BoA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other things named Boa, see Boa (disambiguation).
| BoA | ||
|---|---|---|
 BoA in a photoshoot for W.doubleUDot's Winter 2006 Collection.
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | 권보아 (Kwon, Boa) | |
| Born | November 5, 1986 | |
| Origin | Guri, South Korea | |
| Genre(s) | J-pop, K-pop, Pop | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer | |
| Years active | 2000–present | |
| Label(s) | SM Entertainment, Avex Trax |
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| Website | BoA official website (Korean) BoA official website (Japanese) |
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| BoA | |
|---|---|
| Hangul: |
권보아
|
| Hanja: |
權보아
|
| Revised Romanization: | Gwon Boa |
| McCune-Reischauer: | Kwŏn Poa |
Boa Kwon (born November 5, 1986 in Guri, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea) is an iconic Korean singer who is better known by her artistic name of BoA. She has released albums in both South Korea and Japan. Her Korean record label, SM Entertainment, has positioned her to become a cross-cultural idol in East Asia and parts of Southeast Asia.
She has released a total of nine full-length albums, three mini-albums, two compilation albums, two remix albums, and over thirty singles in both Japan and South Korea. Also sold in many parts of Asia, her total record sales are quickly approaching the ten million mark. BoA broke records in both Korea and Japan with her top songs, No. 1, Valenti, Listen to My Heart, and My Name.[citation needed]
BoA's first language is Korean, but she also speaks fluent Japanese and conversational English, and is also learning Mandarin Chinese. BoA has re-recorded several songs in Mandarin and written the lyrics for several of her songs. BoA is one of the most commercially successful artists in both Korea and Japan and is one of the leading stars of the Korean Wave otherwise known as "Hallyu". BoA has re-signed an extended contract with SM Entertainment until 2012 for which she will receive 100,000 shares of SM Entertainment.
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[edit] Biography
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[edit] Early years
BoA was born and raised in South Korea in a typical nuclear family. She has been a Catholic. At the age of eleven, she accompanied one of her brothers to a talent search held by Korean record label, SM Entertainment, which at the time was searching for a new international icon. After her parents agreed to let her pursue a career in music, BoA received training in singing, dancing, and foreign language in preparation for her Korean debut. BoA attended Yangjung Elementary School, Sahmyook Middle School, and Korean Kent Foreign School.
[edit] 2000-2001: Early career in Korea
At the age of thirteen, after two years of training, BoA released her debut album ID; Peace B on August 25, 2000. The album received positive reviews and climbed into the top ten chart, going on to sell 218,114 copies. Meanwhile, her Korean record label SM Entertainment made arrangements with Japanese music giant Avex Trax to launch BoA's music career in Japan.
In early 2001, BoA released her first mini album, Jumping into the World. 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 mastery of the language.[citation needed] BoA has described this period as one of the loneliest times in her life.
[edit] 2001-2002: Crossover to Japan and post-LISTEN TO MY HEART
BoA entered into the Japanese music industry soon after signing with Avex Trax. In 2001 she debuted with a Japanese version of ID; Peace B. The single reached #20 on the Oricon chart. 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 became her first major success in Japan and went on to sell over 180,000 copies.
Her Japanese debut album, LISTEN TO MY HEART, was released on March 13, 2002. The album debuted at #1 on the Oricon chart in which the album charted for 91 weeks. It sold over 932,000 copies domestically and over 1,300,000 copies worldwide. This was a turning point in BoA's career, not only because few foreigners break into the top five, but also because the album's release was during the 2002 World Cup, where competitive tension existed between Japan and South Korea. On the same day as the album's release, BoA's fifth 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.
A month later, BoA released her second full studio Korean album, NO.1. This album is her most successful Korean album to date, selling over 572,000 copies (excluding overseas sales). The album peaked at #15 on the Japanese charts. Later in the year she became the youngest artist ever to receive a Daesang (equivalent to "Artist of the Year").
[edit] 2003-2004: Continued success in Japan and Korea
BoA continued releasing singles leading up to 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 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) and 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. It reached #1 on the charts (with over 615,000 copies sold in its 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 2006]). It became BoA's best 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 artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Utada Hikaru. The album's live tour was sold out in Osaka and Nagoya within 15 minutes, while Tokyo sold out within a day.[citation needed] The album would go on to become one of the top five selling albums of the year in Japan.
After the releases of VALENTI and Atlantis Princess and her first Japanese tour LIVE TOUR 2003 -VALENTI-, BoA continued her career in Japan. She released several singles for her upcoming album: Shine We Are! / Earthsong (#2), DOUBLE/Midnight Parade/Milky Way ~君の歌~ (#2), and Rock With You (#5). On January 15, 2004 her third Japanese album, LOVE & HONESTY, was released. It reached #1 on the Oricon chart and would go on to sell over 650,000 copies domestically and over 800,000 copies worldwide and would go on to be one of the top sellers of 2004. Later, the album's live tour would prove to be largely successful (in some venues, with arenas filled to one thousand above capacity due to the high demand for seats).
