Hoku

---

title: "Hoku" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1981-births", "living-people", "20th-century-american-women-singers", "21st-century-american-women-singers", "american-women-pop-singers", "american-film-actresses", "american-musicians-of-chinese-descent", "american-musicians-of-portuguese-descent", "american-pentecostals", "american-people-of-german-descent", "american-people-of-native-hawaiian-descent", "american-soul-singers", "christians-from-hawaii", "people-from-hawaii-of-chinese-descent", "people-from-hawaii-of-portuguese-descent", "people-from-oahu", "point-loma-nazarene-university-alumni", "singers-from-hawaii", "20th-century-american-singers", "21st-century-american-singers", "american-people-of-portuguese-descent"] description: "American singer (born 1981)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoku" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American singer (born 1981) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Hoku
birth_name	Hoku Christian Ho
birth_date
birth_place	Oahu, Hawaii, U.S.
other_names	Hoku Ho Clements
education	La Pietra
occupation	Singer, actress
years_active	1999–present
spouse
children	3
parents
module	{{Infobox musical artist
embed	yes
background	solo_singer
genre	{{flat list
label	{{flat list
website
::

| name = Hoku | birth_name = Hoku Christian Ho | birth_date = | birth_place = Oahu, Hawaii, U.S. | other_names = Hoku Ho Clements | education = La Pietra | occupation = Singer, actress | years_active = 1999–present | spouse = | children = 3 | parents = | module = {{Infobox musical artist | embed = yes | background = solo_singer | genre = {{flat list|

• Bubblegum pop
• teen pop
• Europop
• Christian}} | label = {{flat list|
• Geffen
• Interscope
• Ola Vista}} | website = Hoku Ho Clements (born June 10, 1981) is an American singer and actress. She is best known for her 2000 single "Another Dumb Blonde", from the soundtrack and film Snow Day, which peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the single "Perfect Day", which appeared on the soundtrack of the hit comedy film Legally Blonde and was added to Contemporary hit radio in June 2001.

Early life

Hoku was born Hoku Christian Ho on June 10, 1981, on the island of Oahu (the most populous of the Hawaiian Islands), the daughter of entertainer Don Ho and Patricia Swallie. Her given name, Hoku, is the Hawaiian word for star. Her father was hapa, of Native Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese, German, and Dutch descent. She has one full sibling, a younger sister named Kaimana, and eight half-siblings. For a time, Clements lived in the affluent Honolulu neighborhood Diamond Head, with Don, Patricia, Kaimana, Don's ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Guevara, and Don and Elizabeth's two daughters.

Hoku frequently performed with her father, who taught her how to write songs, as a child. She was initially unaware of her father's fame, learning from people's reactions after realizing who her father was. "I thought everyone's parents had shows at night," she said. She graduated from La Pietra.

Career

Hoku credits her father for her discovery. "People helped me a lot, because of who my dad was," she said. She caught the attention of songwriter and producer Antonina Armato, who encouraged her to move to Los Angeles to meet with other producers. "She has a pure voice," Armato said. "I don't have to doctor it and use all the tricks of the studio." Hoku was attending Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, dropping her last name when she moved from Hawaii, when she was offered a recording contract from Interscope Records. Armato assisted Hoku in securing the deal, and Ho insisted that he and his lawyers review it before she signed. "I didn't want her signing something that wasn't good," he said.

Hoku's debut single, "Another Dumb Blonde" (the theme song to the 2000 film Snow Day), was released on January 18, 2000. A day after its music video premiered on MTV, it was the network's tenth most-requested video. The song was a top ten sales hit in the United States and peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100, additionally charting at number 47 in New Zealand. Shocked by the single's success, Hoku dropped out of Point Loma Nazarene and began recording her first album Hoku (2000). The album was released on April 18, 2000, by Geffen and Interscope Records and peaked at number 151 on the Billboard 200.

Hoku had planned to work on a second album for Interscope after the March 2001 release of her single "Perfect Day" to radio, a track which appeared on the soundtrack of the hit comedy film Legally Blonde, and served as the film's theme song and was officially added to Contemporary hit radio in June 2001. "No one really knew that Legally Blonde was going to be what it was, Literally, [my label heads] were like, 'This movie's not going to become anything.' And then the next thing you know, it's like, this iconic movie. And my song opens it!" Hoku said in an interview with Billboard. "Sitting in the premiere and hearing my song open the movie, and everyone's cheering – it felt like, 'I've really arrived now, folks.'" Despite these successes, she struggled to find a niche in the pop music industry and left her label, disagreeing with them regarding her image and marketing, which she felt clashed with her Pentecostal Christian upbringing. She wrote and funded an EP, Listen Up, which was released on August 1, 2008, through the singer's own Ola Vista Records. She opened for Gwen Stefani's Neal S. Blaisdell Center shows of The Sweet Escape Tour later that month. In March 2018, she decided to return to her music and release an EP titled Called by Name. Unlike her previous works, this is her first Christian EP.

In September 2019, Ho performed at The Mission North Shore Church in Haleʻiwa, Hawaii.

