I AM STEL3R

If you have not heard, seen or read about her – its time to take notice.

The 31 year old singer songwriter, composer, business owner, entrepreneur and ex-military lass is a jack of all trades and working to master her musical talents.

Born in Fiji and residing in USA, Liona currently has over 10 thousand social media followers and increasing as she continues to write, produce and release her music on her social media pages – I AM STEL3R.

IKO MO LAKOVI was her first single that was released on national radio stations around Fiji and abroad and quickly picked up by local and international DJs. Clubs in the California area where she resides also picked up the song and quickly made its way to the club playlist.

Defining herself as a hopeless romantic the lyrics of the song was birthed on Valentine’s Day and at which time she was engaged.

‘I wanted to write a song that had no heartbreak but a love song that spoke of love in a respectful or protective manner and that would be easily relatable to the women demographic’

‘IKO MO LAKOVI is my interpretation of LOVE DANCE & POSITIVE VIBES!’

The vibes were positive enough to catch the ears of the one and only Ben Ryan who promoted the song through his twitter account.

The song also included local artist DRIXSTAR aka King Kokoroji - ‘Because I am new to the local music scene, I had to find a local artist that already had a fan base and one that would be the right fit – vocally and also shared the same visions or at-least respected mine – DRIXSTAR was the best choice made’ said Ms Hurstel

More of her songs can be found on her sound cloud page including her new dance single that was written and composed by her – SOMEBODY.

When asked local music critic about their thoughts of Liona – one had mentioned ‘the thing I love about her work is she writes on issues – issues with a splash of her Fijian identity’

Another song in the workshop to look out for is AU DAU DIVA which she has uploaded an unedited version on her facebook page and TOSO GA on her youtube page

The young artist says nothing beats the feeling of being in her element when making music and she draws her inspirations from the greats like Bob Marley, Vince Gill, George Fiji Veikoso, Maroon 5, Nickleback, Jonas Brothers, Mr Grin, Sammy G, Danny Rae Costello and Seru Serevi to name a few.

Liona has a colourful past spending most of her youth moving around Fiji, Australia and USA. She is the eldest daughter of Litea M Hurstel of Lakeba & Sea Captain Philippe Hurstel. She has two siblings Anne Marie Hurstel & Francois Hurstel. The family now reside in USA.

But like any rare gem it has to go through a fire to become the masterpiece it is today. Liona has had her shares of fires throughout her life from surviving sexual abuse at the age of 10 (which psychiatrists would say was the foundation of her rebel years as a teenager), expelled from various high schools, experimented with alcohol, drugs, by the age of 17 she was playing music in the streets of Australia. She has been kicked out the her own home, had her business which she started taken away from her, been sentenced to prison twice and spent a year on a friends couch.

‘I prefer to be a provider of music then being the greatest artist ever – I can only work to be best version of myself’ - Liona Hurstel

In 2008 she enlisted in the military as a Reserve National Guard and also attained her Human Resources Associates Degree from Santa Rosa Junior College in Petaluma.

After leaving the army in 2012, her past caught up with her again and she sentenced twice to prison for Driving Under the Influence. In 2017 after a disagreement with her mother, Liona was kicked out of home in USA and lead her to her home in Fiji. For a year she focused all her energy into her music.

Its now 2019 and her family business FIJI HOME CARE launched in 2008 is blooming, she has started a Marketing & Advertising Agency in California and her music career is growing every day! Liona is not only working on new content but also is moving to stage performances! If you are in California keep checking her page for her next live performance.