Shanita Akana

“All of my songs are born out of prayer. They are blessings from God which I sing for Him.” This is how Shanita Akana, a 36-year-old wife and mother of three from Ewa Beach, Hi., describes her lifelong love of music. And when Shanita released her Catholic debut album “My Soul Sings” in October 2001, she finally realized the dream of her youth.

“I dreamed for many years to be able to share my music with the world. I know this is all because of God,” Shanita added.

Turning her dream into reality was as much a spiritual journey as it was a musical one for the Catholic singer. Active in music throughout her years at Sacred Hearts Academy and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Shanita has performed as a soloist and in choirs both inside and outside of school.

But her confidence as a singer took years to develop. After meeting Shanita, a woman strongly grounded in her Catholic faith, and hearing the clear soprano voice that soars on her debut album today, it is hard to imagine she was once a young girl suffering from stage fright.

“Until high school, I was a nervous wreck. I could barely stand in front of an audience and sing,” Shanita said. “My dad (Ernest Aana) kept encouraging me by telling me: ‘Shanita, God gave you your voice, so share it.’ But even hearing that didn’t completely rid me of my fear. So he suggested that I make believe God was the only one in the audience listening and to just sing for Him. Little did my dad know how important his words would become in my life.”

The statement of faith Shanita received from her father as a teenager eventually became not only a basis for her songs, but also a way for her to reach out to other teenagers, just as her father once reached out to her. Shanita’s desire to bring youth and young adults to Christ led to her role as Life Teen youth coordinator at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in 1995.

“God opened the door for me at my parish, under the leadership of Fr. Bob Phelps. Serving as Life Teen coordinator, I delved deep into the Mass and Holy Eucharist, which is the heart of both the Church and the Life Teen ministry,” Shanita explained. “I wanted to reach out to the young people and help bring them back to Church. At first, the upbeat music and youth homilies encourage them to come to Mass, but the Eucharist is what brings them back each week.”

Although she only served as coordinator until 1998, Shanita is still very involved in the Life Teen program, helping to lead music for Mass with the youth choir and attending Life Teen events with her husband John and their 14-year-old son Kyle. The singer credits her work with the youth as the inspiration for her Catholic music career. 

“Serving with the youth is a pure joy. I attended the national Life Teen conference in 1998 in Mesa, Ariz., and the conference inspired my faith so much that I wanted to write songs for the youth. When I came back to the island, I wrote three of the songs that are currently on my album. I was at the height of my conviction and love for my Church and my God,” Shanita said.

One of the songs originally written for her Life Teen group, “Give Me Jesus,” has become a message of Jesus’ love to the youth of the world. After the Columbine tragedy, Shanita re-dedicated “Give Me Jesus” to all the American youth, and finally to the children and young adults of the world, after the terrorist attacks last September.

“What do we tell these kids when they come here for an answer? 
What do we tell these kids when their hearts beat just like thunder? 
What do we tell these kids who’ve been victims of a terror? 
What do we tell these kids who are afraid and left to wonder?
What do we give them when the world turns its back?…
We’re going to give them Jesus! Oh, no matter what the problems be, let’s unite all families. 
That’s what we give to them. Jesus be my best friend.”

“I started writing “Give Me Jesus” in August 1998 for the youth of my parish but for some reason I couldn’t finish the song,” Shanita said. “Then, after the Columbine tragedy in April 1999, I realized how much the youth of today need Jesus in their lives. I finished the song two days later. The question what do we tell these kids when terrible things happen is really at the heart of the song. The answer was staring me right in the face: Jesus! God placed this song in my heart during prayer before it was ever put on paper.”

The youth of Shanita’s parish not only helped inspire her music, they also helped her produce it. On “My Soul Sings,” Shanita asked three students from Our Lady of Perpetual of Help School, including her son Brock, 11, to sing backup for her in “Seeking God.” Shanita dedicated the song to the children of the parish school and also to their pastor, Fr. Bob Phelps. “He jumped for joy when he first heard this song. Thank you, Fr. Bob,” she said.

“Children learn what they live.
Go and teach them how to give
Children learn what they hear.
O Mother, draw them near…
All this time spent in prayer, listen now to what we share.”

The songs born in Shanita’s soul are reflected by her family’s love for her. Their unwavering support was a constant reminder to her of God’s presence along her journey to becoming a Catholic singer. Shanita received a strong faith from her parents, and knew from the start that she and her husband were a “match made in heaven” and their children were “blessings from God.”

And, for the woman whose music has been recognized by Catholic and secular media, and has reached people across the state and now the country, nothing matters more to Shanita than her God. The acknowledgement by the Hawaii Catholic Herald, Honolulu Star-Bulletin and various radio and TV stations and bookstores throughout the islands have only clarified the spiritual mission behind her music: “to You my soul sings.”

“Not my will anymore.
You gave my life new meaning, helped me see things clearly. 
You came to me in silence now this song’s complete.
You showed me where I had faltered, brought me knees to the altar, gave me daily bread.
My one and only desire is to live Your will for my life…to You my soul sings.”

- Mary Lovee Klipp