Raiatea Helm, who was a teen when her CD "Far Away Heaven" was unveiled in 2003, has blossomed into a stylish, business-minded 24-year-old who has made tough choices to carve her niche in Hawaiian music.

"Life is good; there have been many changes and choices made," she said last week as she was driving on Maui to meet dad Zachary Helm for lunch at the new Zippy's in Kahului. "I goin' have chili frank."

Helm, the only two-time female Hawaiian Music Grammy nominee from the Islands, performs tomorrow at the Hawai'i Theatre. It's her only full-fledged Honolulu concert this year and belatedly ends her "Hawaiian Blossom" tour, named after her nominated album.

"We wanted to do this show last April or May, but the Hawai'i Theatre was booked," she said. "So we had to pick a date in the fall."

'STILL TITA' UNDERNEATH

Her Web site, www.raiateahelm.com, displays her seductive on-stage makeover look.

"Retro, yeah?" she said of the duds and the 'do.

"But I'm still tita, especially when I go home to Moloka'i. I don't wear makeup. Just be me," she said. "I talked to one of my uncles and he said, 'When you go Honolulu, gotta dress up, yeah?' I don't mind. It comes with the package."

By package, she means her overall demeanor as one of the songbirds in an elite galaxy of women performers. One with a delicate yet rigorous falsetto voice, when she wants to ramp up the upper registers.

"It's a big responsibility," Helm said about her determination to cut her own path toward a career that embraces Hawaiian tradition and sharing it with folks nationally and abroad.

For several years now she has been applauded by and compared to the late Aunty Genoa Keawe, the veteran falsetto singer, who died Feb. 25.

Helm in no way is trying to be her successor, but she's carrying the torch — and continuing the legacy on her own terms — that Keawe lit for about 70 years.

"At 24, I'm still a kid," she said. "So when I made a decision to make changes in how and what I do, I remember Tony C. (Conjugacion) saying, 'Baby, are you sure you want to do this?' I want to; I devote 110 percent of my energy because of and for my music; the music represents not only me, but where I come from. But I want to have fun, too, and I may do some stupid things, but at a very young age, I had to make some hard choices. And now, everything's going well."

OUTGROWING OLD WAYS

A real toughie was to separate family from career.

"It was hard, it was sooooooo hard," Helm said of her decision — a tone of remorse and optimism in her voice — to remove her dad, sometimes-musician Zachary Helm, as a touring member of her band.

"He had been with me from the very beginning," she said. "But we both decided to keep our relationship father-daughter. It was difficult and I had to do it, because my dad can take me only so far. So we're good now; as a solo artist, I made the choice. Sooner or later, you outgrow people, and now, my dad's happy, with a job on Maui, and I'm busy, too. It's all OK."

For her band, she hand-picked some stellar Island talent who have provided support on her earlier tour and will be part of the weekend action. The crew includes ki ho'alu guitarist Jeff Peterson, pianist Aaron Sala, ukulele stylist Bryan Tolentino and bassist Steve Jones.

"I just want to make good music, make people happy," said Helm. "And having Jeff on our tour of the West Coast, it was great; he's so cool. And a Grammy winner, too."

LOVE AND SUPPORT

There's a boyfriend in the picture, too, which probably adds to the happy equation. The relationship "is strong ... he helps me a lot," said Helm. He often travels with her.

She's also aligned herself with some powerhouse greats she admired as a kid, from whom she now is learning as she grows.

Her guests? Veterans Keola Beamer, Jerry Santos and O'Brian Eselu and his Halau Ke Kai O Kahiki.

"Keola is so nice, wonderful. I met him at the Floating Lantern Festival, and from that moment on, we've talked about collaborating, so I'm meeting up with him about a project we'll do together next year," she said. "He mentioned that I've brought that energy back, making music again. He's been in the industry for 30 years or so, and I respect his talent. He's such a perfectionist; he motivates me. And I'm trying to do everything right; I don't want to step on toes."

She's admired Jerry Santos from afar and recorded "E Ku'u Sweet Lei Poina 'Ole," a tune by Auntie Emma de Fries and long linked to Santos and Olomana partner (now deceased) Robert Beaumont, on "Hawaiian Blossom."

"I went to him (Santos) because his company has the rights to the tune, and asked his permission to record it," said Helm. "That's the correct thing to do; a courtesy."

She recalls hearing the song while growing up on Kaua'i, spending summers with her mother and tutu.

Eselu, a kumu with a glorious track record, is a longtime friend. "We talk a lot of the phone; he shares ideas about music. Having these talks makes me so part of this industry. And he's bringing six of the handsomest men in Hawai'i from his halau; and they're all straight and all married!"

Helm is not currently enrolled in school, because of a looming project expected to be announced Oct. 13. "It's hush hush now, but when it comes out, I'll be really busy," she said. "And for the rest of this year — October, November and December — I'll be recording again, hoping to release an album in the spring. I'll tour again in the spring, going to 10 or 11 cities on the East Coast. Then I tour Seattle and San Diego in April and May, with a Japan tour next summer. So I got a bunch of stuff on my plate."