Not Just Another Dumb Blonde

07/24/2000 5:00 PM, LAUNCH
Rob O'Connor

"Nice" is a rare word to use when describing a pop star. "Sweet," too. I don't know if Hoku is as innocent as she seems, but the young Hawaiian--the daughter of Mr. Hawaii himself, Don Ho--shows no sign of pretense. Fresh out of the dentist chair after having had a cavity filled ("The side of my face is numb--other than that, I'm fine," she says), Hoku emphasizes that--despite all the fuss currently being made about her self-titled debut album and first single, "Another Dumb Blonde" (which also appears on the Snow Day soundtrack)--deep down she's "just a normal girl who happens to be in this industry. When it's over, I'm going back to the same old me."

Whatever Hoku's future holds, her past has already been exceptional. The seventh of 10 children, Hoku found her way into her father's act, as had many of her siblings. But unlike her brothers and sisters, who mainly preferred dancing, at age 11 Hoku was belting out Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" and bringing down the house. Hoku remains modest about her show-stealing abilities, however. "Most of my older sisters were dancers in my father's show. We've all grown up with singing and dancing. I'm the only one who pursued it," she shrugs. "Every one of them could be where I am right now. They're so beautiful, and more talented than me."

Later, a meeting with record producer Antonina Armato (Mariah Carey, Vanessa Williams) led to a full-on collaboration, and the young Hoku left college in San Diego to move to Los Angeles to be a star. The workload hit Hoku by surprise. "I don't think there's anything that can prepare you for this," she sighs, "this kind of lifestyle and this job is...no one can explain to you or help you understand how fast-paced it is and how crazy it is, and how much work you really have to do before...only now I'm getting to be kinda recognized, and I've been doing this for a year already, touring and traveling and working on my album. I haven't had a day off in weeks. It takes a lot of work, and I don't think people realize how much it takes if you really, really want to make it."

Sometimes the blatant cleavage-flaunting of modern pop is directly at odds with Hoku's own Christian values. "When I first was getting to know people at the label and they were getting to know me, obviously their idea of how they wanted me to be was different, because sex sells more than anything in this industry and it's a quick way to sell lots of albums, and that's really what a record company's job is--to sell albums," she says. "But for me, I didn't care; because of my faith and my values, I felt it was more important for me to walk away from this career knowing that I hadn't compromised my integrity at all. So I put my foot down on a lot of different occasions."

Hoku is currently learning more about music production, hoping to try her hand on the other side of the glass. But her biggest ambition, which she admits may still be many years away, is not something you often hear from the mouths of babes: "I know I want to go start a church."

Until then, Hoku is making the most of her musical fame, sticking with her father's advice to always remember the fans and never blow them off, no matter how tired you might be. "These are the people who are making you who you are," she says. "[My dad] instilled that in me, and to be more tolerant and to be more understanding and stick it out when you're tired, and treat them with the proper respect they deserve."

But the most important question remains: What did she think of her father's appearance on The Brady Bunch? "That was weird," she admits. "I was just sitting around watching TV one night, and there he is, and I'm like, 'Oh, hi.'"

Someday her own children will know the feeling.