[edit] 2003-2004 in Korea
Released on May 30, 2003, BoA's third Korean album Atlantis Princess sold over 340,000 copies domestically, topping the Korean music charts. Atlantis Princess was well-received throughout Korea and would receive multiple awards later in the year.
BoA released her third mini-album Shine We Are! in the winter of the same year. This album again showcased Korean renditions of her Japanese songs, but later received criticism for the darker, more mature image portrayed on the cover.[citation needed] Disappointingly, this mini-album sold only 80,000 copies.
In 2004, BoA's fourth Korean album, My Name, was released. This album received public attention for its complete style shift from the "young and cute" BoA to a more mature one. (BoA was turning 19 in Korean age reckoning; 17 going 18 in non-Korean reckoning.) BoA won her her second Daesang ("Grand Prize") award at the 2004 MKMF Awards for the music video of the album's title track, My Name. The album was subsequently followed by more focus on the Japanese market. In June 2006, the music video of "My Name" became the first music video ever shown on MTV K, an MTV music channel directed at Korean-Americans.[1]
[edit] 2005 - present
[edit] BEST OF SOUL
After the release of LOVE & HONESTY and her second live arena tour LIVE TOUR 2004 LOVE & HONESTY, several more singles were released: QUINCY / コノヨノシルシ (Konoyo no Shirushi) (#4) and メリクリ (Meri Kuri) (#5). However, instead of releasing her expected fourth Japanese language studio album, BoA released a "best of" compilation album for her Japanese singles (including a bonus track: "La La La Love Song" featuring Japanese hip-hop group SOUL'd Out) on February 2, 2005. Her Greatest album BEST OF SOUL made BoA the first non-Japanese Asian singer to have two albums sell over a million copies domestically.[2] Her live tour sold out once again. BEST OF SOUL became the ninth highest selling album of 2005.
[edit] Girls on Top
In 2005, BoA released her fifth Korean studio album, Girls on Top. It sold approximately 115,000 copies, which was significantly lower than the previous album sales. A factor to the disappointing figure is that Korean album sales have dropped by over 50% from 2004 alone, making sales of over 100,000 copies respectable. This album featured a more "hip-hop" feel, following the trend of many other Korean artists who left the pure pop music sound. 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. BoA would end up winning the "Best Female Artist" award at the m.net music festival at the end of 2005.
BoA celebrated the five year anniversary of her Korean debut with fans on August 25, 2005. To advertise for the special event, a new limited edition "MOTO" repackaging for the Girls on Top album was released.
[edit] OUTGROW
Following the success of BEST OF SOUL, BoA's 15th single DO THE MOTION hit #1 on the Oricon chart, making her 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), but would only go on to sell 55,000 copies. Her 17th single, 抱きしめる (Dakishimeru) (#9), was released on November 23, 2005 and was met with similar sales numbers. Her 18th single, Everlasting (#4), was released on January 18, 2006 and was also met with low debut sales (approximately 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 her mini-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 title track redone in Korean and a different B-side track (People say...) produced.
Her fifth 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. Those who bought the CD+DVD version also received a secret password to unlock a special version of BoA's official website. During that time, BoA's record label 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. After topping the charts in pre-orders 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 achievement also ties her with Namie Amuro, Kuraki Mai and MISIA for second place behind Ayumi Hamasaki (among female Japanese artists) in 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.
BoA also released her first digital single, Merry Christmas from BoA, on December 7, 2005 (online distribution coming to a close on December 25) and performed in NHK Best Singers contest for the fourth year in a row, making her the only foreigner to ever perform in the event for that many years) with other top Japanese artists such as SMAP and Ayumi Hamasaki.
[edit] Current career developments in Japan
On April 4, 2006, BoA released her 19th single Nanairo no Ashita~brand new beat~ / Your Color. The song Your Color was used as the ending theme song for the Xbox 360 Japanese release of Ninety-Nine Nights. This was the first BoA single to be released in the CD+DVD format.
BoA released a new single entitled "KEY OF HEART / DOTCH" on August 8, 2006. The titular track was the ending theme to Over the Hedge in Japan. She also released an English version of "KEY OF HEART", which was only available on the first press edition of the single (BoA recorded her last English version of her single DOUBLE, back in 2003). The single debuted at #4 on the Oricon charts but continued to drop by day. As of September 9, 2006, it has disappeared from the Oricon chart and has sold a disappointing 39,552 copies. "KEY OF HEART / DOTCH" has the lowest first week debut sales of BoA's Japanese career ever since becoming a key player in the Japanese music industry, excluding her three 2001 singles and "Be the one", which was recut from a previously released album.
