
Keilana
Special | 30m 6sVideo has Closed Captions
Keilana
Keilana draws inspiration from artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder and local talent Justin Young to create a sound that’s all her own. A bit of jazz, R&B, neo-soul, with a lyrical style inspired by Native Hawaiian mele, where kaona or hidden meanings are built into the verses.
Nā Mele is a local public television program presented by PBS Hawai'i

Keilana
Special | 30m 6sVideo has Closed Captions
Keilana draws inspiration from artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder and local talent Justin Young to create a sound that’s all her own. A bit of jazz, R&B, neo-soul, with a lyrical style inspired by Native Hawaiian mele, where kaona or hidden meanings are built into the verses.
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Performance: E hō mai/I Am E hō mai ka ʻike mai luna mai e O nā mea huna noʻeau O nā mele e E hō mai, e hō mai, e hō mai e I am a masterpiece Constantly evolving I am ever-changing I don't need your validation From a short-lived conditional love You can try to change my mind Good luck trying Built this foundation on my own Started young but now I'm grown There's no stopping me now There's no stopping me now Little girl with a big, big dream To change the world since the age of fifteen That was me Now, I'm ready to live my self-prophecy Of a dream turned reality You'll see, you'll see You will see I used to think that love Was a one-way street Till that one-way street It got the best of me There's no bitterness there It has gone elsewhere All that's left Is my heart open to the world I'm ready to change the world With my stories and your stories in a song And I hope you'll sing along.
You'll sing along Ohhh I sing – hey!
This is my song, sing This is my song, sing This is my song, sing This is my song and I'll sing Close your eyes and come with me To a place you soon will see My mind is my sacred space To define the way I see the way the world sees me And I hope you'll sing along You'll sing along Sing along Keilana: I started singing at a very young age.
I do have to credit my mom and dad, because they noticed from a young age - my grandpa got me a little keyboard.
And there were presets of songs that you could learn.
And so I would listen to the songs and my mom noticed that I would start playing it.
And so she realized, oh, this girl, like can play by ear, maybe we should put her in lessons.
And I just have been doing music ever since.
Performance: Cotton Candy Feelings (Instrumental music) I’ve been searching for a rainbow in these Grey clouds of destruction And I find myself enclosed Within these walls of doubt I’m wallowing Trying to find my way out Oh I keep creeping away from my reality Hiding the pain with cotton candy feelings Hoping this fake smile never fades They can’t see I’m crumbling Never meant for these four walls to be so high Now they keep me from the sky of dreams Bitter water left my tongue stained And since then I’ve never been the same Oh I’ve never been the same Trying to find my way I’m wallowing Trying to find, my way out Oh I keep creeping away from my reality Hiding the pain with cotton candy feelings Hoping this fake smile never fades Cause they can’t see I’m crumbling I.... (Instrumental music) Wallowing Trying to find my way Wallowing Trying to find, my way out Oh I keep creeping away from my reality Hiding the pain with cotton candy feelings Hoping this fake smile never fades Cause they can’t see I’m crumbling Iʻm creeping away from my reality Hiding the pain with cotton candy feelings Hoping this fake smile never fades They can’t see I’m crumbling They can’t see I’m crumbling They can’t see I’m crumbling Down Keilana: The best thing of all that I've gotten out of doing music is just being able to hear how my stories or how I share these songs have impacted other people, have helped them, have made them feel less alone or help them, you know, remember a loved one that passed away and it's just beautiful.
And that's why I love, love, love, love what I do.
Performance: Need (Instrumental music) You’re looking at me and you’re talking crazy Wanna run and hide can someone save me All I wanna do is call you home But you’ve taken all of me And you’ve left me cold Given all I can from the inside out Though I try to say it won’t come out Thought of loosing you it terrifies So I hide how I feel behind these eyes Are the signs not good enough?
I thought I made it obvious Are the signs not good enough?
I thought I made it obvious Need you to need me I need you to need me Need you So I say Give you all I can from the inside out So you create a better me I’ll make you think I’m someone else So you’ll never ever know I can’t help myself Are the signs not good enough?
I thought I made it obvious Are the signs not good enough?
I thought I made it obvious (Vocalizing) I need you to need me, going crazy babe Ohh baby Break it down You see the clock keeps tickin’ and my mind keeps trippin Telling me that my escape comes from a love that’s dismissive I’m tired of the lies and we knee-deep in excuses Just look me in my eyes and lets get to a solution Maybe, we were never meant to get this far And I, never had the key to your heart But, if you meant all that you said from the start Then, stop your playing and just speak from your heart I said I Need you to need me I need you to want me to I need you to need me I need you… (Vocalizing) Oh baby Oh I pray and I pray I need you baby Why don’t you need me baby?
