Information AboutBoa |
BoA (권보아 ''Kwon, Boa'', born in November 5 , 1986 ) is a Korean Pop Music singer. She has released albums in both South Korea and Japan , and her Korean record company, SM Entertainment , is positioning her as a cross-cultural star in Asia. She has released nine full-length albums, three Mini-albums , two Compilation Albums , two Remix Album s, and over thirty singles in South Korea and Japan. Her albums have also been released as "overseas versions" throughout Asia and her total record sales are quickly approaching the ten million mark. BoA's first language is Korean , but she also speaks fluent Japanese and conversational English , and has performed versions of her songs in Mandarin Chinese . She has also composed and written the lyrics for several of her songs. BoA broke records in both Korea and Japan with her smash hits, including "No. 1," "Valenti," and "Listen to My Heart". She has made strides in music and acting with chart-breaking albums released in both Japanese and Korean (BoA accounts for over 75% of musical exports from Korea), as well as being a cover model for major companies such as , and recently the Japanese division of Gap . BoA has also become a cross-cultural icon, bridging historical tensions between the nations of Korea and Japan. BIOGRAPHY Beginning BoA grew up in South Korea with two older brothers. At the age of ten, she accompanied one of her brothers to a talent search held by Korean musical conglomerate SM Entertainment, which at the time was searching for a new international icon, and she herself got the part. After her reluctant parents agreed to let her pursue a career in singing rather than focus on school, BoA was trained in singing, dancing, and foreign language in preparation for her Korean album debut. ''ID; Peace B'' - First Album
''Jumping into the World'' - One-Fifth Album In early 2001 BoA released her first mini album, '' Jumping Into The World '', which showcased more of her vocal skills. After this album was released, BoA took a hiatus from the Korean music industry to focus on the Japanese market. The months prior to release of her first Japanese single were spent entirely in Japan, and BoA was only allowed to speak Japanese in order to solidify her hold of the language. BoA described these months as some of her saddest and most lonely. ''LISTEN TO MY HEART'' era The recording contract that BoA signed with Avex Trax resulted in BoA's foray into the Japanese music industry. In 2001 she released her first Japanese single, a Japanese version of ''ID; Peace B''. Although the single debuted at only #20 on the Oricon Chart it received wide-spread publicity since BoA was a young foreigner with phenomenal dancing skills for her age. ''ID; Peace B'' was followed by subsequent singles ''Amazing Kiss'' (#23), ''気持ちはつたわる'' (''Kimochi wa Tsutawaru'') (#15), and ''LISTEN TO MY HEART'' (#5). The single ''LISTEN TO MY HEART'' catapulted BoA into the spotlight (since few foreigners break into the top 5 in Japan) and went on to sell over 179,000 copies. Finally, her much anticipated Japanese debut album, LISTEN TO MY HEART , was released on March 13 , 2002 . On the shoulders of the lead single, ''LISTEN TO MY HEART'', the album debuted at #1 on the Oricon Chart and would chart in the Oricon Top 200 for 91 weeks and go on to sell over 932,000 copies domestically and over 1,300,000 copies worldwide. This was a surprise not only because it was BoA's debut and she was a foreigner, but also because the album's release was during the 2002 World Cup , when Japan was playing Korea and tensions were high. On the same day as the album's release, BoA's 5th single ''Every Heart -ミンナノキモチ-'' (''minna no kimochi'', ''everybody's feelings'') was released. The song was the ending theme for the hit Anime series InuYasha ; the single peaked at #10 on the charts. ''No.1'' - Second Album Less than a month after BoA's chart-topping performance in Japan she released her second full studio Korean album, '' NO.1 ''. This album catapulted BoA to the top of the charts in Korea and became her biggest selling Korean album, with over 572,000 copies (excluding overseas sales). Now BoA's name was popping up all across Asia and her popularity skyrocketed. The album was also released in Japan and peaked at #15 on the charts—a very strong performance, especially for a non-English or Japanese album. Later in the year she would win a Daesang (Korean Music Award) award for this album, making her the youngest artist to ever receive one. However, she has not won another Daesang award since then. ''Miracle'' - Two-Fifth Album In September 2002 BoA released her second Korean mini-album. Featuring some Korean renditions