It took Amy Hanaiali'i less than two weeks to record 16 duets with male artists from Hawai'i for her latest CD, "Friends & Family of Hawai'i," which drops in stores Aug. 25.

One of the tracks, "Everybody Plays The Fool," with Rebel Souljahz, is now playing on 98.5 FM.

But we promise you this: As good as that song is, it's not the best track on the CD.

That distinction belongs to Hanaiali'i's duet with Willie Nelson, a remake of Van Morrison's "Have I Told You Lately."

To put it bluntly, it would be a suprise if this one doesn't crack the national music charts and eventually show up on TV or movies soundtracks. It has commercial appeal.

It's like Bruddah Iz and how his rendition of "What a Wonderful World" was so different, yet similar, to Louis Armstrong's raspy original. You can't help but like them both.

With Nelson leading off the vocals and Matt Catingub tweaking the musical arrangement, Hanaiali'i has gone country without forgetting her Hawaiian roots. The 16-track CD includes nine Hawaiian and seven contemporary songs.

Fiji, Keali'i Reichel, Robert Cazimero, Eric Gilliom, Dennis Kamakahi, Darren Benitez, Nathan Aweau, Martin Pahinui Trio, Palani Vaughan, Kaumakaiwa Kanaka'ole, John Cruz and Henry Kapono also perform with her.

But the highlight track is with Willie. Remarkably, combining a country legend with the reigning First Lady of Hawaiian Music has churned out something magical, and it will likely end up exposing more country music fans to Hawaiian music.

"That's what I'm hoping for," Hanaiali'i said. "I want to expose more people to Hawaiian music. I have to say Willie was just incredible to work with, very gracious. After I finished singing, he just looked at me and said 'you sound mighty fine, darlin'."

Hanaiali'i said this album is also her way of resurfacing. She went underground following the Grammy Awards about six months ago to spend time with her family.

"This," she said of the CD, "was my way of coming out again. I'm pushing the launch of this one hard."

These are good times for Hanaiali'i. She recently attended record mogul Clive Davis' birthday party as a guest of Jamie Foxx, where she rubbed elbows with everyone from Chris Brown to Chris Rock. She sat at a table with former American Idols Fantasia Barrino and Jennifer Hudson, and said she had Whitney Houston perform "two feet in front of me."

"What a night!" she wrote on her Facebook page.

Yep. And it looks like it's only going to get better.