Hoku
Encyclopedia
Hōkū Christian Ho known simply as Hoku, is an American musician
, singer-songwriter, and actress. She is the daughter of noted Hawaii
an entertainer Don Ho
. Her most popular singles are "Another Dumb Blonde
," "How Do I Feel," and "Perfect Day."
in the state of Hawaii
, to Patti Swallie and Don Ho
. She is the seventh of Ho's 10 children; his union with Swallie, who used to sing in his show, produced another daughter, Kaimana Grace. Hoku's name means "star" in Hawaiian
. She is of European
, Polynesian
and Asian American
ancestry: Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese
, Dutch
and German
descent on her father's side and Hawaiian and Caucasian
descent on her mother's side.
Hoku attended Waikiki Elementary school then continued on to La Pietra: Hawaii School for Girls in Honolulu, Hawaii
and briefly studied business at Point Loma Nazarene University
in San Diego, California
, but left during her first semester.
", which was certified Gold, appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Snow Day. She later appeared on a Nickelodeon
special with many other stars, such as Britney Spears
, 'N Sync
, Sean Combs
, and Aaron Carter
. She also performed as a top billing performer in all of the Radio Disney Live! 2001 World Tour
concerts across the United States.
In 2000, she released her self-titled, debut album. In 2001 she recorded the song "Perfect Day", which was used as the theme song to the feature film
Legally Blonde
. This song was later featured in both JCPenney and Sandals Resorts commercials.
Hoku was scheduled to record a second albulm with Geffen, but it would never happen. Hoku soon parted ways with her label, Geffen Records
, because she did not want the image that the company created for her, which she felt went against her beliefs. Hoku decided to take a break from the music industry and was not heard from for five years.
with her husband Jeremy Clements (married in 1999) and their two children. Hoku gave birth to her second child in 2011. She often returned to Hawaii to perform with her father at his Don Ho
Show at the Waikīkī
Beachcomber Hotel in Honolulu, before he died in 2007.
With her husband, Hoku formed independent label Ola Vista Records in 2006; shortly thereafter released Listen Up, a five-song EP
to the iTunes Store
. Song titles included "If You Don't Want My Love", "Saturday Morning", "All I Need", "Closer", and "Listen Up".
In a blog post to her MySpace
profile in July 2008, Hoku stated that she had recorded many more songs than could be released on Listen Up and that additional tracks would be released on a future as-yet-untitled EP. As of January 2011, no further information has been released on her official sites.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, singer-songwriter, and actress. She is the daughter of noted Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an entertainer Don Ho
Don Ho
Donald Tai Loy "Don" Ho was a Hawaiian and traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer.-Life and career:Ho, of Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Dutch, and German descent, was born in the small Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako, but he grew up in Kāneohe on the windward side of the island of Oahu...
. Her most popular singles are "Another Dumb Blonde
Another Dumb Blonde
"Another Dumb Blonde" is the first single from American pop/rock singer Hoku's eponymous debut album. The single is also featured on the soundtrack of the 2000 Nickelodeon movie, Snow Day and was also featured in the film itself...
," "How Do I Feel," and "Perfect Day."
Early life
Hoku was born on the island of OahuOahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
in the state of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, to Patti Swallie and Don Ho
Don Ho
Donald Tai Loy "Don" Ho was a Hawaiian and traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer.-Life and career:Ho, of Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Dutch, and German descent, was born in the small Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako, but he grew up in Kāneohe on the windward side of the island of Oahu...
. She is the seventh of Ho's 10 children; his union with Swallie, who used to sing in his show, produced another daughter, Kaimana Grace. Hoku's name means "star" in Hawaiian
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
. She is of European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
, Polynesian
Polynesians
The Polynesian peoples is a grouping of various ethnic groups that speak Polynesian languages, a branch of the Oceanic languages within the Austronesian languages, and inhabit Polynesia. They number approximately 1,500,000 people...
and Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
ancestry: Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
, Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
and German
Ethnic German
Ethnic Germans historically also ), also collectively referred to as the German diaspora, refers to people who are of German ethnicity. Many are not born in Europe or in the modern-day state of Germany or hold German citizenship...
descent on her father's side and Hawaiian and Caucasian
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
descent on her mother's side.
Hoku attended Waikiki Elementary school then continued on to La Pietra: Hawaii School for Girls in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
and briefly studied business at Point Loma Nazarene University
Point Loma Nazarene University
Point Loma Nazarene University is a Christian liberal arts college. Its main campus is located on the Point Loma oceanfront in San Diego, California. It was founded in 1902 as a Bible college by the Church of the Nazarene.-History:...
in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, but left during her first semester.
1999 to 2001
Hoku's debut single "Another Dumb BlondeAnother Dumb Blonde
"Another Dumb Blonde" is the first single from American pop/rock singer Hoku's eponymous debut album. The single is also featured on the soundtrack of the 2000 Nickelodeon movie, Snow Day and was also featured in the film itself...
", which was certified Gold, appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Snow Day. She later appeared on a Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
special with many other stars, such as Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, 'N Sync
'N Sync
N Sync was an American boy band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich, *NSYNC consisted of JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick...
, Sean Combs
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
, and Aaron Carter
Aaron Carter
Aaron Charles Carter is an American singer. He came to fame as a pop and hip hop singer in the late 1990s, establishing himself as a star among pre-teen and teenage audiences during the early-first decade of the 21st century....
