Can you say "three-peat?"

The live, vocal and instrumental multi-artist compilation Treasures of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar has won this year's Grammy award for best Hawaiian music album.

The win was the third consecutive in the category for a compilation from the production team of Daniel Ho, George Kahumoku Jr., Paul Konwiser and Wayne Wong.

The four received Grammys last year for Legends of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar. Ho, Konwiser and Wong took home Grammys in 2006 for Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Vol. 1.

The award was presented to the producers this afternoon at a ceremony at the Los Angeles Convention Center before the Grammy Awards prime-time awards telecast.

Other nominated albums in the category were Keola Beamer’s Ka Hikina O Ka Hau (The Coming Of The Snow), Tia Carrere’s Hawaiiana, Raiatea Helm’s Hawaiian Blossom and Cyril Pahinui’s Heeia.

The producers were joined on stage by many of the musicians who contributed live tracks to the disc, including Pahinui, Richard Hoopii, Peter deAquino and Garrett Probst.

Multi-artist slack key guitar-based compilations have now swept the best Hawaiian music album category for four consecutive years. The first Grammy in the category went to the instrumental, multi-artist compilation Slack Key Guitar, Vol. 2 in 2005.

All three Grammy-winning discs from the Ho, Konwiser, Wong and Kahumoku Jr. production team were recorded live at Maui's long-running Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar concert series. Co-founded by slack key guitar master and educator George Kahumoku Jr., the concerts are held every Wednesday at the Napili Kai Beach Resort.

The Masters concert series has attracted some of the guitar genre's greatest players. In addition to Kahumoku Jr., Hoopii and Pahinui (son of legendary slack key guitarist/vocalist Gabby Pahinui), the concerts have also featured Ledward Kaapana, Dennis Kamakahi and Ozzie Kotani.

Congratulations to the winners. And, yes, I'll admit erring on my Tia prediction.
 

You’re reading my final post about this year’s Best Hawaiian Music Album Grammy. My final post, that is, before the actual Grammy ceremonies on Sunday.

Promise.

Nothing new to report. The nominees haven’t changed:

• Keola Beamer’s Ka Hikina O Ka Hau (The Coming Of The Snow)
• Tia Carrere’s Hawaiiana
• Raiatea Helm’s Hawaiian Blossom
• Cyril Pahinui’s He‘eia
• Treasures of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, produced by George Kahumoku Jr., Daniel Ho, Paul Konwiser and Wayne Wong

You’ll be able to watch the pre-telecast ceremony—where the Hawaiian music Grammy is awarded—live and online at The Recording Academy’s official Web site Grammy.com. This first-ever broadcast of Grammy's pre-primetime award show happens between 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. (PST) on Feb. 10.

In a previous post, I predicted a Carrere win. I haven't changed my mind.

I’d much rather see Helm (with her second Grammy nomination) or Pahinui (with his first nomination) win the gold gramophone. Both are solid artists in the genre, with equally solid CDs.

But Tia was in Wayne’s World AND was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. And in a Grammy category filled with musicians still largely unknown to many Recording Academy voters, that kind of pop culture notoriety and name recognition might be enough to win. No joke.

I’ll be watching the pre-telecast ceremony on Sunday, and posting the winner here at Hawaiimagazine.com as soon as it is announced.

But I’ll ask you all once again before show time. Who do you think deserves to win on Sunday for Best Hawaiian Music Album? Who do you think will win?
  

For the fourth consecutive year, Grammy winners for Best Hawaiian Music Album won’t get to accept their golden gramophones on CBS’s primetime telecast.

But fans of Hawaiian music shouldn’t completely despair.

This year for the first time, the pre-telecast ceremonies—where the Hawaiian music Grammy is awarded—will air live and online at The Recording Academy’s official Web site Grammy.com. The Los Angeles Convention Center ceremony will air from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (PST) on Feb. 10.

Awards in nearly 100 not-ready-for-prime-time Grammy categories will also be given out during the pre-telecast.

I’m predicting Tia Carrere’s CD of Hawaiian music, Hawaiiana, will win the Grammy even though it doesn’t quite deserve it, thereby cheesing off a whole bunch of folks in the Hawaiian music industry.

In addition to Los Angeles-based Carrere, the other nominees for the Hawaiian Grammy are:

• Keola Beamer’s Ka Hikina O Ka Hau (The Coming Of The Snow)
• Raiatea Helm’s Hawaiian Blossom
• Cyril Pahinui’s He‘eia
• Treasures of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar produced by George Kahumoku Jr., Daniel Ho, Paul Konwiser and Wayne Wong.

Who do you think deserves to win? Who do you think will win?