<P> In 1990 , Kamakawiwoʻole released his first solo album Ka ʻAnoʻi , which won awards for Contemporary Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts ( HARA ) . Facing Future was released in 1993 by The Mountain Apple Company . It featured his most popular song , the medley `` Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World '' , along with `` Hawaiʻi 78 '' , `` White Sandy Beach of Hawaiʻi '' , `` Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man '' , and `` Kaulana Kawaihae '' . The decision to include a cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow was said to be a last - minute decision by his producer Jon de Mello and him . Facing Future debuted at # 25 on Billboard magazine 's Top Pop Catalogue chart . On October 26 , 2005 , Facing Future became Hawaiʻi 's first certified platinum album , selling more than a million CDs in the United States , according to figures furnished by the Recording Industry Association of America . On July 21 , 2006 , BBC Radio 1 announced that `` Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World ( True Dreams ) '' would be released as a single in America . </P>
<P> In 1990 , Kamakawiwoʻole released his first solo album Ka ʻAnoʻi , which won awards for Contemporary Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts ( HARA ) . Facing Future was released in 1993 by The Mountain Apple Company . It featured his most popular song , the medley `` Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World '' , along with `` Hawaiʻi 78 '' , `` White Sandy Beach of Hawaiʻi '' , `` Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man '' , and `` Kaulana Kawaihae '' . The decision to include a cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow was said to be a last - minute decision by his producer Jon de Mello and him . Facing Future debuted at # 25 on Billboard magazine 's Top Pop Catalogue chart . On October 26 , 2005 , Facing Future became Hawaiʻi 's first certified platinum album , selling more than a million CDs in the United States , according to figures furnished by the Recording Industry Association of America . On July 21 , 2006 , BBC Radio 1 announced that `` Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World ( True Dreams ) '' would be released as a single in America . </P>
who is the hawaiian that sings somewhere over the rainbow
who is the hawaiian that sings somewhere over the rainbow
Kamakawiwoʻole
Kamakawiwoʻole