. She also performed as a top billing performer in all of the Radio Disney Live! 2001 World Tour
Radio Disney Live! 2001 World Tour
In 2001, Radio Disney launched the Radio Disney Live 2001 World Tour that traveled to large markets across the United States. The tour was performed in amphitheatres across the United States and featured Baha Men, A-Teens, Krystal, Hoku, Myra and Aaron Carter. It toured in the following cities:...
concerts across the United States.
In 2000, she released her self-titled, debut album. In 2001 she recorded the song "Perfect Day", which was used as the theme song to the feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and produced by Marc E. Platt...
. This song was later featured in both JCPenney and Sandals Resorts commercials.
Hoku was scheduled to record a second albulm with Geffen, but it would never happen. Hoku soon parted ways with her label, Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
, because she did not want the image that the company created for her, which she felt went against her beliefs. Hoku decided to take a break from the music industry and was not heard from for five years.
2006 to present
Hoku lives in Orange County, CaliforniaOrange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
with her husband Jeremy Clements (married in 1999) and their two children. Hoku gave birth to her second child in 2011. She often returned to Hawaii to perform with her father at his Don Ho
Don Ho
Donald Tai Loy "Don" Ho was a Hawaiian and traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer.-Life and career:Ho, of Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Dutch, and German descent, was born in the small Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako, but he grew up in Kāneohe on the windward side of the island of Oahu...
Show at the Waikīkī
Waikiki
Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī....
Beachcomber Hotel in Honolulu, before he died in 2007.
With her husband, Hoku formed independent label Ola Vista Records in 2006; shortly thereafter released Listen Up, a five-song EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
to the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. Song titles included "If You Don't Want My Love", "Saturday Morning", "All I Need", "Closer", and "Listen Up".
In a blog post to her MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
profile in July 2008, Hoku stated that she had recorded many more songs than could be released on Listen Up and that additional tracks would be released on a future as-yet-untitled EP. As of January 2011, no further information has been released on her official sites.
Albums
| Year | Album | U.S. 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Hoku Hoku (album) Hoku is the self-titled album by the artist of the same name. The album was released on April 18, 2000. The album peaked at #151 on the Billboard 200 and has been uncertified... |
151 |
| 2008 | Listen Up | — |
Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "Another Dumb Blonde Another Dumb Blonde "Another Dumb Blonde" is the first single from American pop/rock singer Hoku's eponymous debut album. The single is also featured on the soundtrack of the 2000 Nickelodeon movie, Snow Day and was also featured in the film itself... " |
27 |
| "How Do I Feel" | — | |
| 2001 | "Perfect Day" | 121 |
| 2007 | "It's Who I Am" | — |
| 2008 | "Listen Up" | — |
Soundtrack appearances
| Year | Song | Film |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "Another Dumb Blonde Another Dumb Blonde "Another Dumb Blonde" is the first single from American pop/rock singer Hoku's eponymous debut album. The single is also featured on the soundtrack of the 2000 Nickelodeon movie, Snow Day and was also featured in the film itself... " |
Snow Day |
| 2001 | "Perfect Day" | Legally Blonde Legally Blonde Legally Blonde is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and produced by Marc E. Platt... |
| 2003 | "Summer's On" | Arizona Summer Arizona Summer Arizona Summer is a family oriented story revolving around Brent Butler , a wiser-than-his years youngster. A modern day Tom Sawyer. The majority of the story takes place at a boys and girls camp owned and operated by Travers , who has spent a lifetime of quietly helping adolescents become... |
Film
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Nancy Drew | Bitsy |
| 2003 | Arizona Summer Arizona Summer Arizona Summer is a family oriented story revolving around Brent Butler , a wiser-than-his years youngster. A modern day Tom Sawyer. The majority of the story takes place at a boys and girls camp owned and operated by Travers , who has spent a lifetime of quietly helping adolescents become... |
Shawn |
Television
| Year | Show | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 98 Degrees 98 Degrees 98 Degrees is an American adult contemporary boy band consisting of four vocalists: brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, Justin Jeffre, and Jeff Timmons. The group was formed by Timmons in Los Angeles, California.... and Hōkū in Concert |
Disney Channel Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in... television special |
| All That All That All That is an American live-action, sketch comedy-variety show that aired on the Nickelodeon cable television network featuring short comedic sketches and weekly musical guests. The theme song for All That was performed by TLC... |
As a musical guest | |
| Hollywood Squares Hollywood Squares Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants... |
As herself on September 5 and September 8, 2000 | |
| In a Heartbeat In a Heartbeat In a Heartbeat is a Disney Channel Original Series inspired by real life EMT squads whose staff consists of high school students located all over the country that premiered in 2000 and ran from 2000-2001. The series follows the lives of several teenagers who volunteer as part-time EMTs while going... |
As herself in Episode 1.9 "A Night to Remember", October 14, 2000 | |
| 2001 | World Music Awards World Music Awards The World Music Awards is an international awards show founded in 1989 that annually honors recording artists based on worldwide sales figures provided by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . John Martinotti is an executive producer and co-founder of the show... |
As a performer |
Commercials
| Product | Notes |
|---|---|
| Twix Twix Twix is a chocolate bar made by Mars, Inc., consisting of a biscuit finger, topped with caramel and coated in milk chocolate. Being somewhat smaller in width than other confectionery bars, Twix bars are typically packaged in pairs... candy bar |
As singer |
| Bongo clothing | As model/singer |