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Hoku is one of today’s up and coming solo artists. She’s the daughter of the legendary Don Ho, made famous by his song “Tiny Bubbles.” As a child, she often sang with her father on stage, the only one of his ten children to do so. She’s the seventh child, and claims that she often stole the spotlight from her father. Her first solo was at age eleven, on Whitney Houston’s “And I Will Always Love You.”
Hoku was born and raised in Hawaii. Indeed, her name means “Star” in Hawaiian. Her musical influences include her father, Michael Jackson, and Crystal Lewis, among others. What attracts her to these musicians is their use of raw emotion in their music, which is what she says she strives to attain in her own music.
Today, Hoku is an 18-year-old solo singer, made popular by her single “Another Dumb Blonde.” The single appeared in Nickelodeon’s movie, “Snow Day,” back in February of 2000. Everyone who knows the singer claims that she is anything but a dumb blonde. Also, the day after the first time the song appeared on MTV’s TRL (Total Request Live), it was a Top Ten hit. Since then, she’s recorded a self-titled CD which has been released. It’s available at many top name music clubs and at music stores all over the country, showing off Hoku’s instantaneous popularity.
Indeed, Hoku already challenges many established singers. She’s already been nominated for the “Young Star Award,” which is bestowed on well-known and popular singers. Also, she’s appeared in concert with very famous groups, such as 98 degrees at places like Disney World. She’s also a member of the One Name Club, a club exclusively for famous people known by only one name (she dropped her last name when she moved to Los Angeles to record her CD). This fall, she modeled in Tommy Hilfiger’s fashion show alongside Mary J. Blige, Mandy Moore, LFO and TLC, a real honor.
One thing that really sets Hoku apart from her colleagues is her faith. She’s a devout Christian, and says her faith is second most important only to her family. Because of this, she prefers to get involved with a younger crowd, because she feels that they relate to her more in a ‘girl next door’ sort of way. Teens see her more as sex symbol, which she really isn’t comfortable with.
Some of Hoku’s (non-music) favorites include volleyball (both playing it and watching it), snowboarding, and the LA Lakers. Her tastes seem to run to more girlish things, as in various interviews, she named many of her favorite places to shop and gushed over various trends. She also named her favorite superhero and cartoon (Superman and Animaniacs, respectively).
To Hoku, it seems like this whole thing has happened so quickly. She is quoted in one interview as saying “After years of work, everything happened in two weeks’ time.” From the way it happened, with her being in her father’s shadow, it might seem that way (once she got her record deal). This, however, didn’t happen until she was in her freshman year of college. Though she was majoring in business at the time, she signed the contract and became a solo singer. Hoku’s music will certainly live on as long as her father’s as she is his legendary daughter, the one who follows in HIS legendary footsteps.
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