Musical style and artistry

Jason Lynch of People has called bubblegum pop Hoku's speciality. Hoku's AllMusic page lists her musical styles as teen pop and Europop. She has been frequently compared to fellow pop singers Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, however, Charlotte Dillon of AllMusic has noted Hoku's distinct style, attributing it to the singer's Christian faith. "It's not very comfortable for me to be a sex symbol, especially because of my faith," Hoku has said. "That's why I enjoy being involved with the younger kids, because they relate to me being the girl next door." In his review of Hoku, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "Sure, it's commercial – that's what teen pop is all about – but never once do the record makers decide to push Hoku as a nymphet. Her songs are never sexual the way those of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera surely are." Erlewine also noted that her young-sounding voice made it appropriate that her music was "targeted toward middle-school daydreams and junior-high dances".

Personal life

Hoku became a Christian after first attending church in 1995 and she has said nothing means more to her than music outside of her family and faith. In 1999, shortly after her 18th birthday, she married 21-year-old Jeremy Clements, who she started dating while she was in high school. The couple eloped "for personal reasons", according to Hoku, later saying that she was scared to tell her father because of his harsh attitude towards boys she previously dated and how young she was at the time. Hoku and her husband Jeremy have three children and served as Arts and Worship Architects at Branches Church in Dana Point, California from 2010-2019.

Discography

Studio albums

::data[format=table] | Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | US | US Heat | Hoku | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | | 151 | 8 | | | | ::

EPs

::data[format=table]

Title	Album details	Listen Up	Called by Name
::

Singles

::data[format=table] | Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | US | US Pop | NZ | "Another Dumb Blonde" | "Perfect Day" | "O Holy Night (Hallelujah)" | "The World Slept On" | "Greater" | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 2000 | 27 | 29 | 47 | Hoku and Snow Day: Music from the Motion Picture | | | | | | | | | 2001 | — | — | — | Legally Blonde: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | | | | | | | | | 2017 | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | 2019 | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | 2020 | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

Music videos

• "Another Dumb Blonde" (2000)
• "How Do I Feel" (2000)
• "Perfect Day" (2001)

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Movie	Role
2002	Nancy Drew	Bitsy
2003	Arizona Summer	Shawn
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Show	Note
2000	98 Degrees and Hoku in Concert	Disney Channel in Concert
2000	Hollywood Squares	As herself - Panelist on September 5, 2000 - Teen People Week!
2000	In a Heartbeat	As herself in Episode 1.9 (October 14, 2000) "A Night to Remember."
2001	World Music Awards	As a performer.
2007	NightTime With Andy Bumatai	As herself, Late night talk show guest.
::

References

References

1. Harada, Wayne. (2007). "A Friend, Dad, Business Partner". [[Gannett Company]].
2. Dillon, Charlotte. "Hoku ". [[All Media Network]].
3. Alvarez, Gabriel. (February 16, 2013). "The 50 Hottest Celebrity Daughters: 25. Hoku and Kea Ho". Complex Media.
4. Lynch, Jason. (March 27, 2000). "Daddy's Little Girl". [[Time Inc.]].
5. Chinen, Nate. (April 15, 2007). "Don Ho, Hawaiian Musician, Dies at 76". The New York Times.
6. "Statement of Faith".
7. Ryan, Tim. (January 20, 2000). "Hoku follows her own star". [[Honolulu Star-Bulletin]].
8. "Another Dumb Blonde [US CD5/Cassette]". All Media Network.
9. "Hoku - Chart history: The Hot 100".
10. "Hoku - Another Dumb Blonde". Hung Medien.
11. "Hoku - Hoku ". All Media Network.
12. "Hoku - Chart history: Billboard 200".
13. Harada, Wayne. (February 1, 2001). "Hoku Ho secretly married to manager". Gannett Company.
14. (April 1, 2020). "Getting Real With Hoku: The 'Perfect Day' Star Talks Early 2000s Pop Success and Why She Left the Spotlight".
15. (August 1, 2007). "Listen Up: Music: Editorial Reviews". Amazon.com.
16. (August 4, 2007). "Hoku Ho to open for Gwen Stefani". Gannett Company.
17. (April 1, 2020). "Getting Real With Hoku: The 'Perfect Day' Star Talks Early 2000s Pop Success and Why She Left the Spotlight".
18. "So excited to be a part of this event with @themissionns and to support my wise and insightful friend @monicaswanson_ ! ✨".
19. "Gorgeous evening with gorgeous humans. Thank you @themissionns and @monicaswanson_ and @emilyturner for having me. I don't think I've ever played in a more beautiful setting. 📸: @emilyturner 🌺: @hi.golds".
20. "Ladies! Come and enjoy an encouraging and relaxing night with a special talk by Monica Swanson and music by Hoku Clements. Monica will be giving an encouraging talk on "Upstream Parenting"...how we can raise good and godly kids in the midst of our crazy world. She'll offer practical advice, Biblical wisdom, and some hands-on-resources to help you parent your kids now with a vision of who they can become. We will also be having fun giveaways for her new book, Boy Mom : What Your Son Needs Most from You. Reserve your spot on Sunday.".
21. "Tomorrow night ✨".
22. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Hoku - Hoku". All Media Network.
23. "Our Team ". Branches OC.
24. "Getting Real With Hoku: The 'Perfect Day' Star Talks Early 2000s Pop Success and Why She Left the Spotlight".
25. "Hoku ". All Media Network.
26. "Listen Up - Hoku".
27. "Called by Name - EP".
28. "O Holy Night (Hallelujah) - Single by Hoku Clements on Apple Music".
29. "The World Slept on - Single by Hoku on Apple Music".
30. "Greater".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::