Callie Onishi readies Kamehameha Song Contest 2026 at Blaisdell Arena
The kamehameha song contest 2026 reached its final rehearsal Thursday at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena, with students polishing their performance before Friday night’s competition. Callie Onishi, the sophomore coed director, said the group felt more prepared than when they last practiced there.
“It’s pretty surreal. It kind of feels like no time has passed at all from the last Thursday that we’ve been here, but it definitely feels like we are better prepared and more ready this time and we can see that in our mele.”
Blaisdell Arena rehearsal
Thursday’s run-through gave students one more chance to work under the same lights and timing they will face in competition. Onishi said, “It kind of mimics the environment that we are going to be in tomorrow night with all the lights and everyone watching you, but it’s way less audience obviously, but it kind of puts the pressure on the students to perform and it gives us a sense of what it’s going to be like tomorrow night.”
The contest is scheduled for Friday night, with a live broadcast beginning at 6:30 p.m. and a preshow leading into the 7:30 p.m. competition. That timing gives viewers a clear window for the event and puts the rehearsal in direct service of the live program.
Pauahi Nona Ka Lei
This year’s theme, Pauahi Nona Ka Lei, centers the contest on Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, whose will established Kamehameha Schools. The school opened in 1887, and the songs in this year’s contest are designed to honor that legacy through Hawaiian language and performance.
Each high school class composed its own coed songs in a haku mele process this year, and the pieces were written in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Those new songs will be added to Kamehameha’s musical library for future generations and future Song Contests, giving this year’s work a life beyond Friday night.
March cancellation
The return carries extra weight because severe weather from a Kona low storm forced the cancellation of statewide events in March. Friday’s contest is therefore not just another annual performance; it is the first full run after a disrupted season, and the students were already signaling that they were further along in preparation on the second attempt.
For viewers, the practical takeaway is simple: the broadcast starts at 6:30 p.m., the competition follows at 7:30 p.m., and this year’s songs will become part of the school’s archive after the final note fades.
