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Name: Kwon BoA
Birthday: November 5, 1986
Age: 23(Korean age 24)
Boa, commonly stylized and known by her stage name BoA, which is a backronym for Beat of Angel, is a Korean singer, active in South Korea, Japan, and the United States. Born and raised in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, BoA was discovered by SM Entertainment talent agents when she accompanied her older brother to a talent search. In 2000, after two years of training, she released ID; Peace B, her debut Korean album, under SM Entertainment. Two years later, she released her debut Japanese album, Listen to My Heart, under the Avex label. On October 14, 2008, under SM Entertainment USA, a subdivision of SM Entertainment, BoA debuted in the United States with the single "Eat You Up" and released her debut English-language album, BoA on March 17, 2009.
Influenced by hip hop and R&B singers such as Nelly and Janet Jackson, many of BoA's songs fall into those genres. As the singer feels she does not "have any talent for writing [songs]", the writing and composition of her songs are handled mostly by her staff; for this reason, she has drawn some criticism. (Though only a few of her songs are self-written, BoA began composing on her own with her Japanese debut album Listen to My Heart, in which she co-wrote and composed the song "Nothing's Gonna Change".)
BoA's multilingual skills (she speaks Japanese and conversational English along with her native Korean and has recorded songs in Mandarin Chinese) have contributed to her commercial success in South Korea and Japan and her popularity throughout East Asia. She is the only non-Japanese Asian to have two million-selling albums in Japan and is one of only two artists to have six consecutive number-one studio albums on the Oricon charts since her debut. BoA is one of the most influential in artists in Asia and is commonly referred to as the Queen of K-Pop
At age eleven, BoA accompanied her older brother to an SM Entertainment talent search. Though her brother was the one who auditioned, SM talent scouts instead took notice of BoA and offered her a contract. Her parents initially opposed the notion of BoA's leaving school to enter the entertainment business but eventually consented at her brother's persuasion. BoA underwent two years of training (involving vocal, dance, and Japanese lessons), and at the age of thirteen released her debut album ID; Peace B in South Korea on August 25, 2000. The album was moderately successful; it entered the Top 10 of the South Korean charts and sold around 156,000 units. Meanwhile, her Korean record label, SM Entertainment, made arrangements with Japanese label Avex Trax to launch her music career in Japan. In early 2001, BoA released her first mini-album, Don't Start Now; it sold around 90,000 units. After its release, she took a hiatus from the Korean music industry to focus on the Japanese market at which time she worked to solidify her skills in Japanese.
BoA began her Japanese music career singing at the Avex-owned club Velfarre. In 2001, she released her debut Japanese single, a Japanese version of the song, "ID; Peace B" (originally from the eponymous album). The single reached #20 on the Oricon chart and was followed by "Amazing Kiss", "Kimochi wa Tsutawaru", and "Listen to My Heart"; the last became the singer's first single to enter the Oricon's Top Five. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, BoA recorded the charity single "The Meaning of Peace" with Kumi Koda as part of Avex's Song Nation project to raise funds for charity. Her debut Japanese album, Listen to My Heart, was released on March 13, 2002. The album was a breakthrough in BoA's career: it became an RIAJ-certified million-seller and debuted atop the Oricon, making it the first album by a Korean artist to reach the top. A single, "Every Heart: Minna no Kimochi", was released on the same day as the album. After the release of Listen to My Heart, BoA released her second Korean studio album, No.1, a month later. The album sold around 544,000 units and became the fourth-best-selling record of the year in South Korea. Jumping into the World (a Japanese re-release of the mini-album Don't Start Now) and the Japanese single "Don't Start Now" were released a month later on the same day.
On September 2, 2008, SM Entertainment announced that BoA would make her American debut under a new subsidiary label, SM Entertainment USA. A press conference was held on September 10, 2008 at the Seoul Imperial Palace Hotel to clarify the details of her American debut. BoA's debut American single "Eat You Up," produced by Thomas Troelsen, was released online on October 21, 2008; The physical single was to be released in stores on November 11, 2008, but SM instead released a promotional CD containing dance remixes of "Eat You Up". "Eat You Up" became a number-one Breakout on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. The remix of "Eat You Up" featuring rapper Flo Rida and was slated for release in late November and leaked onto the internet in December. BoA performed "Eat You Up" as well as other songs at YouTube's Tokyo Live concert, and performed in New York City on December 3, 2008, as well as the Jingle Ball at the Anaheim Honda Center on December 6, 2008. She also performed the song "Look Who's Talking" at the event.
BoA released a triple-A-side single on February 18, 2009, "Eien/Universe/Believe in Love". On the same day, the Ravex single "Believe in Love" was released, featuring vocals by BoA. Her second compilation album, Best & USA was released on March 18. The album will be released in a two-disc or one-disc edition. The former will contain one disc with Japanese songs and one with her debut American album; the latter contains fourteen Japanese songs and two songs from her American debut album. BoA's self-titled English album was released on March 17. BoA headlined as a performer for the San Francisco Pride Festival on June 28, 2009 alongside Solange Knowles and The Cliks. She debuted her next single "Energetic", performing it for the first time in public. She also performed "Eat You Up" and "I Did It for Love."
On August 31, SM USA released BoA Deluxe, the repackaged version of her debut English album. The album contained two new tracks and the radio edit version of "Energetic". After the release of BoA Deluxe, BoA went back to the Japanese market releasing a new single entitled "Bump Bump!" (October 2009), which features label-mate Verbal from M-Flo. Following the release of "Bump Bump!", BoA released "Mamoritai: White Wishes" (December 2009) and she held a Christmas concert in December. Her seventh Japanese album, Identity was released on February 10, 2010. On March 1, 2010, SM Entertainment announced that BoA will make a comeback in South Korea for her 10th debut anniversary which is going to be on August 25, 2010 and is going to release a full-length Korean album five years after her Girls on Top album in 2005. BoA's official Korean website was updated July 23, 2010 announcing that her comeback sixth Korean album entitled Hurricane Venus is slated to be released August 2, 2010.
BoA lists hip hop as her main musical influence, though she also enjoys R&B. Her favorite musicians are Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Nelly, Britney Spears, Brian McKnight, Justin Timberlake, Pink, and Jay-Z; as a result, much of BoA's music is either dance pop or R&B. Because she also sings ballads, she is often compared to fellow Japanese singers Ayumi Hamasaki and Hikaru Utada. Her debut album, ID; Peace B, contained urban pop, "slickly produced" ballads, and "upbeat dance tunes". As her career went on, she began experimenting with different styles: Valenti contained mostly ballads; Love and Honesty was an experiment with "harder" R&B and rock music.
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