Biography
Meleana Brown, professionally known as Meleana and originating from Hawaii, delivers vocals shaped by pop, jazz, gospel, and R&B, infusing each performance with deep feeling. She first reached a broad audience through her role as a contestant on the opening season of the ABC series Duets. Her upbringing unfolded across Hawaii and Japan after her family resided there for several years, within a household that combined African-American, Portuguese, and Hawaiian roots on her father’s side with Filipino and Spanish ancestry on her mother’s. Music drew her attention early, prompting initial family performances at an Oahu church. While living in Japan she participated in her family’s Hawaiian ensemble and took the stage at area venues. Following the return to Hawaii she sustained those performances and, still in her teens, secured early visibility by reaching the top twelve finalists on the 2003 local broadcast Hawaii Stars. Subsequent engagements included opening slots for Bruno Mars and guest spots on North Shore and Lost. After relocating to Los Angeles she earned a place on the 2012 debut season of Duets, where she shared the stage with Grammy-winning artist John Legend and finished seventh overall. Her first solo album, White Walls, appeared in 2016 on Dream Records.