BoA
From Free net encyclopedia
- For other things named Boa, see Boa (disambiguation).
{{Infobox Band
| band_name = Kwon BoA
권보아
權보아
| image = Image:Bj a04.jpg
| caption = BoA on OUTGROW Cover.
| years_active = 2000–present
| origin = South Korea
| music_genre = J-pop, K-pop, Pop
| record_label = Avex Trax, & SM Entertainment
}}
Image:Boayoung.png 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 albums, 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.
Image:BoA OriconPage.jpg 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 Shiseido, Honda, KDDI: Au, Calpis, and recently the Japanese division of Gap and the Taiwanese division of Levi Jeans. BoA has also become a cross-cultural icon, bridging historical tensions between the nations of Korea and Japan.
BoA was awarded "Most Influential Asian Artist" and "Favorite Artist Korea" Prizes at MTV Asia Awards held in Singapore on February, 2004. Her songs are now popular even in Taiwan, China and some Southeast Asian countries.
She has appeared on numerous magazine covers and some commercials, including KOSE, MISSHA, Lipton, Ting, Pantech & Curitel, Elite, Lotte, Maybelline, and Wired XYZ.
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.
Biography
The beginning
BoA grew up in South Korea with two older brothers. At the age of eleven, 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 Era
Image:BoA IDPeaceB.jpg After two years of vigorous training, at the age of thirteen, BoA released her Korean debut album ID; Peace B on August 25, 2000, by the artistic name BoA*. The album won much acclaim and climbed into the top ten, going on to sell 218,114 copies. The album and its promotion dazzled many with BoA's powerful singing and dancing, and helped garner interest in her from overseas. Meanwhile, her Korean record label S.M. Entertainment made arrangements with Japanese music giant Avex Trax to launch BoA's music career in Japan.
Jumping into the World Era
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
Image:BoA Listentomyheart.jpg 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 Era
Image:Koreanno.1.jpg Image:BoA NO1.jpg
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 award for this album, making her the youngest artist to ever receive one.
Miracle Era
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
Image:Valenti.jpg After stellar album sales in both South Korea and Japan, BoA continued releasing singles in anticipation for her second Japanese album, including Don't start now (#17), a "special single" featuring a Japanese edition of the promotional track of her Korean mini album, Don't Start Now, and her biggest hit single VALENTI. It peaked at #2 on the charts, her highest showing on the singles chart at the time, and would go on to sell over 200,000 copies. Valenti was quickly followed by two more hit singles: 奇蹟 (kiseki)/ NO.1 (#3), JEWEL SONG / BESIDE YOU –僕を呼ぶ声–(boku wo yobu koe) (#3). On January 29, 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 [these 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 Era
Image:BoA atlantisprincess.jpg 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! Era
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
Image:BoA Love & Honesty.jpg After the release of her hit albums VALENTI and Atlantis Princess and her first country-wide tour LIVE TOUR 2003 -VALENTI- (in Japan; she has never done a full scale country-wide tour in Korea), BoA continued to pursue her activities in Japan. She released several hit singles for her upcoming album: Shine We Are! / Earthsong (#2), DOUBLE/Midnight Parade/Milky Way - 君の歌 (#2), and Rock With You (#5). Rock With You showcased a new, controversial style for BoA as it was a more "pop-rock" song but still performed reasonably well in sales. Then on January 15, 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 Era
Image:My Name Cover.jpg 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
Image:BoA BestofSoul.jpg After the release of LOVE & HONESTY and her highly acclaimed second live arena tour LIVE TOUR 2004 LOVE & HONESTY, more singles were released: QUINCY / コノヨノシルシ (Kono Yo no Shirushi) (#4) and メリクリ (Merikuri) (#5). However, instead of releasing her expected fourth Japanese language studio album, BoA released her first "Best of" compilation album of her Japanese singles up to that point (plus a bonus track: "La La La Love Song" feat. SOUL'd Out, and also "the Love Bug" feat. m-flo) on February 2, 2005. This album catapulted BoA again to the #1 position on the charts and went on to sell over 1,090,000 copies domestically, and over 1,250,000 copies worldwide. BEST OF SOUL made BoA the first non-Japanese Asian singer to have two albums sell over a million copies domestically: VALENTI and BEST OF SOUL. It reaffirmed BoA's position as one of the top singers in Japan; her third live tour would again be sold out, and this album would be the ninth highest selling album of 2005.
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 Era
Image:Boa GirlsonTop.jpg 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.
This album was the 14th highest selling album in Korea for 2005, and the highest selling album by a solo female artist.
OUTGROW Era
Image:Outgrow-front.jpg 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, OUTGROW, was released on February 15, 2006 and comes in two formats: a limited edition CD+DVD with the Music Videos from DO THE MOTION to Everlasting, and a normal CD version. People who buy the first pressing of the CD+DVD version also get a secret password to unlock a special version of BoA's official website. After topping the charts in preorders from several online providers, OUTGROW hit number one on the Oricon chart for its first week of release, making it her fifth Japanese album to do so. This also makes her tied with Namie Amuro, 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.
Post-Girls on Top Korean activity
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.
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.
Discography
Filmography
Korean Filmography
History Of BoA 2000-2002
Japanese Filmography
- 8 films and More – 85,938 copies
- FIRST LIVE TOUR 2003 -VALENTI- – 56,261 copies
- LIVE TOUR 2004 LOVE & HONESTY – 46,795 copies
- ARENA TOUR 2005 BEST OF SOUL – 52,831 copies
Awards
| Years | Awards |
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| 2000 |
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| 2001 |
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| 2002 |
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| 2003 |
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| 2004 |
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See also
- List of Koreans
- Contemporary culture of South Korea
- List of Korea-related topics
- K-pop
- J-pop
- List of Japan-related topics
- Japanese Culture
- Japanese music
- AVEX Records
- SM Entertainment