BoA's 2006 live Japanese tour, BoA THE LIVE, kicked off on September 29, 2006 in Nagoya, Japan. It continued until October 29, 2006 with a total of 12 shows, two in each of the following cities: Nagoya, Fukuoka, Osaka, Tokyo, Sendai, and Sapporo.[3]
It was announced on September 21, 2006 that BoA's 21st Japanese single would be titled "Winter Love". The release date was November 1, 2006 and is available in both CD and CD+DVD formats. The tracks include: "Winter Love", "Candle Lights", "LAST CHRISTMAS" (available only on first pressings of the single), "Winter Love (TV MIX)", "Candle Lights (TV MIX)", and a "Winter Love" video clip (CD+DVD version only).[4]
With the release of Winter Love on November 1, 2006, BoA mustered much popularity, instantly jumping to #2 on the Japanese Single Oricon Daily charts on the single's first day of release. Winter Love took the #1 position on the 5th, 6th and 7th days of its release. Winter Love eventually hit #2 on the Oricon Weekly Charts, making itself the highest charting BoA single since DO THE MOTION, released in March 2005. The single has since risen to the #1 position on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart in its second week. November 5, 2006 marked BoA's 20th birthday which made this single the last "teenage" single from BoA. [5]
BoA has staged her first Christmas concert on December 7, 2006. Called the “Winter Love”X＇Christmas Live, BoA sang her own Christmas ballads( Winter Love,Last Christmas and Merikuri). The admission is free for those who purchase the Winter Love single at a certain store in Japan (SHIDAX HP), between November 1 through 3rd. The concert will be one hour long, from 6 to 7 PM, and will take place in the ZEPP Tokyo Stadium. [6]
BoA's 5th Japanese album, Made in Twenty, is planned to be released on January 17, 2007. The titles of the new tracks featured in Made in Twenty have been released by BoA's SOUL fanclub. The remaining songs consist of songs from her 2006 singles naming Nanairo no Ashita/Your Color, Key of Heart and Winter Love.
BoA's Arena Tour 2007 has already been scheduled to begin on March 31, 2007 starting at the Yokohama Arena and will end at the Nagoya Rainbow Hall. BoA will tour around Japan promoting her latest Japanese album, Made in Twenty, which will be released on January 17, 2007. BoA has a contract with avex trax until 2007, and is expected to renew her contract with the record company.
[edit] Current career developments in Korea
BoA has a contract with SM Entertainment until 2012.[7] Her sixth Korean album will be postponed to prepare for her debut in the Chinese market. On September 21, 2006, BoA released her first digital single in Korea: a Korean version of KEY OF HEART. The song is used as the background music of BoA's first Olympus commercial.
BoA has sung a song titled "Sunshine" which will be the ending song for a movie, "사랑따윈 필요없어 (Sarangtawon Piryoupseo)", which stars Moon Geun Young. "I am very glad to sing the ending song for such a romantic and passionate movie and being able to participate in a movie with such great actors/actresses", BoA stated at an interview. The movie was released in Korean theaters on November 9, 2006. [8]
Furthermore, BoA has made a surprise guest appearance at the annual MNet Music Festival 2006 on November 25, 2006 to introduce the Japanese artist w-inds..
[edit] Worldwide career developments
BoA 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. More recently, she performed her song NO.1 before world leaders at the 2005 APEC conference in Busan, South Korea. In November 2006, BoA was featured on CNN International's TalkAsia, interviewed by correspondent Anjali Rao. [9] She has met Hilary Duff, Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, Howie Dorough (of the Backstreet Boys), Westlife, and Bruce Willis.
[edit] 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). Her Korean record label plans to have her in acting roles in China in order to become more familiar to Chinese fans, before moving into the Chinese music scene.[9] She has already made appearance overseas this year through Levi's advertisements with Edison Chen.
[edit] Entrance into the U.S. market
Official SM representative and SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo Man stated in an interview, "BoA has no plans in the near future to establish a presence in the U.S. market for several reasons"; however, she has once been quoted saying she wanted to enter the U.S. market before she turns 20. Lee Soo Man has said that there would not be a need to enter the U.S. market because "China will soon become the U.S.", hence creating the constant push for BoA to begin her acting career in China.
On the May 17, 2006, BoA attended the 59th Cannes Film Festival where she walked on the red carpet with the original cast for Over the Hedge. She was the first Korean artist to attend such an event.
