Page 5 - MIdWeek Kauai - May 26, 2021

MAY 26, 2021
KAUA‘I MIDWEEK 5
Laureta’s Compilation Celebrates Filipino Music
Filipino music and bridge the gap between Laureta’s culture and Western music.
were surrounded by that, at church, at parties. My whole family does karaoke, night or day. Both my sister and I knew at a young age what we wanted to do and we did it.”
All the words are sung in Tagalog or Cebuano and fea- ture Asian-American artists who are not only profession- als in their own right, but also Laureta’s friends, which is how the album got its name.
Cheesa, for her part, was the first Filipina to perform on singing competition The Voice, and made it to the top 12 as part of Team CeeLo Green in 2012. And, her songs have been featured on renowned television series, including So You Think You Can Dance and The Bache- lor. (And, she was featured on MidWeek’s cover back on May 20, 2012.)
“Kaibigan means friend,” Laureta explains. “When I was choosing singers, I want- ed to make sure the majority of them were people I knew and understood who I was as a person.”
(Above) Troy Laureta, parents Tenie and Joseph, and sister Cheesa are a self- proclaimed musical family.
(Left) Laureta and sister Cheesa have always had an interest in singing and performing.
it’s a small contribution of music, but it’s a way that I can use my voice to not only promote Filipino music but also Asian representation.”
It’s why his sister Cheesa is a featured artist — “It’s always best when you’re working with family,” he shares — as is Hawai‘i-born Nicole Scherzinger of The Pussycat Dolls.
Laureta, the elder by two years, took the production route, using his platform to promote Asian represen- tation in the entertainment industry. And create great music, of course. In fact, pri-
or to the pandemic, he was supposed to tour with music executive and producer ex- traordinaire David Foster, and is hoping to continue touring once things start to reopen. For now, he’s hard at work on various other proj-
ects, including some yet-to- be-revealed projects with his sister, as well as volume two of Kaibigan (expect it to drop this fall).
ipino cultures that embody volume one.
“Growing up in high school (he’s a 2006 Punahou grad), we’d listen to Pussy- cat Dolls’ Stickwitu. (Their) songs are part of my upbring- ing,” Laureta recalls. “And I love working with Nicole now. She is one of the most beautiful people on the plan- et, inside and out. Whether Fit’s her Hawaiian roots or her Filipino roots, she’s proud of her heritage.”
And, Laureta teases, lis- teners can expect the same melding of Western and Fil-
“We should unite as a community,” he says. “With something like this album,
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Troy Laureta’s work as a musical director and producer has him brushing shoulders with the likes of (from left) Nicole Scherzinger, Babyface, David Foster and Seal. PHOTOS COURTESY TROY LAURETA
Fill in the blank cells using numbers 1 to 9. Each number can appear only once in each row, column, and 3x3 block. Use logic and process of elimination to solve the puzzle. The difficulty level ranges from Bronze (easiest) to Silver to Gold (hardest). Answers are on page 11
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or Laureta, the de- sire and ability to create music is his
genes. The former ‘Ewa native grew up listening to Hawaiian and Filipino music, something his par- ents, Joseph and Tenie, had playing in the house all the time. Even when the family moved to Kalihi, musical melodies continued to fill the home.
“Being from Hawai‘i and being Filipino, music is such an important part of our culture,” he explains. “We