Candice Maelani Heermance Davis
was born in Lana'i City, Hawai'i in 1985, and raised on the island of Molokai. She grew up surrounded by a family and community of singers and musicians, but one of her greatest influences will always be her mother Debbie Davis. She was a music director, choir conductor, organist, and pianist for the church she grew up singing in. She saw Candice's potential at a young age and constantly pushed her to perform publicly. Her mother taught her the fundamentals of reading and writing music, singing harmonies, and deeply rooted in her a love and respect for it. Her Grandmother Hannah Davis was also a beautiful sopranino singer and ukulele player whom Candice admired and learned from. There were always string instruments, sheets of music, and at least 1 piano in the home growing up. Although she was raised in a culture of church hymns, contemporary Hawaiian music and island reggae, Candice soon found herself being drawn to pop, rock, soul, blues, jazz and other genres that were on the radio or becoming popular. She participated in youth and adult choirs both in and out of school. Her first taste of a real stage came at the age of 15 when she, her older sister, and a close church friend started a vocal group, and won their school's talent show Brown Bags to Stardom, going on to represent their school in front of thousands at the state level competition held at the Waikiki Shell Concert Hall on Oahu. She was 1 of 3 students from her highschool who auditioned and were selected to join the Hawaii All-State Honors Choir. Some of her biggest influences in music have been songwriters and vocalists like Eva Cassidy, the Allman Bros., Meshell Ndegeocello, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Van Morrison, Chaka Khan, James Taylor, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, India Arie, Sade, and Lauryn Hill. As a kid growing up in Hawai'i, some of the local artists who have influenced her are Amy Hanaiali'i, Keali'i Reichel, Kalapana, The Brothers Cazimero, Cecelio & Kapono, Na Leo Pilimehana, and the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau.
After graduating, Candice began singing in her Uncle's classic rock band, performing for parties and events on Molokai. This lit a spark in her wanting to perform American Rock N Roll, although it would lie dormant for a few years. In 2003 she moved to the island of Kaua'i, where she continued her journey in discovering herself through music, this time performing reggae and at one point being the youngest member of the
\group "Version", underage, performing in local bars, and "learning the ropes". There was an incident where the venue owners found out she was under 21 and told her she had to leave. When the rest of the band heard this they began breaking down their equipment and packing up stating
"if she leaves we all leave". Needless to say they stayed and rocked the house that night. Candice has always been grateful to have been surrounded by strong minded players, and men that support women in this industry. She slowly began to learn the business side of music through friends and mentors who throughout her twenties, taught her it was possible to make money doing what she loved. At the age of 19 Candice had moved to Seattle, Washington and was performing in a 10 piece Motown band called "The Soul Proprietors", finding and honing her vocal qualities in soul singing and learning how to strengthen her stage presence. At 21 she moved back to Kaua'i and linked up with an old friend from back in her reggae days. The two wrote and recorded an all original reggae album titled "Risque Bizness", released in 2011. Candice then went on to start her solo career, and after being signed to a local label on Kaua'i, co-wrote and released her first R&B solo album "Do it right", which was one of the top 5 albums nominated in 2015 for a Na Hoku Hanohano Award in the category of "R&B Album of the Year". After a falling out with the label, Candice canceled her contract and decided it was time to do her own thing and "do it right". She was done with people telling her who to be and how to sing. Since 2014 Candice has been the lead singer of, songwriter for and sole proprietor of the band Candice & Company. She is currently in the studio recording her 3rd all original album soon to be released. The best part of this transition for her has been having complete control over what defines her as an artist.
"The people on that stage with me, I'm blessed to call my company. Our passions run deep, the smiles are genuine, each one crazy talented. And the music that I create with them is undeniable in being spiritually moving and connective. Sometimes with so much artistry and energy on one stage it's like herding kittens for me as a frontman and band director, but the reward is a feeling of a blessed union with these players and myself, like we're all chanting a powerful prayer together. The connection you feel as a spiritual being at a show is undeniable, it feels good, it feels natural. As an artist it allows for me to just be myself. Music is my gift from above, and I choose to use it to honor my ancestors and all they've gone through by sharing ALOHA with the world through my music."
- Candice