album, “Lilikoi,” in 2006. She received the Na Hoku Hanohano Award for most promising artist the following spring. In 2010, she released “Misery’s End,” a five-song EP. With the exception of guest appearances on other artists’ projects, that’s been it for Fuga as a recording artist until now.
Her second full-length album proves it was well worth the wait. Twelve songs display Fuga’s appeal as a soulful and sincere singer, her mature insights as a songwriter and her willingness to take on the hits of other artists. Fuga coproduced the project with Hawaii recording artist Mike Love, Brad “BW” Watanabe and Michael Grande.
The title song is wonderful in its simplicity. Fuga accompanies herself on ukulele, singing as we can imagine her doing at home on a Sunday morning when the rain forces a not-entirely unwanted change of plans. A second song, “Hoapili,” is almost as pure. Fuga sings, Grande accompanies her on piano. The lyrics describe the beauty of a deep friendship that is separate from romantic love.
Fuga speaks to women in abusive relationships with “You Got This Girl.” With “Just a Little Bit,” she offers encouragement to anyone whose troubles make their dreams seem out of reach.
Afro-Caribbean rhythms and Rastafarian religious messages percolate elsewhere in the collection. Those reggae-style songs will be her point of entry at Hawaii’s “island music” radio stations.
Fuga’s broader range as a song stylist is heard in the dark, blues-infused tones of “Too Hot Mama,” and in a slightly more cheerful form in “If Ever,” a collaboration with her longtime friend and supporter Jack Johnson. Fuga and Johnson cowrote the song and perform it as a duet with Ben Harper sitting in on steel guitar.
Two remakes also show her range. Fuga presents “Hokule‘a Star of Gladness,” written by Hokule‘a crewman Boogie Kalama and popularized by the Makaha Sons of Ni‘ihau in the mid-1980s, as straightforward contemporary hapa haole music. She and Love rework “Lovers Rock,” Sade’s smooth soul album track from 2000, as Jawaiian pop. It too is certain to be a local hit.
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John Berger, Star-Advertiser
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