Boa

Birth name 권보아
Kwon Boa
Born November 5, 1986 (age 24)
Origin Guri, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Genres Pop, dance, electropop, electronica, R&B
Occupations Singer-songwriter, composer, dancer, model, Actress, voice actress, Record producer
Years active 2000–present
Labels SM Entertainment (South Korea)
Avex Trax (Japan)
SM Entertainment USA
Associated acts SM Town, Verbal, M-Flo, Anyband
Website boa.smtown.com
avexnet.or.jp/boa
boaamerica.com

Boa Kwon (Korean: 권보아, Kwon Boa, born November 5, 1986[1]), commonly stylized and known by her stage name BoA, which is a backronym for Beat of Angel,[2] 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]",[3] the writing and composition of her songs are handled mostly by her staff; for this reason, she has drawn some criticism.[4] (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".) However, BoA began writing her own songs for her 6th Korean album, Hurricane Venus.
BoA's multilingual skills (she speaks Japanese and conversational English along with her native Korean and has recorded songs in Mandarin Chinese)[5] 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.

2000–2002: Debut
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 older brothers' persuasion.[4] 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.[6][7] 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.[8] 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.[4]
BoA began her Japanese music career singing at the Avex-owned club Velfarre.[1] 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.[9][10] 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.[6][11] 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.[12] 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.