Page 3 - MidWeek Kauai - June 30, 2021

Fuga Feeling Right As Rain These Days
“hang on every word, hang on every moment ... if ever I could see you again.” Not Asurprisingly, the song has already been streamed more than 3 million times.
ryteller, Rain on Sunday also represents her first body of work since her 2010 EP Mis- ery’s End. In explaining the long delay between studio al- bums, the singer simply says, “It sort of just happened that way.” In her world, there’s no such thing as compulsory songwriting, and no project is ever finalized until the signs in the heavens say so.
happen naturally, organical- ly,” explains the never-in-a- hurry Fuga, who took eight years to gather the right songs for her debut album, Liliko‘i — a 2005 project that ultimately netted her the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award for Most Promising Artist.
Fortunately for Fuga, the signs for a union with Mr. Upside Down-Better Togeth- er-Flake were clearly there.
Despite the outcome of these and other talent com- petitions, Fuga remained undeterred about her life’s mission. As raw as she may have been as a vocalist and live performer back then, she was always crystal clear when it came to envisioning her destiny.
side from reflecting Fuga’s maturation as a singer and sto-
“I never force myself to write anything; I’ m not that kind of person. I feel like there have been times where I tried to force things and it just doesn’t come out right.
“I knew that if I recorded a good album and did my best with it, I would be able to say, ‘Yo, Jack, you wan- na sign me to your label?’ ” Fuga explains. “But lucky me it didn’t have to happen that way. Jack heard that my album was being mixed and asked to hear it himself. After listening to it, he asked me to sign with his label.”
“IknowIhaveagift.I know it’s rare. I know I have a bigger purpose on Earth and it’s not just to sing for people,” states the confident performer, whose voice is often compared to Sade and Lauryn Hill. “Singing is a big part of it, but my real purpose on Earth is to heal people through my music.
Fuga has long believed she was meant for something great. Now with the release of her latest album, she appears to have moved just a little bit closer to that goal.
“But here’s the thing: My whole life I’ ve always fol- lowed the signs. I believe in divine timing. Everything happens for a reason.”
The duo then went on to record the album’s final track, If Ever, and everything in Fuga’s divinely timed world was right as rain.
“I’ve always known I was meant for something great,” continues Fuga. “But I’ve also known that to get there, there are steps to it. You gotta learn
divine better than her deci- sion to release Rain on Sun- day on Brushfire Records, which is owned by John- son. Although the two have a longtime friendship and have performed together many times over the years, Fuga did not want to take advantage of that relation- ship. From her perspective, any potential business part- nership with Johnson would have to happen naturally or not at all.
manding they pay attention to her in 2003, when she unsuccessfully auditioned for American Idol. Eight years earlier as a junior at Kailua High School, she entered Brown Bags to Stardom and sang Dionne Warwick’s Walk On By, yet failed to even place.
to sing. You gotta become con- fident on the stage, and you have to align yourself with like-minded musicians who are able to elevate with you.”
JUNE 30, 2021
KAUA‘I MIDWEEK 3
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“For me, things have to
Nothing illustrates her reliance on timing and the
F
uga first turned up the heat on nation- al audiences by de-
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