BoA's My Name music video became first premiere music video for opening of MTV K channel in the U.S. [10]
BoA has also appeared on the "CNN TalkAsia" Talkshow on December 2, 2006. She discusses about her childhood and her days before her debut. She was questioned on many things such as 'why she doesn't perform much in Korea.' In the ending, she tells about her wishes in the future. She states that she dreams of performing on an American stage one day.
[edit] Other appearances
BoA has appeared on numerous advertisements, including KOSÉ, DoubleUDot, MISSHÀ, Lipton, Ting, Pantech Curitel, Elite, Lotte, Maybelline, Wired XYZ, Levi's, Nike, Olympus, and Skechers.
BoA has also been in several magazines occasionally outside of Asia in Brazil, France, and other non-Asian countries.[citation needed]
It was announced on August 23, 2006 that BoA has replaced Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun as the new face of Olympus Korea. BoA has been featured in their advertisements since September 2006.[11]
[edit] Acting career
BoA made her debut in the film industry as a dubbing actress for the voice of Heather the Opossum in the Korean and Japanese versions of Over the Hedge, which was released on May 31, 2006 in Korea. It is rumoured that after this initial foray onto the "big screen" that BoA will star in a drama later this year.
In 2005, BoA was given the main lead as Shin Chae Gyung in the rags-to-riches drama, Goong (Palace), but due to her busy schedule, the role was passed on to former Baby V.O.X member, Yoon Eun Hye.[12]
On June 28, 2006 it was rumored that BoA may star in her first movie role alongside Chinese superstars, Jay Chou and Yao Ming, in the highly anticipated film, Slam Dunk (Guan Lan), due to be released March 2007. However in the midst of rampart rumors and speculation, SM Entertainment confirmed that BoA has refused the offer to star as the heroine in the upcoming film. "In order to participate in the filming, BoA would have to dedicate at least three months, and with her extremely busy schedule both in Korea and Japan, such a dedication is virtually impossible at the moment", explained a source at SM Entertainment, "therefore, BoA had no choice but to refuse the offer."[13] Coincidently, the role was once again passed on to former Baby V.O.X member, Yoon Eun Hye.
[edit] Trivia
- BoA passed out after performing "Over The Top" at the 2005 KM Music Video Festival - BoA later complained of chest pains and was rushed to a nearby hospital to recover.
- BoA once stated that she would like to perform with Justin Timberlake, but said, "He probably won't though. He would probably say, 'Who's BoA?'" [14]
- Tablo of Epik High admitted on a Korean variety show that he joined BoA's fan club under the name "BoAJjang Cutie~". [15]
- BoA held her 1st Christmas Concert in Tokyo, Japan on December 8,2006.
[edit] Discography
- Further information: BoA discography
[edit] Studio albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | South Korea | ||||
| 2000 | ID; Peace B | — | 10 | ||
| 2002 | LISTEN TO MY HEART | 1 | — | ||
| 2002 | NO.1 | — | 1 | ||
| 2003 | VALENTI | 1 | — | ||
| 2003 | Atlantis Princess | — | 1 | ||
| 2004 | LOVE & HONESTY | 1 | — | ||
| 2004 | My Name | — | 1 | ||
| 2005 | Girls on Top | — | 1 | ||
| 2006 | OUTGROW | 1 | — | ||
| 2007 | MADE IN TWENTY (20) | — | ' | ||
[edit] SMtown
[edit] Filmography
- Over the Hedge (Japanese and Korean version)
[edit] Books
- Best Piano Collection
- BoA Naturelle pictorial book
[edit] DVD
[edit] Korean DVDs
- History of BoA
[edit] Japanese DVDs
- 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
[edit] Awards
| Years | Awards |
|---|---|
| 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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| 2005 |
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| 2006 |
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[edit] References
- ^ THE FIRST VIDEO ON MTV K: BoA "My Name"
- ^ BoA、ベスト盤が100万枚を突破！
- ^ BoA THE LIVE【CD購入者限定リザーブチケット予約受付】を開始いたしました！
- ^ 10代最後のシングルリリース決定！あの「メリクリ」より深く、切なく歌い上げるウィンターバラード
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ 2005-08-00 : Sisa Press interviews Lee Soo Man
- ^ [5]
- ^ 보아, 우아한 여성미로 ‘광고계 유행 선도!’
- ^ 가수들의 끊임없는 연기 도전
- ^ 보아 '덩크'출연 고사… '안방'서 신고식
- ^ [6]
- Her nickname is "Bosik". [7]
- ^ [8]
[edit] 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 music
- AVEX Records
- SM Entertainment
[edit] External links
Categories: Cleanup from December 2006 | All pages needing cleanup | Articles with unsourced statements | Wikipedia articles needing style editing | K-pop | 1986 births | Korean female singers | South Korean singers | Japanese language singers | Korean pop singers | Avex Trax artists | Gaijin tarento | Living people | Roman Catholic musicians
