{"id":251679,"date":"2017-05-05T06:06:22","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T20:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=251679"},"modified":"2017-05-05T06:06:22","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T20:06:22","slug":"last-not-always-least","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/last-not-always-least\/","title":{"rendered":"Last is not always least"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Larry<\/a>
Larry Joe Naputi, the 2017 Chamolinian Jam Contest winner. \u201cI just do what I do and hope for the best\u201d he said. (BEA CABRERA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Larry Joe Naputi specifically asked that he be called last during the 2017 Chamolinian Jam Contest at the Flame Tree Festival last April 22.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was working the night of the contest. I went to the venue early to tell the emcee I would probably be late so put me last,\u201d said Naputi.<\/p>\n

He was also the last to register for the contest. <\/p>\n

\u201cI learned about the contest less than a week before it was going to happen. Although I was busy at work, I was game. I didn\u2019t practice and I just wanted to try.\u201d<\/p>\n

That worked like a charm. Twenty-three-year-old Naputi bagged all the categories meant for five different individuals: Best Stage Presence, Best Performance, Best Vocals, Best Lyrics, and Best Original Composition.<\/p>\n

April 22, 2017, was indeed an unforgettable night for Naputi and for the people who watched and listened to him on stage. Naputi went on to be declared the winner of the inaugural Chamolinian Jam Contest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the first year of the Chamolinian Jam Contest and we are happy about the turnout in the number of participants. The success of the first one has inspired us to organize another one for the next Flame Tree Arts Festival,\u201d said Marianas Association president John Concepcion. \u201cAll the participants were very talented but it was Larry Joe who stood out.\u201d <\/p>\n

Naputi, who was the last to perform as he\u2019d requested, sang Could This Be Love, an original song he and his sister had written in English, but he sang in Chamorro that night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a 15-minute break from work so I rushed to the contest still wearing my work vest, had white dust on my body, and hard hat. They called my name and I went up the stage. I took off my vest, sat down, played my guitar and started to sing. I was in my zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naputi later went back to work. Twenty minutes after he sang on stage, he received a phone call saying that he won the contest and all the categories. <\/p>\n

\u201cI almost dropped the wrench that I was holding after I found out that I won,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I went back to the venue to claim my prize.\u201d <\/p>\n

Naputi was a grand slam winner, having won all the categories. \u201cIt\u2019s never about the trophy. I just took the initiative and set an example. I want to share my talent and give the message to all hidden talents and Saipan has a lot. It is good to let it out. Show what you\u2019ve got. Show what you are passionate about. Sing. Sing your heart out.\u201d <\/p>\n

Naputi\u2019s family was his early influence in music and they could not be more happy with what this young man has achieved. \u201cMy family is proud of me. I am surrounded by a family that is into music. My cousin Bo Yamada taught me how to play the guitar. They continue to inspire me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naputi defied the odds and his passion for music always pushes him through. \u201cI read this quote that says \u2018Success begins at the end of your comfort zone.\u2019 It reminds me that I have a purpose and whatever that is, all I know is that music will always be part of me.\u201d <\/p>\n

Last to register for the contest, last to sing on stage, but still ended up as the big winner. For Naputi, that\u2019s just about right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Larry Joe Naputi specifically asked that he be called last during the 2017 Chamolinian Jam…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":251718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[900],"tags":[16684,16685,413,16686],"class_list":["post-251679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-best-stage-presence","tag-chamolinian-jam-contest","tag-music","tag-twenty-three-year-old-naputi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}