This week's Etc. is all about talent — some established, some on the rise.

First, the ones you know: Jeff Peterson, Raiatea Helm, Chino Montero, Steve Jones, and hula dancer Capella William are giving a sendoff concert next Friday night at The Willows restaurant. The following week they'll embark on what Peterson calls a "groundbreaking" tour in China, where they'll be joined by Keola and Moana Beamer.

"It will be called Hawaii Night at the Shangri-La," Peterson said. "The main event will be a gala celebration with a prestigious audience of attendees from the Chinese government and leaders in the Chinese business community. It's going to be a wonderful opportunity to introduce Hawaiian music and culture to a new audience." ...

Speaking of new, it's tough not to be impressed with The Throwdowns, a Maui band with lead vocalist Erin Smith sounding a lot like Gwen Stefani and a mixture of ska and No Doubt. The group came to O'ahu last weekend to catch Taking Back Sunday at Pipeline Café and did some impromptu meet-and-greets with media. How smart are they? They brought Krispy Kremes and copies of their recently released "Don't Slow Down" CD. We liked the doughnuts, but enjoyed the music even more. Their "Kihei Town" single is already garnering airplay, and Smith said they're in negotiations with record labels. Another sign they're on the rise is they were guests of Bamp Project, the local promoters who like to bring in talent on the verge of getting big. (The Plain White T's, All-American Rejects and 3OH!3, to name a few.) The weekend trip worked in other ways, too. Earlier this week Bamp signed them to open at Band Camp VII for The Fray and Panic At The Disco. Check them out at www.myspace.com/thethrowdownsmaui. ...

Noah Juan must feel like he struck gold. The 1999 Saint Louis grad won the YouTube competition for a chance to perform a duet with Hawaiian music star Amy Hanaiali'i. He's going to join her on a soon-to-be-announced Hawai'i tour. His winning performance can be watched at http://www.youtube.com/amyhanaialii. ...

Props to Pipeline Café owner Greg Azus for sticking with the "Pipeline's Got Talent" contest that wrapped up Tuesday.

The first night of the competition four weeks ago barely drew a crowd, but the high level talent for Tuesday's finale drew a few hundred patrons. Stasia Conger, who sang her original song "Bad Dream," scored 29 out of a possible 30 from three judges (including a 10 from TGIF's own Kawehi Haug) to win the trip for two to Las Vegas. Azus said he's going to plan another talent competition soon. If it continues to uncover talent like Conger and a few others, we say bring it on. ...

TGIF has joined the Twitter world. Follow us at http://www.twitter.com/TGIF_HonAdv for updates, live reviews and whatever else we cross paths with. You can also follow Kawehi, our resident foodie and entertainment writer at http://www.twitter.com/Kawehi. ...