Raiatea Helm's third album is called "Hawaiian Blossom."

She's 22. She's toured internationally for the past three years. She's sporting a stylish new look, far removed from that of the smiling teenager with the 'ukulele on the cover of her second disc "Sweet & Lovely." She's got music-biz heavyweights like Mick Fleetwood and Mainland producers on speed dial.

That new disc, out on Tuesday? On it, Helm, noticeably more mature of voice, takes on little-heard, traditional Hawaiian compositions by some of the genre's greatest songwriters, a few new songs written just for her by well-known local composers, and even a lush jazz tune.

Better believe "Hawaiian Blossom" has some meaning behind it.

"At this moment in my life, I am actually blossoming," said Helm. "I was a little 17-year-old girl when I did my first album, and now I'm almost 23. 'Hawaiian Blossom' pretty much describes the songs and my new look as a young woman.

"I think it's my best (work) so far. ... I really like listening to myself mature."

True, each one of the 13 tracks on "Hawaiian Blossom" showcases how time on stage and on the road since her last disc have seasoned Helm's youthful, still-evolving voice. Dig deeper into the track list, however, and you'll also find a maturity in song selection and subject matter.

On "Blossom," Helm doesn't rock out like she has in recent months with the guys in Fleetwood's Island Rumours Band, or dive full-on into the jazz standards she loves and would like to do a full disc of someday.

But for the thousands of folks who fell for the nahenahe leo ki'eki'e (falsetto) stylings of "Sweet & Lovely" and her debut, "Far Away Heaven," "Hawaiian Blossom" will be sonic nirvana.

What follows is the story of how that little girl from Moloka'i with the big voice and a Grammy nomination for her hugely successful second CD got to work on her third.

Lesson No. 1? Forget about that Grammy nomination.

"It didn't add any pressure. It didn't even occur to me," said Helm, about the effect a best Hawaiian music album Grammy nomination for "Sweet & Lovely" had on her when she started work on "Blossom." "After working with (co-producer) Dave Tucciarone on the second album, I was just ready for some hard work."

Hard work is something Na Hoku Hanohano award-winning producer Tucciarone demands. In his own genial, low-key way.

"I expected her to come in with a more mature voice. So I wanted her to sing even better and more challenging things than she sang on ('Sweet & Lovely')," said Tucciarone. "That was kind of hard, because she sang a lot of challenging things on that album and did really well with them.

"So I basically tried to capitalize on her new maturity and experiences she had singing out live. ... She made that fairly easy for me."

Still, "We worked really hard," said Helm. "I was less stressed on this album because I knew what to expect. ... (But) it was tough."

SELECTION PROCESS

Twice Grammy-award-nominated vocalist Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom — who dabbles in other musical genres but still hews closest to traditional Hawaiian compositions — remembered her third album "Hanaiali'i — Contemporary Hawaiian" as one where she felt she had to show some musical growth.

"The hard thing about releasing albums every year is, one, taking care of your fan base, and two, reinventing yourself and keeping things fresh and new. I write all of my own compositions, so I'm always looking to better myself in writing," said Gilliom. "My third album (was about) bettering myself, staying on top of it, keeping it fresh and (making) my compositions better."

Helm's third disc was on her mind as soon as "Sweet & Lovely" came out in December 2004. The demands of touring behind its immediate success, however, stifled any concrete plans.

Helm's 2003 debut disc "Far Away Heaven" laid solid groundwork for her music career, gaining her several Na Hoku nominations, and two wins — including a surprise female vocalist of the year trophy. It also garnered lots of attention for her young but potent falsetto. She was just 17 when it was recorded; on "Far Away" Helm had barely been singing a year.

A more polished, patiently crafted and mature work, "Sweet & Lovely" changed the game further for Helm, winning her four Na Hoku awards (including another female vocalist prize) and the Grammy nomination.

Helm didn't begin seriously considering what she would do for a third album until late 2005.

"Around then, my dad, my mother and myself got together and came up with the song list," she said, describing the Helm family process that kicks off every disc. "It took a couple of months to get all of that together and do our homework."

Leave out a couple of songs written specifically for Helm, and the original list still totaled more than 30 songs. These were winnowed down to 14 — nearly all of them, according to Helm, rarely heard or little recorded gems.

