Mrs. Hawaii
Lehualani Ehukai Nahina (born Lehualani Ehukai Sandbo on February 7, 1983), better known by her stage name Lehua Sandbo (レフア・サンボ), joined Hawaiian group Coconuts Musume in 2000, and took part in the first two years of shuffle units. She was the only second generation member recruited for the group after reportedly suprising the judges during the final round of auditions with two other girls when she was the only person to sing DANCE & CHANCE in Japanese. Lehua left the Hello! Project in early 2002 to return to Hawaii, to pursue her college education.
She competed in the 2003 Miss Hawaii Pageant, being named Miss Congeniality. Lehua went on to marry Kapono Nahina, a professional surfer, giving birth to their daughter Kaianna in 2004. Lehua was crowned Mrs. Hawaii-USA on June 6th 2008, and competed in the 2008 Mrs. United States National Pageant, where she was named Mrs. Photogenic.
Biography
Early Life
Sandbo had known she wanted to be an actress or singer since a young age. Her first year of high school at St. Francis School in Mānoa, Oʻahu, she was cast as the lead in her schools musical.
2000
Sandbo was added into Coconuts Musume in January/February 2000 to join the three members, Ayaka Kimura, Mika Todd and Danielle Delaunay. Her first recording however was not with the group Coconuts Musume, but with the 2000 Hello! Project Shuffle Unit, Aoiro 7.
The first Coconuts Musume single to be released with Sandbo was "Tokonatsu Musume". After that single, the group had released "Watashi mo "I LOVE YOU", which was also fellow member Danielle Delaunay's last single. After Delaunay's graduation, the three member group only released one more single, Jounetsu Yuki Miraisen, before Sandbo too was off to graduate.
2002
On February 17, 2002, Sandbo graduated from Coconuts Musume and Hello! Project at the end of the Hello! Project 2002 ~Kotoshi mo Sugoizo!~ concert tour.
2003
According to Sandbo in an interview from 2003, she first heard of the Coconuts Musume auditions from her aunt who read about it in a Hawaiʻi newspaper. She says,
"I wasn't going to audition at first because I just finished doing a play. Something just got into me and told me that I have to audition for it, so I called and they said that they already had auditions, but they would still take my resume and some pictures and would call me if they wanted to meet with me. A couple days after I had mailed everything in, I got a call saying that they wanted me to sing for them."
After being called back for an audition in Waikīkī, Sandbo had sang her rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" (originally by Dolly Parton). A few days later, she and two other girls were finalists in the auditions. The second part of the auditions required the girls to sing and dance a Coconuts Musume song. Sandbo had shocked everyone when she chose to perform the Japanese version of Dance & Chance. After everything was said and done, Sandbo was picked as the winner.
Within the same year of leaving Hello! Project, Sandbo was awarded the Miss Congeniality award for the Miss Hawaii USA 2003 pageant.
2008
Later, in 2008, she was crowned Mrs. Hawaii USA and will compete in the 2008 Mrs. United States pageant, the only nationally televised beauty pageant for married women.
2009
In 2009, she and Kapono Nahina divorced.
Profile
- Name: Lehua Sandbo (レフア・サンボ)
- Full Name: Lehualani Ehukai Nahina (née Sandbo)
- Nicknames:
- Birthday: February 7, 1983
- Married: 2003
- Divorced: 2010
- Family: Fiance, 1 Daughter (Kaianna)
- Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
- Birthplace: Haleiwa, Hawaii, United States
- Height: 5' 4"
- Blood Type: O
- Hair: Brown
- Eyes: Green
- Bust: 34
- Waist: 26
- Hips: 34
- Dress: 5
- Shoe: 7
- Ethnicity: Norwegian, Hawaiian, Filipino, Irish, Spanish, Chinese
- Religion: Catholic
- Interests: Acting, Singing, Dancing, Longboard Surfing, Shopping, Visiting Beach, Talking, School, Jazz Dance, Soccer, Life
- Favorite Color: Orange
- Favorite Food: Italian, Hawaiian, Gyudon, Ramen, Okonomiyaki
- Favorite Singers: Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Morning Musume
- Favorite Movies: Pretty Woman, Romeo and Juliet, Like Water For Chocolate
- Favorite Books: One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Kadin, The Gate to Women's Country, Season of the Sun, Private Pleasures, Siddhartha, The River Between, Maus
- Favorite Hello! Project Members: Iida Kaori, Yaguchi Mari
- Hello! Project Groups:
- Coconuts Musume (2000-2002)
- Shuffle Groups:
- 2000: Aoiro 7
- 2001: 7-nin Matsuri
Singles Featured In
Coconuts Musume
Aoiro 7
7nin Matsuri
Trivia
- She says she still keeps in touch with other members
- She hinted of the possibility of a reunion tour in an interview
- In 2014, she posted a video on her Facebook of her singing "Aoi Sports Car no Otoko" a capella.
References
External Links
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