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Aidan Laprete

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Aidan Laprete
Born
Aidan James Laprete Powell

(2001-09-06) September 6, 2001 (age 23)
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Other namesLaprete, Aidan James
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
  • musician
  • record producer
Years active2010–present
Websitelapretemusic.com

Aidan James Laprete Powell (born September 6, 2001) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. As an actor, he is known for his role as Henry Tanaka in The Wilds.

Early life

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Laprete was born on September 6, 2001, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Laprete first started acting in commercials as a child. Laprete started playing the ukulele at age four,[1] and started to sing at age eight. He started performing at age six in children's groups at local ukulele festivals.[2]

Career

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At age eight, Laprete 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.[3] The video quickly went viral and has received over twenty million views.[4] 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.[5] Laprete can be seen in Train's music video for their song Mermaid, which was filmed in Honolulu. The video premiered on February 27, 2013.[6]

In 2014, Laprete released his first single under the artist name Aidan James. He went on a solo tour independently to the east and west coast promoting the music. In Washington, D.C., he performed on the steps of the Capitol Hill and did a private performance at the Google Headquarters.[7]

A Hawaiian magazine, MidWeek, did a cover story on Laprete 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.[5] Laprete's debut album under the name Aidan James was released on December 1, 2015, featuring the song written for the show.[8]

He joined the lineup for Train's 2016 Sail Across the Sun cruise, along with Phillip Phillips, Michael Franti, Andy Grammer, and Shaggy.[9]

Laprete was interviewed by ABC News and 3 of his music videos were featured at Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series in Central Park on July 22, 2016.[10]

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.[11] He currently releases and produces music under the name Laprete.[12]

As an actor, Laprete has appeared in a variety of TV shows and films including Chad, Everything's Gonna Be Okay, Alexa and Katie, and Under the Blood Red Sun.

In 2022, Laprete played the role of Henry Tanaka in the second season of the Amazon Prime Video series, The Wilds. Entertainment Weekly praised his performance, calling Laprete a "standout" amongst the ensemble cast.[13]

Musical style

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The ukulele, played as a pop instrument rather than in traditional Hawaiian style, is his trademark.[1] 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."[14] 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,[10] 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.[15]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2011 The Short List Christian Short film series
2011 Shave Ice Is Nice Little Brother Short film
2014 Under The Blood Red Sun Rico
2024 This Too Shall Pass TBA
2025 Swiped TBA Post-production

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 Hawaii Five-0 Self Episode: "Ko'olauloa"
2015 Saving My Tomorrow Self Episode: "Part 4"; also composer of song "Back To Where We Came From"
2016 Adam DeVine's House Party Aidan Episode: "Sidekicks"
2018 Alexa & Katie Boy Episode: "Basketball"
2021 Chad Kevin Episode: "K-POP"
2021 Everything's Gonna Be Okay Warren Episode: "Banded Argiope Spider"
2022 The Wilds Henry Tanaka Main role

References

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  1. ^ a b "Teen sensation Aidan James makes Kona debut at book signing". West Hawaii Today. March 6, 2015. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  2. ^ "More Than Cute". MidWeek. January 14, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  3. ^ elrollo79 (July 19, 2010). "Aidan James – 8 year old covers Train, Hey Soul Sister!". YouTube. Retrieved March 7, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Fourteen-Year-Old Local Singer-Songwriter Aidan James Releases First Full-Length Album 'Echoes'". Hawaii News Now. November 27, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "How Aidan James Became One Of Earth's Mightiest (And Cutest) Heroes". MidWeek. April 14, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  6. ^ TrainVEVO (February 27, 2013). Train - Mermaid (Official Music Video). Retrieved December 7, 2024 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Rojas, Warren; Rieger, JM (July 24, 2014). "YouTube Star Performs at Taste of Hawaii". Roll Call. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Chang, Melissa (November 30, 2015). "Party pics: Aidan James' CD release party". Honolulu Magazine. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  9. ^ Sixthman. "Past Lineups". Sail Across the Sun. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Using His Ukulele, Hawaiian Rising Star Aidan James Aims for 'Unique Kind of Pop'". ABC News. July 22, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  11. ^ Casanova, retrieved December 7, 2024
  12. ^ "AIDAN LAPRETE ON ASIAN REPRESENTATION IN AMAZON'S 'THE WILDS,' MUSIC, ACTING AND MORE". A BOOK OF MAGAZINE. July 6, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  13. ^ "Let's hear it for the boys in 'The Wilds' season 2!". EW.com. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  14. ^ Berger, John (December 6, 2015). "Teenage ukulele player is a talented songwriter". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  15. ^ "Teenage Phenom Aidan James is Taking the Ukulele To New Places". Ukulele Magazine. July 24, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
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