My Babes List (#59)
#59 BoABoA (권보아 Kwŏn Boa, born in November 5, 1986) grew up in South Korea with two older brothers. At the age of eleven, her brother was auditioning in a talent search for the next international icon held by Korean musical conglomerate SM Entertainment. BoA was brought along and eventually chosen. After her reluctant parents agreed to letting her pursue a career in singing rather than focus on school, BoA was trained in singing, dancing, and foreign language before finally making her Korean album debut. She has also composed and written the lyrics for several of her songs.
Overview
BoA has released albums in both South Korea and Japan, and her recording company, SM Entertainment, is positioning her as a cross-cultural star in Asia. She has released eight full length albums, three ".5" albums and twenty singles in South Korea and Japan. Her albums have also been released as "overseas versions" throughout Asia. Almost seven million copies of her albums have been sold to date. She can speak native-level Korean, plus fluent Japanese and conversational English and Chinese.
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 huge 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 at the 2005 APEC conference in Busan, South Korea.
Biography
ID; Peace B Era
After two years of vigorous training, at the age of thirteen, BoA released her Korean debut album ID; Peace B on August 25, 2000. The album won much acclaim and climbed into the top ten, going on to sell 218,114 copies. The album and its promotion dazzled people with BoA's powerful singing and dancing, and helped garner interest from overseas. Meanwhile, her Korean record label S.M. Entertainment has 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
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 go on to sell over 930,000 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
Less then 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.
Valenti Era
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 Japanese rendition of a song from her Korean mini-album, 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 700,000 preorders and 280,000 copies sold in the first week of release). It became BoA's highest selling Japanese album, selling over 1,250,000 copies domestically (making her the highest and fastest selling foreigner in Japanese history) and 1,300,000 copies worldwide. 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
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 explaination for why BoA has released no more mini-albums since).
Love & Honesty Era
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
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 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 (Konoyono 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 1,076,000 copies and over 1,200,000 copies worldwide. Best of Soul made BoA the first non-Japanese 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.
This album also featured BoA showing nych more "skin" and led to a small controversy after BoA promoted the album while singing "Listen to My Heart" with a gold outfit that included "hot pants". However, ignoring the criticism, BoA would continue promotion for the album wearing similar outfits, and several of the outfits worne during the Arena Tour for this album also included "hot pants".
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 100 as of January 11, 2006.
Girls on Top Era
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.
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 (#4), 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 although it is still charting, sales have tappered off to barely a thousand copies a week, leading to sales equally as dismal as those of make a secret. Her 18th single, Everlasting, will be released on January 18, 2006 and the limited edition first pressing which includes a poster has already begun to sell out from several major japanese online providers.
Her next full studio album, Outgrow, will be released on February 15, 2006 and will come in two formats: a limited edition CD+DVD with the Music Videos from Do the Motion to Everlasting, and a normal CD version (not limited).
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.
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. Also, 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 next 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).
Entrance into the U.S. market
An official SM representative, states in a interview BoA has no plans in the near future to establish a presence in the US Market for several reasons.
Albums
| Album # | Album cover | Album information | Copies Sold | Name Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1st) 1st Korean Studio Album |  | ID; Peace B | 218,000 (South Korea) | BoA |
| (2nd) One-Fifth Korean Album |  | Jumping into the World | 114,000 (South Korea) | BoA |
| (3rd) 1st Japanese Studio Album |  | Listen To My Heart
| 930,000 (Japan) 1,300,000 (worldwide) -including Japan- | BoA |
| (4th) 2nd Korean Studio Album |  | NO.1 | 572,000 (South Korea) | BoA |
| (5th) 1st Japanese Remix Album |  | Peace B. Remixes | 62,000 (Japan) | BoA |
| (6th) Two-Fifth Korean Album |  | Miracle
| 327,000 (South Korea) | BoA |
| (7th) 2nd Japanese Studio Album |  | Valenti
| 1,250,000 (Japan) 1,300,000 (worldwide) -including Japan- | BoA |
| (8th) 3rd Korean Studio Album |  | Atlantis Princess | 343,000 (South Korea) | BoA |
| (9th) 2nd Japanese Remix Album |  | Next World | 194,000 (Japan) | BoA |
| (10th) Three-Fifth Korean Album |  | Shine We Are!
