Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards | |
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Awarded for | Outstanding achievements in Hawaiian music |
Country | United States |
Presented by | Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts |
First awarded | 1978 |
Website | nahokuhanohano |
Television/radio coverage | |
Network | KFVE-TV |
The Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, occasionally called the Na Hoku Awards or Hoku Awards, are the premier music awards in Hawaii, and are Hawaii's equivalent of the Grammy Awards. "Nā Hōkū Hanohano" means "Stars of Distinction" in Hawaiian – "hōkū" means "star", "nā" makes it plural, and "hanohano" means "glorious, worthy of praises". The awards were founded in 1978 by radio personality Krash Kealoha of KCCN-AM, a radio station which focused on traditional Hawaiian music. He launched the first awards with the support of the owner of the radio station Sydney Grayson, and his fellow DJs Kimo Kaho‘āno and Jacqueline “Skylark” Rossetti.
The award winners are currently selected by the voting members of the non-profit Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts, which was founded in 1982. The awards are presented each May, and the ceremony is televised. The 38th Annual Na Hoku Hanohano Awards were held at the Hawaii Convention Center on May 23, 2015. The event was televised live on KFVE-TV in Hawaii and streamed online worldwide on the station's website.
The 40th annual Na Hoku Hanohano Awards were held on Saturday, May 19, 2017 at the Hawaii Convention Center.
Music recordings must be available for commercial sale through established retailers of physical products (CD and DVD or other media) or through established digital download retailers (such as ITunes, CD Baby, Amazon.com) in order to be eligible for entry in the awards. Recordings that are released during the calendar year (January 1 through December 31) are eligible to be entered in the following year's awards.
Eligibility in most of the award's categories is restricted to Hawaii resident artists and other industry professional, though non-Hawaii U.S. residents are eligible in the Hawaiian, Island Music, Ukulele, Slack Key, Haku Mele, and Hawaiian Language Performance categories. There is a special recognition award for non-U.S. residents who release recordings that prominently feature Hawaiian, Island Music, ukulele, or slack key music.
The Academy solicits entries in fall of the eligibility year, and entries for the awards must be received by January 15 of the year in which the awards will be held. Entrants must complete an online or downloadable entry form and submit copies of the releases to the Academy by that date. Membership in the Academy is not required to enter a release.