HILARY HOSIA
Before his debut performance at the Remembering Nito’s Butterfly Foundation Concert earlier this month at Jitak En, Palau’s Kendall Titiml was already a big hit in the United States following his musical journey onto the big screen as a “Voice of McDonald’s” contender.
The Voice of McDonald’s is an international competition among McDonald’s employees across the globe that had viewers vote for their favorite artist. His natural approach and passion for music led him to represent the United States — a gigantic step for a Micronesian singer.
The gig landed Kendall on major television shows, including a performance and interview on the Daily Buzz with famous American artist Keke Palmer.
In the video interview on the Daily Buzz, Kendall explained how life is like coming from a place surrounded by ocean to a place surrounded by corn, which was Wayne, Nebraska.
Kendall was born in Palau into a family of musicians. He fell in love with music at a young age and propelled himself into becoming an artist.
Kendall followed in his older brother’s footstep and attended Xavier High School in Chuuk. He joined the Xavier Pride band and helped sing the famous “50 plus 1” song that many listeners thought was composed by musicians from Guam after a cover song using the Xavier Pride hit went viral.
After graduation from Xavier, Kendall again followed his brother’s footsteps to Nebraska. It was there that Kendall attended college while his brother served in the US Army. Since then, Kendall has been making music. Which led to his being chosen to represent his county in the international competition Voice of McDonald’s.
Kendall’s connection to RMI is through his half brother Steve Titiml, who is married to Doreen deBrum, grandmother of Nito, who passed away a year ago at the age of three from a rare blood disease.
His younger sister Eleanor Titiml joined Kendall — she flew in from the US as a surprise guest for the show. Like her older siblings, Eleanor, who is known as “Elei,” is into music. Her passion also led her to Xavier High School, where she, too, became a part of the school music band.
Elei is one of 11 Gates Millennium Scholars who graduated from Xavier.
In short, when you place Kendall with other Micronesian artists, he’s like a titan among artists.
Before departing back to Palau, Kendall said he was thankful for the opportunity to help start the beginning of a great organization, Nito’s Butterly Foundation.
Read more about this in the February 24, 2017 edition of the Marshall Islands Journal.