| 84,000 (South Korea) | BoA |
| (11th) 3rd Japanese Studio Album |  | Love and Honesty
| 650,000 (Japan) 800,000 (worldwide) -including Japan- | BoA |
| (12th) 1st Japanese Compilation Album |  | Kpop Selection Album | 34,000 (Japan) | BoA |
| (13th) 4th Korean Studio Album |  | My Name | 205,000 (South Korea) | BoA |
| (14th) 2nd Japanese Compilation Album |  | Best of Soul
| 1,076,000 (Japan) 1,200,000 (worldwide) -including Japan- (still charting) | BoA |
| (15th) 5th Korean Studio Album |  | Girls on Top | 115,000 (South Korea) | BoA |
| (16th) 4th Japanese Studio Album |  | Outgrow
| - | BoA |
| - | - | - | ~2,038,000 (grand total) Albums Sales Korea | BoA |
| - | - | - | ~4,184,000 (grand total) Album Sales Japan | BoA |
| - | - | - | ~6,237,000 (grand total) Album Sales Japan and Korea (excluding other countries) | BoA |
| - | - | - | ~8,138,000 (grand total) Albums+Singles Japan and Korea (excluding other countries) | BoA |
Singles
| Single # | Date of release | Title of release | Album | Highest Korean monthly top 50 position | Highest Oricon weekly top 200 position | Language | Copies Sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | May 30, 2001 | ID;Peace B | Listen To My Heart | - | #20 | Japanese | 40,000 |
| 2nd | July 25, 2001 | Amazing Kiss | Listen To My Heart | - | #23 | Japanese | 59,000 |
| 3rd | December 05, 2001 | Kimochi wa tsutawaru (気持ちはつたわる?) | Listen To My Heart | - | #15 | Japanese | 77,000 |
| 4th | December 19, 2001 | the meaning of peace (duet with Kumi Koda) | Listen To My Heart | - | #12 | Japanese | 66,000 |
| 5th | January 17, 2002 | LISTEN TO MY HEART | Listen To My Heart | - | #5 | Japanese | 179,000 |
| 6th | March 13, 2002 | Every Heart -minna no kimochi- (Every Heart -ミンナノキモチ-?) | Listen To My Heart | - | #10 | Japanese | 84,000 |
| 7th | May 29, 2002 | Don't start now | Listen To My Heart | - | #17 | Japanese | 20,000 |
| 8th | August 28, 2002 | VALENTI | Valenti | - | #2 | Japanese | 201,000 |
| 9th | September 19, 2002 | Kiseki (奇蹟?) / NO.1 (Kiseki) | Valenti | - | #3 | Japanese | 129,000 |
| - | October 30, 2002 | Everything Needs Love (Mondo Grosso featuring BoA) | - | - | #32 | Japanese | 25,000 |
| 10th | December 11, 2002 | JEWEL SONG / BESIDE YOU -boku wo yobu koe- (BESIDE YOU-僕を呼ぶ声-?) | Valenti | - | #3 | Japanese | 151,000 |
| - | February 26, 2003 | Holiday (Palmdrive featuring BoA & Akira) | - | - | #27 | Japanese | 16,000 |
| 11th | May 14, 2003 | Shine We Are! / Earthsong | Love and Honesty | - | #2 | Japanese | 144,000 |
| 12th | May 25, 2003 | The Lights of Seoul -not for sale- (given to people who went to the "Hi Seoul Festival" 2003) | Atlantis Princess | - | - | Korean | not for sale |
| - | September 26, 2003 | Show Me What You Got (BRATZ featuring BoA & Howie D.) | - | - | - | Korean | - |
| 13th (1st Korean) | October 22, 2003 | Double (Korean Version) | N/A | #8 | - | Korean | 45,000 |
| 13th | October 22, 2003 | DOUBLE (Japanese Version) | Love and Honesty | - | #2 | Japanese | 82,000 |
| - | - | DOUBLE | - | - | - | - | total127,000 |
| 14th (2nd Korean) | December 3, 2003 | Rock With You (Korean Version) | N/A | #11 | - | Korean | 25,000 |
| 14th | December 3, 2003 | Rock With You (Japanese Version) | Love and Honesty | - | #5 | Japanese | 58,000 |
| - | - | Rock With You | - | - | - | - | total83,000 |
| 15th | February 11, 2004 | Be the one | Love and Honesty | - | #15 | Japanese | 24,000 |
| - | March 17, 2004 | The Love Bug (m-flo loves BoA) | Best of Soul | - | #8 | Japanese | 50,000 |
| 16th | September 1, 2004 | QUINCY / Konoyono shirushi (コノヨノシルシ?) | Best of Soul | - | #4 | Japanese | 82,000 |
| 17th (3rd Korean) | December 1, 2004 | Merry-Chri (메리-크리) (Korean Version) | N/A | #10 | - | Korean | 20,000 |
| 17th | December 1 ,2004 | Meri Kuri (メリクリ?) (Japanese Version) | Best of Soul | - | #5 | Japanese | 135,000 |
| - | - | Meri Kuri | - | - | - | - | total155,000 |
| 18th | March 30, 2005 | DO THE MOTION | Outgrow | - | #1 | Japanese | 169,000 |
| 19th | August 31, 2005 | make a secret | Outgrow | - | #5 | Japanese | 55,000 |
| 20th | November 23, 2005 | Dakishimeru (抱きしめる?) | Outgrow | - | #9 | Japanese | 55,000 |
| 21st | December 7, 2005 | Merry Christmas from BoA (digital single) | - | - | #2 (iTunes Japan Music Store) | Japanese | online distrubition |
| 22nd | January 18, 2006 | Everlasting | Outgrow | - | TBA | Japanese | not yet released |
| 22nd (4th Korean) | January 21, 2006 | Everlasting (Korean Version) | N/A | TBA | - | Korean | not yet released |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ~1,906,000 (Grand Total) excluding Korean and non-regular Singles |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ~2,205,000 (Grand Total) including Korean and non-regular Singles |
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 |
|---|---|
| 2000 |
|
| 2001 |
|
| 2002 |
|
| 2003 |
|
| 2004 |
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| 2005 |
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See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- List of Koreans
- K-pop
- Contemporary culture of South Korea
- Korean music
- SM Entertainment
- J-pop
- List of J-pop artists
- AVEX Records
External links
- BoA official website (Japanese)
- BoA official website (Korean)
- BoAjjang.com: fansite & forum (English)
- BoA Brasil: Fan Site (Portuguese)
- Yeseule's BoA tribute: Fan Site (English/Korean)
- 8Dimentions: Chinese Fans Site - 8Ds (Chinese)
- FinklSES's BoA forum: Fan Site (English)
- AsiaFinest BoA (English)
- BoAVn.net: Fan Site (Vietnamese)
- Nippop Profile | BoA (English)
- Open 100%BoA Korea HQ (Korean/Japanese/English)
- ID;Peace B: Fan Site (Spanish)
- everyheart: Fan Site (Japanese/English)
- BABOA.NET:Fan Site (English)
- BoA* Jumping Into The World Sites and Forum (English/Indonesian)
- Amaz1ng !: BoA & jmusic forum (Spanish)
- BoA's House: Fansite (English)
- J-Music Ignited | BoA
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