Aidan Laprete
Aidan James Laprete Powell (born September 6, 2001) is an American singer, musician, record producer and actor. Early life. Laprete was born on September 6, 2001, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Laprete's first time acting was at the age of 18 months in a TV pilot, "The Break". He continued to do commercials as a child. Laprete started playing the ukulele at age four, and started to sing at age eight. He started performing at age six in children's groups at local ukulele festivals. Musical style. The ukulele, played as a pop instrument rather than in traditional Hawaiian  style, is his trademark. He has said, "I want to be able to show the ukulele to everybody and be able to show that you can do anything with it." After rebranding to Laprete from Aidan James in 2020, he changed his sound completely, now being labeled as alternative pop music with electronic, hip hop, ambient, and UK garage influences. His influences include Jon Bellion, The 1975, Bon Iver, Jai Paul, and Sevdaliza. In live performances, James uses a Boss RC-300 to create loops live on the spot, Roland SPD-SX to trigger samples, Ableton Live, and TC Helicon's  Voicelive 3 for ukulele and singing effects. Music career. 2010–2012. At age eight, James performed the song "Hey Soul Sister" by Train at the 2010 Ukulele Festival. On July 19, 2010, a video of this performance was uploaded by "elrollo79" onto YouTube. The video quickly went viral and has received over twenty million views. The video got the attention of a number of popular artists, among them Jack Johnson and Mick Fleetwood as well as Train's Pat Monahan who is reported to have called it his favorite cover version of the song. Jack Johnson asked James to be a  part of the 2010 Kokua Festival. James played at the keiki stage at the festival. In 2010, James was approached by producer and creator of the 2010 remake of "Hawaii Five-0", Peter Lenkov, and was asked to be on an episode of the program. James was featured in episode 5, Season 1 singing "Hey Soul Sister". 2012–2014: "One of the Ones" and "Live Again EP". James can be seen in Train's music video for their song "Mermaid", which was filmed in Honolulu. The video premiered on February 27, 2013. On February 24, 2014, James released his first single, "One  of the Ones", with Nashville composer Jeff Dayton. The single was recorded at Island Sound Studios in Honolulu and was produced by Gaylord Holomalia. In mid 2014, James went on a solo tour independently to the east and west coast promoting his single. In Washington, he performed on the steps of the Capitol Hill and did a private performance at the Google Headquarters. In Los Angeles, he performed at the House of Blues Voodoo Lounge. In New York, he joined HAPA at the Subculture NY. He traveled to Japan, playing at the Hard Rock Cafe, Shibuya Kokaido, and several music  festivals. On December 25, 2014, James's debut EP, "Live Again" was released. The EP consists of 4 tracks. It was reviewed in local magazine "MidWeek", with Bill Mossman saying: "The four-song album represents James's maiden voyage into unchartered waters as a fast-maturing artist. His voice is deeper and more refined, while his playing chops are rhythmically and tastefully on fleek (as teenagers his age might say). And although the cuteness factor is still present on the album, thanks to his pop rock-friendly melodies, James's growth as a musician can be heard in his burgeoning  songwriting abilities". A Hawaiian magazine, MidWeek, did a cover story on James titled "How Aidan James Became One of Earth's Mightiest Heroes". The story was about him being featured in HBO's documentary, Saving My Tomorrow. James has opened for Lisa Loeb, Jake Shimabukuro, Michael Bolton and Jack Johnson. 2015–2016. James's debut album "Echoes" was released on December 1, 2015, with eleven tracks produced by Imua Garza, Brandon Apeles, and Gaylord Holomalia. James joined the lineup for Train's 2016 Sail Across the Sun cruise which included Phillip Phillips, Michael Franti, Andy Grammer, and Shaggy. James was interviewed  by ABC News and 3 music videos of James were featured at Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series in Central Park on July 22, 2016. 2017–present. On March 29, 2017, James was featured on an episode of HBO's "Saving My Tomorrow". James released the single, "What My Friends Talk About" on December 8, 2017, with distribution from Create Music Group. On May 18, 2018, the single "Casanova", a collaboration between James and Chosen Jacobs, was released. It was written and produced by James and Jacobs. In 2019, he produced and co-wrote the album, "Head To Head  by singer Grayson. The EP was released on May 10, 2019, on One Half Records". The project features production and writing from Laprete. "Head To Head" received support from outlets including "Billboard", calling the single a "synth pop jam". Songs from the album were placed on multiple Spotify editorial playlists including "Out Now" and "Transcend". Aidan changed his artist name to Laprete in August 2019. On August 23, 2019, the single "Ina" was released. The EP, "Sanguine", was released on July 31, 2020. Recent production credits from Laprete includes "Lottery" by actress/singer Breana Raquel, the self-titled EP from  alt-pop band Peøria, and "Better Man" by singer-songwriter Grayson.