Page 19 - MidWeek - June 23, 2021

Fuga Feeling Right As Rain These Days
FROM PAGE 14
JUNE 23, 2021 MIDWEEK 19
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.
Sunday — surround herself with a bevy of talented individuals like Johnson and Love who are guiding her toward an eventual goal that can- not always be measured by traditional music standards.
“Words are
so valuable. Words are power.”
“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.
“There’s no clear path to the top when you’ re pursu- ing a musical career,” opines Fuga, who’s performed at no- table events around the world — including the Alma Surf Festival in Sao Paulo, Bra- zil, the Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Madison Square Garden — and even before the president in the White House. “Everybody’s top looks a lit- tle bit different. Like my top is not Beyoncé’s top — my top is something else.
And it’s her words that will be reverberating in lis- teners’ ears in the coming days — all of which makes her a bit anxious.
(Right) The album cover for Right as Rain. (Above) 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.
“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 to sing. You got- ta become confident on the stage, and you have to align yourself with like-minded musicians who are able to elevate with you.”
“I’m excited. I’m al- ready planning some shows throughout the islands,” says Fuga, who will be perform- ing both new and old ma- terial at Blue Note Hawai‘i July 30 and 31, with shows scheduled for 6:30 and 9 each night, “and I’ ll eventu- ally make my way over to the mainland in the fall.
single If Ever, a bittersweet duet with Johnson in which he muses about the loss of his father while both he and Fuga (whose father passed away in 2019) cry out to “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.
and storyteller, Rain on Sunday also represents her first body of work since her 2010 EP Misery’s End. In explaining the long delay between studio albums, the singer simply says, “It sort of just happened that way.” In her world, there’s no such thing as compulsory songwriting, and no proj- ect is ever finalized until the signs in the heavens say so.
Liliko‘i — a 2005 project that ultimately netted her the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award for Most Promising Artist.
signs for a union with Mr.
“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. Af- ter listening to it, he asked me to sign with his label.”
side from reflect- ing Fuga’s matu- ration as a singer
“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 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.
Which is precisely what she’s done with Rain on
“I’m looking forward to seeing how people react to my music. I’ ve had these songs for so long, so I can’t wait to see it out in the open — see what songs will reso- nate with the people.”
Upside Down-Better Togeth- er-Flake were clearly there.
“For me, I’m not just thinking about how can I sell records, how can I sell albums, how many charts can I top? I’ m thinking of who is this music going to affect, will it affect a com- munity for a long time, and how can I inspire people?” Fuga continues.
“For me, things have to happen naturally, organical- ly,” explains the never-in-a- hurry Fuga, who took eight years to gather the right songs for her debut album,
Fortunately for Fuga, the
Despite the outcome of
Fuga is grateful to have signed with the Brushfire Records family and its owner, Jack Johnson. “Jack is such a special and humble guy,” she says. “He has included me in so many amazing opportunities throughout the years performing with DamianMarley,DaveMatthewsandotherartists.Now,I’mapartofhismusicalfamily.”PHOTOCOURTESYPAULAFUGA
Nothing illustrates her reliance on timing and the 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.
F
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.
uga first turned up the heat on nation- al audiences by de-