"When recording Hawaiian music, (I like) to do songs that kupuna and people haven't heard in a long time or haven't heard at all," said Helm. "And there are thousands of songs out there that haven't been recorded. What's cool about that is the reaction you get from people, like, 'Wow! It's been a long time since I heard that song!' or 'Where did you find that?' "

For her fresh selections, she chose "Na Beauty O Kaua'i" from a list of songs given her by longtime friend and mentor Tony Conjugacion. Songwriter Puakea Nogelmeier wrote "Poi 'Awa'awa" for Helm shortly after they'd met for the first time. Louis "Moon" Kauakahi of The Makaha Sons — Helm's 2003-04 Mainland tourmates — wrote "Lei Kukui" specifically about her.

PERFECTIONIST

Helm entered Tucciarone's O'ahu studio last June, flying from her home on Maui on Tuesdays and Thursdays to record.

Recording the disc's final 13 tracks would take nine months. Studio time would be wedged in with Helm's demanding performance schedule and a two-month bout with a cold earlier this year that left her unable to sing.

On a handful of other days, Tucciarone would simply send her home if he felt her voice wasn't at its best.

He'd done the same on "Sweet & Lovely."

"I would get irritated. I would get so mad," said Helm, recalling work on that disc. "But I learned from him that you always have to look at the project as something that will be out there forever. You can never fix it again. It has to be perfect."

Explained Tucciarone: "She learned to be patient with the process. On ("Sweet & Lovely") she would get so down on herself when she'd come in to sing on one day and it wouldn't sound as good on another day. My thing was wanting every song to sound as good as the next. If something wasn't right about today, don't worry about it. Let's just cut for the day."

"Dave is a perfectionist. ... There were a lot of days when I had to go home," said Helm, laughing, about work this time around on "Hawaiian Blossom." "But I was OK with it. I knew it was going to pay off in the end."

And it does. At least if you believe Tucciarone and Helm.

"It's probably a little more natural, a little better than the last one," said Tucciarone of "Hawaiian Blossom." "The pace of the CD is perhaps a bit slower. There's not a whole lot of high-energy things on (it). But she's working with a lot of different styles from song to song.

"It manages to be very cohesive as a whole without stepping too far out of her boundary and becoming something other than what Raiatea is."

Said Helm of her in-studio maturity: "I've come to the point where I really feel my music. When I listen to it, I feel it emotionally. ... And I know that I'm going to get better and better."

ALL THAT JAZZ

Asked if she'd begun thinking of her next album yet, Helm shot out an only-half-joking "are-you-kidding-me?" look.

She does, however, want to do an all-jazz album someday. "Sweet & Lovely" and "Hawaiian Blossom" each contain a single jazz-infused track, and Helm would like to do more.

She found a well-connected fan of the idea in Grammy-winning producer Russ Titelman (Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton), whom she met at the Kaua'i Music Festival four years ago.

"We're in touch every year, just to drop a line and see how the other is doing," said Helm. "He told me, 'Raiatea, whenever you're ready to do a jazz album just let me know.' "

The Island Rumours Band, which Fleetwood personally asked Helm to be a part of, is still on, after making a debut at the Diamond Head Crater Festival this year. Occasional dates will be part of Helm's touring schedule.

"I've talked to Mick and he knows that my music is first. It's difficult because we have Uncle Willie (K), Eric (Gilliom) and Lopaka Colón; and everybody has their own thing going on," said Helm. "At the same time, we want something to happen with Mick's band."

For now, she said, it's just fun.

"Not in my lifetime have I ever thought that I would be doing rock 'n' roll," she said, smiling wide. "It's opened a brand new scene for me."

That raises the question of whether Helm imagined she would always keep her career tethered to the traditional Hawaiian music and lyrics that have fueled her success.

"I see music as being everything. Music is huge. And for me to just stick to Hawaiian, I don't think will be possible," she said. "Hawaiian music is my first love. At the same time, I still want to explore and expand my horizons and try new things."

For now, however, Hawaiian music remains her focus.

"With Hawaiian music, I'm fortunate that I get to use it to travel and show people what it is," she said. "The main reason I love Hawaiian music and record it is for people to understand that we need to keep it going ... keep the tradition going.

"Bringing some of this music back now is a gift. And I'm so fortunate to carry that."

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.