of her Japanese songs and several original songs, this album is hailed by many as one of BoA's best Korean releases. For this album BoA also dropped the asterisks which had characterized her career in Korea up to that point. ''VALENTI'' era After stellar album sales in both , 2003 , her second full studio album '' VALENTI '' was released. This album compounded the success of her previous Japanese album and hit ''#1'' on the charts (with over 615,000 copies sold in the first week of release high first week debut sales were ranked as the 83rd highest of all time in Japan in a list compiled in January of 2006 ). It became BoA's highest selling Japanese album, selling over 1,250,000 copies domestically (making her the highest and fastest selling Asian foreigner in Japanese history) and 1,400,000 copies worldwide. After topping the album charts for two weeks in a row, '' VALENTI '' put BoA in the spotlight of the Japanese music scene with other big players such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Utada Hikaru . The album's live tour was sold out in Osaka and Nagoya within 15 minutes and in Tokyo within a day. The album would go on to become one of the top 5 selling albums of the year in Japan. BoA's "VALENTI" was also featured on Andamiro 's popular dance simulation game, Pump It Up . ''Atlantis Princess'' - Third Album This highly anticipated album again topped the charts in Korea . Released on May 30 , 2003 , '' Atlantis Princess '' would go on to sell over 340,000 copies. This album was well received throughout Korea and would move on to receive multiple awards later in the year. ''Shine we are!'' - Three-Fifth Album BoA released her third (and last to date) mini-album '' Shine We Are! ''. This album again showcased Korean renditions of her Japanese songs, but would receive criticism for the darker, more mature image portrayed on the cover and would thus go on to barely sell 80,000 copies (the most likely explanation for why BoA has released no more mini-albums since). ''LOVE & HONESTY'' era After the release of her hit albums '', 2004 her highly anticipated third Japanese album, '' LOVE & HONESTY '', was released. It again hit #1 on the Oricon Chart and would go on to sell over 650,000 copies domestically and over 800,000 copies worldwide. Although it did not sell as well as her album '' VALENTI '', it was still among the top albums in sales for 2004. Another single from the album, ''Be the one'' (#15), was released a month later. Later, the album's live tour would prove to be a huge success (in some venues, the arenas were filled to a thousand above capacity due to the high demand for seats). ''My Name'' - Fourth Album 2004 also brought the release of BoA's fourth full Korean album, '' My Name ''. This album aroused much controversy because it showcased a complete style shift from young and cute to a much more mature look. (BoA was turning 19 in Korean Age Reckoning ; 18 in non-Korean reckoning.) It would again top the charts in Korea and go on to sell over 200,000 copies. These sales, though slightly lower than that of her debut's, were very strong considering the heavy recession in the music industry of South Korea . Some people point to this album as the beginning of BoA's decrease in Korean popularity and the album was consequently followed by more focus on the Japanese market. ''BEST OF SOUL'' era After the release of . Also, during this period BoA was rumoured to have gone on a date with a friend of her hairdresser after several pictures of their outing showed the two apparently as intimates (holding hands and walking close to each other). However, BoA and avex trax both deny that the excursion was romantic at all and claim that the two are just friends. Further suspicions arouse after the release of her 16th Japanese single, '' Make A Secret '', which featured songs about keeping a relationship secret; however, no further pictures have surfaced since the outing in March, nor have any comments (or further details) from the man in question been released, just leading to further speculations and rumours. Note: ''BEST OF SOUL'' is still charting in the Oricon Top 200 as of February 27, 2006 (more than a year after its initial release). ''Girls on Top'' - Fifth Album In 2005 BoA released her highly anticipated fifth album, '' Girls On Top .'' It reached #3 on the monthly charts, and so far has sold approximately 115,000 copies. Although the sales were disappointing to many, one should note that Korean album sales have dropped by over 50% from 2004 alone, so sales of over 100,000 copies are very respectable. This album also featured BoA's foray into a more "hip-hop" feel, following the trend of many other