Musician Keli`i Kaneali`i found his authentic voice on Kaua`i.

So it's not surprising that his first solo CD since departing 10 years ago as the Hawaiian half of the popular musical duo Hapa is named, simply, "Kaua`i."

"One of the reasons why I took so long is I wanted to get my own style," Kaneali`i said. "Everyone wanted me to record right away after Hapa, but I wasn't prepared to go back on stage with only me. Timing is everything. I didn't want to come out average. I had to come out strong, because everybody talks, and I wanted to make sure there was nothing to talk about, just listen to the music."

It seems he was wise to wait. His solo CD is not only the number one seller at Border's, it's also up for a Grammy nomination, although Kaneali`i isn't sure of the category. The six-time Na Hoku Hanohano award winner doesn't keep track of that sort of thing. He's just focused on his music, and the concert tour planned to promote "Kaua`i."

"I'm thinking of my concerts, and how I want to start it," he said. "I want it to be different than everyone else."

Kaneali`i shared a few of his ideas, although not for print, as he wants to preserve "the element of surprise."

Suffice to say, he's looking forward to going on the road.

"I'm a live musician," he said. "I love the stage, the excitement, the adrenalin. I get off on the silence."

That's right. It's not the applause that satisfies Kaneali`i, it's opening his own eyes, which he always keeps closed while singing, so as to improve his concentration, and seeing that people in the audience have their eyes closed, too. The silence, he said, lets him know that they're really listening.

Although Kaneali`i has played a few gigs on Maui and can sometimes be heard at Tahiti Nui in Hanalei and Kilauea's Lighthouse Bistro, the creation of a solo stage act has been just as much a process as developing a solo musical act.

Barry Flanagan, the other half of Hapa, wrote the duo's songs and did all the talking on stage, so when Kaneali`i left the partnership after 18 years, he had to find his own way of doing both. He also taught himself how to play rhythm and bass guitar so he can be a true solo act.

"I left Hapa on the high," he said. "I just felt I needed to do something different. We had a good 18 years. I learned a lot and everything's fine. It was a good career, and now it's a new chapter."

Kaneali`i has emerged with his own unique style, which includes some influences from his wife, Healani Youn, a kumu hula. Five of the songs on "Kaua`i" are originals, which he wrote in a more "uppity" style to balance the other five songs, which are ballads "you can dig into."

"I want to be versatile and not be stuck in something," he said. "Every song on my CD has a different feel."

He got much of his inspiration from the Garden Island, where he moved with his wife and five sons 13 years ago. Although he's originally from Papakolea on O`ahu, he has deep roots on Kaua`i. His grandfather was the caretaker of Kilauea Lighthouse, and his father grew up in Ha`ena. Kaneali`i lives in a house overlooking the ocean at Anahola, and often stays up until 3 a.m. so he can write in the quiet of the wee hours, with "no horns or dogs."

The youngest of 15 children, he first began singing in church as a child. "My whole family is singers," he said. "When I sing, I want to sing. I don't want to do anything less."

He got his first guitar in the sixth grade and taught himself how to play by ear. After graduating from high school, he moved to Maui and began playing with Martin Pahinui in a disco band called Hawaiian Expressions. He met Flanagan on Maui, and the two began playing at the Crab Catcher restaurant. The gig lasted 10 years, until the restaurant lost its lease. That was in 1993, the same year the first Hapa CD came out. Four more CDs followed, until the two parted ways.

Flanagan asked if he could keep using the name Hapa, and Kaneali`i agreed. "I said, 'take it, I'm not gonna use it. I'm gonna use my own name.'"

Now that Kaneali`i is firmly established in his own right, he doesn't see himself joining a duo or group again. "It's hard to go back the other way because it's the freedom, yeah, to do your own music. To go out with a band again, no, that's over. That's why I learned everything on my guitar."

He has, however, collaborated on two children's books written by Kaua`i's Dr. Terry Carolan. He narrated and played music for "Where's My Slippers?" and didn't plan to do another until he read "A President from Hawai`i" and decided it was a project worthy of his music, too.

But mostly, he's just content to do his own thing, and watch his music progress.

"I've been waiting for this time all this time," he said. "I think my CD's good, but my life is better. That's what pushes everything, your life."

And what's been the response from all those fans who have been waiting for this time, too?

"Finally!" he said with a laugh. "They love it. It's me."

For more information visit www.keliikanealii.com.