Candi Shell Reborn as sirdanpaul: «Shapeshifter» Debut Album Out Now on Streaming

After ten years as one of Hawai'i's best-loved drag queens, Dan Paul Roberts is finally singing as himself and he's got plenty to say!

For the better part of a decade, Honolulu audiences knew him as Candi Shell — a beloved fixture of the island’s drag scene. But on 1 October 2026, his birthday no less, Dan Paul Roberts ripped up the script and released «Shapeshifter», his debut album under the name sirdanpaul.

And what a comeback it is. It’s his first record in more than ten years, and the first he’s ever made as himself.

From open mic to opening for a bounce legend

Just two weeks after the album landed, sirdanpaul took to the stage at the historic Hawaiʻi Theatre last Thursday (15 October), opening Big Freedia’s Honolulu Pride Concert, warming up a packed Pride crowd ahead of the Queen of Bounce herself.

Not bad for a name that was born at a Monday night open mic at Hula’s Bar & Lei Stand in Waikīkī.

The album itself was toasted with a birthday release bash back at Hula’s, the very bar where the sirdanpaul moniker first saw the light of day.

«A painful personal transition»

«Shapeshifter» is a sprawling 15-track alternative and art-pop record, pulling in dance, rock and hip-hop along the way. It was written during what Roberts candidly calls «a painful personal transition», with the songs swinging between raw vulnerability, political fury and full-throated reclamation.

At its heart lies a decade-long journey: from strutting the stage as Candi Shell to stepping out under his own name for the first time in over ten years.

«Candi and sirdanpaul aren’t competing identities. They’re different forms of expression», Roberts explained. «There were things I needed to say that didn’t belong to Candi. This album is where I get to say them».

The tracks to watch

There’s star power in the mix too: Nemina Moon guests on «Ambrosia», while Texas-based producer Jeremy Dean Henry (of Haus of Glitch) closes the record with a remix of «Yellow Lights (All I Knew)».

On the album’s lead offering, Roberts pulled no punches: «‘Luxury Anxiety’ is about owning my privilege (a roof, health insurance, a creative outlet) while still saying this is an anthem for anyone struggling to get by, because in America right now, that’s most of us».

What’s next

Who is sirdanpaul?

Originally from Wichita Falls, Texas, Roberts is a University of North Texas graduate (BFA in Drawing and Painting) who released two full-length albums as Dan Paul while living in New York, picking up three OUTmusic Award nominations in 2015 along the way. He moved to Honolulu, where Candi Shell became a local legend.

Now, more than a decade on, he’s finally making music on his own terms.

«Shapeshifter» is available now on all major streaming platforms.

Source: Press release