(Vocalizing) I need you I need you baby I need you Why don’t you need me baby?
Keilana: My grandpa, unfortunately, he passed away when I was eight years old.
We actually got his record player and his records and that's actually why I decided to go down this route of being an r&b, Neo Soul kind of jazz musician, artist because when we found his records, I would listen to them and they're so engrained in my brain that they're kind of my connection to him.
And so that's why it's been a passion of mine, to kind of make myself known as an artist that has stayed true to, of course, being from Hawaiʻi, but my roots and that connection to my grandpa.
Performance: Time Beautiful dream, come back to me Let me ingrain your scent in my head The cold autumn night, long stretch of drive To your place But you’re fading, fading away in the dark And I can’t, let you escape my heart Cause time’s my enemy Snatching you away I feel your memory Escaping me Come back to me Come back to me Come back to me mmm The sound of the rain on your rooftop The moment we turned the lights off The taste of your kiss, this moment of silence But you’re fading, fading, fading away in the dark And I can’t let, let you escape my heart Cause time’s my enemy Snatching you away I feel your memory Escaping me Come back to me Come back to me To me Come back to me mmm Your scent, your touch I will surely miss The ignorant bliss of The imminent end, But why do I find youʻre stuck in my head?
Cause time’s my enemy Snatching you away I feel your memory Escaping me Come back to me Come back to me Come back to me Come back to me (Vocalizing) Keilana: My family we were so tight knit and close.
Me and my little sister, we put on little concerts for my mom and dad.
And we have tons of videos of that.
And there's even a video where my dad is telling me, “Baby sing the song.” And I'm like, “No, Dad, please, I don't want to, please.” He’s like, “Come on, you're gonna be a singer when you're older.” And, and so it's crazy to look back on that video and see where I am now.
Performance: God Bless My Daddy/Mom This one goes out to you mom and dad.
Oh mom, I love you Yes I do Wait for me mom, I’ll be home real soon Oh and I never knew how much you meant to me Now, that I'm so many miles across the sea That is my daddy Who’s over there Said a tiny little girl In her tiny little prayer Performance: Right From the Start (Instrumental music) From the very first day, my little eyes opened He knew that he’d be there to watch me grow It’s been so long and still Dad, you’ve never changed From my very first steps, to my very first heartbreak You picked me up when I’d fall Whenever I’m scared, you’re always there to Wrap me in your arms And dad I just want you to know You’ll always have my heart Right from the start Now that I’m older, life gets harder each day Having you right beside me I feel I can do almost anything It’s been so long and still Dad, you’ve never changed From my very first steps, to my very first heartbreak You picked me up when I’d fall Whenever I’m scared, you’re always there to Wrap me in your arms And dad I just want you to know You’ll always have my heart Right from the start I know, I’ll never be The son you’ve always dreamed But I know, that you still love me So I’ll try my very best to make you proud Of who I came to be From my very first steps, to my very first heartbreak You picked me up when I’d fall Whenever I’m scared, you’re always there to Wrap me in your arms And dad I just want you to know Dad I just want you to know That you’ll always have my heart Right from the start (Instrumental music) Right from the start (Instrumental music) Keilana: I've learned that if I stay open to whatever opportunities come my way, and I don't necessarily hold on to an expectation of, okay, I'm this age, or I'm here and so I should be here.
That's really been the ticket to all of the success that I've been able to see.
And so I just want to continue seeing how big we can push the envelope and yeah, I don't know, we'll see.
(Laughs) Performance: Fly (Instrumental music) Too high We flew high, and now we’re crashing down No longer two abound, it’s time To say goodbye, goodbye Cuando miras las estrellas en el cielo Sonrie y recuerdame Me gusta, pasar tiempo contigo Pero tengo que irme ahora We flew high, like rockets taking flight We were soaring through the night sky But aimed too high, too high We flew high, and now we’re crashing down No longer two abound, it’s time To say goodbye, goodbye (Keyboard instrumental music) We flew high, like rockets taking flight We were soaring through the night sky But aimed too high, high Too high We flew high, and now we’re crashing down No longer two abound, it’s time To say goodbye, goodbye We flew high, como cohetes al viajar En la noche navegar Y volar, muy alto We flew high, and now we’re crashing down No longer two abound, it’s time To say goodbye Announcer: This program was made possible by the Corporation of Public Broadcasting and from contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.
Thank you.
Nā Mele is a local public television program presented by PBS Hawai'i