Korean artists away from pure pop music. BoA also sported a "ragged" Mullet for the first few weeks of promotion before switching back to a more feminine look during the promotion of the second leading track of the album, "MOTO". The album also hit #1 in Taiwan , showcasing BoA's popularity outside of South Korea and Japan . Also, for the album BoA would win the "Best Female Artist" award at the m.net music festival at the end of the year. BoA celebrated the five year anniversary of her Korean debut with fans on August 25 , 2005 and to advertise for the special event, a new limited edition "MOTO" repackaging for the '' Girls On Top '' album was released. On January 18 2006 SM Entertainment released a Korean version of the single "EVERLASTING" that included a new song "슬픔은 넘쳐도 (People Say..)", instead of "Soundscape". It is rumoured that BoA's sixth Korean album may be pushed back from the expected release of summer 2006 as far as early 2007 due to BoA's entrance into the Chinese market this year. ''OUTGROW'' era Capitalizing on the success of BEST OF SOUL , BoA's 15th single '' DO THE MOTION '' hit #1 on the Oricon Chart , making her just the fifth non-Japanese singer to have a single hit #1, and the first in over 21 years. In September, BoA went on to release her 16th single, '' Make A Secret '' (#3), and accompanying the miniscule amount of promotion by avex, the single would end up as a huge flop, barely selling 55,000 copies. Her 17th single, '' 抱きしめる (Dakishimeru) '' (#9), was released on November 23 , 2005 and was also met with sales equally as dismal as those of ''make a secret''. Her 18th single, '' Everlasting '' (#4), was released on January 18 , 2006 and was also met with low debut sales (appoximatly 33,000 copies) due in great part to the proximity of its release to that of ''OUTGROW''; however, the single's long chart life in the top 20 allowed for it to break the trend of flops, and gave BoA her first commercially successful single since 2005's '' DO THE MOTION ''. Everlasting was also released as her fourth Korean single, with the titular track redone in Korean and a different B-side track, "(People say...)." Her fourth Japanese studio album, '', Kuraki Mai and MISIA in second place behind Ayumi Hamasaki (among female Japanese artists) for having her first four original studio albums hit number one; however, the album had relatively low debut sales (220,000 copies sold) making it her lowest selling first week debut for an original album. It is projected that ''Outgrow'' may become her lowest selling Japanese studio album to date if the album does not manage to maintain a long chartlife in the top 20. BoA also released her first digital single, ''Merry Christmas from BoA'', on December 7th (and online distribution came to a close on December 25th) and performed in NHK Best Singers Contest for the fourth year in a row (she is the only foreigner to ever perform in the event for that many years) with other top Japanese artists such as SMAP and Ayumi Hamasaki . BoA has also recorded the theme song for the Xbox 360 Japanese release of Ninety-Nine Nights , " Your Color ", which appeared on the "Nanairo no Ashita/Your Color" single, the first BoA single to be released in the CD+DVD format. BoA's record label has stated that with the worldwide release of ''OUTGROW'', BoA's total record sales will most likely pass the ten million mark, marking a major landmark in her career. WORLDWIDE ACTIVITY BoA also appeared in the Korean Music Festival held in the Sydney Opera House on June 21 , 2004 and in the Volvo " Hallyu " Concert in Universal City, California (outside of Los Angeles ) on June 11 , 2005 . Most recently, she performed before world leaders at the 2005 APEC conference in Busan , South Korea. Chinese activity BoA is planning on entering the Chinese market sometime in 2006 (most likely in the summer after her fourth Japanese live tour). She has released several overseas versions of her albums in Taiwan and China already so she is reasonably well known in both countries (e.g '' Girls On Top '' hit #1 in Taiwan in September 2005). She has already made appearance overseas this year through Levis advertisements with Edison Chen. Entrance into the U.S. market An official SM representative, states in an interview BoA has no plans in the near future to establish a presence in the US Market for several reasons. OTHER APPEARANCES She has appeared on numerous magazine covers and some commercials, including KOSE, MISSHA, Lipton, Ting, Pantech & Curitel, Elite, Lotte, Maybelline, Wired XYZ, Levis, and Sketchers, . DISCOGRAPHY FILMOGRAPHY Korean filmography
Japanese filmography
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