~*|*Boa*|*~

**IzaBell` :x** Dum Mai 31, 2009 5:32 pm

Boa Kwon (born November 5, 1986),[1] commonly known by her stage name BoA, which stands for Beat of Angel,[2] is a Korean singer, active in both South Korea and Japan. 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 as Nelly and Janet Jackson, many of BoA's songs fall into those genres. The writing and composition of her songs are handled mostly by her staff, for which BoA has drawn some criticism.[3] However, 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 Asia. She is one of only two non-Japanese Asians who have had million-selling albums in Japan and is one of only two artists to have first six consecutive number-one studio albums on the Oricon charts.

BoA lists hip hop as her main musical influence, though she also enjoys R&B. Her favorite musicians are Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Nelly, Britney Spears, Brian McKnight, Janet Jackson, Pink, and Jay-Z;[56] 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.

Because the composition and writing of BoA's songs is handled mostly by her staff, BoA has been criticized as being a "manufactured pop star".[note 3] In response to such criticism, BoA said that "if one person were to force their own will on something, then things that should have gone right could easily go wrong" and that she is "not all that unhappy with the expression that [she is] a manufactured star. In a way, that is true. Because SM Entertainment created the environment and all the surrounding conditions, [she is] able to be successful in the way [she is] now."[3] Though her earlier releases were marked by a "cute" and "youthful" style, BoA began to present a more "mature" image starting from the album My Name. In a Talk Asia interview, Anjali Rao noted that some felt that My Name marked the beginning of BoA's decline in popularity and asked if the public would always see the singer as "Little Baby BoA"; BoA replied, "So while I apologize to those people who still want the baby BoA, in fact, what can I do? I just keep growing up! I can't stop that from happening."

BoA has collaborated with "high-profile" artists. Among the Japanese artists she has performed with are the hip hop group M-Flo (for the single "The Love Bug"), Kumi Koda, and house DJ Mondo Grosso. She has performed with Western artists: the song "Flying Without Wings" from her album Next World was a collaboration with Irish band Westlife covering the original song; the Bratz single "Show Me What You Got" was performed with Howie D of the American band Backstreet Boys.[17] Other artists she has collaborated with are Soul'd Out, Dabo, Verbal (of M-Flo), Rah-D, Seamo, TVXQ and Yutaka Furakawa (of the band Doping Panda). American rock band Weezer covered "Meri Kuri" on the album Weezer (The Red Album).

BoA is a "top artist" in South Korea and Japan; her popularity in the latter is attributed to her linguistic skills (she speaks and records in Japanese, Korean, and English) and a Japanese interest in Korean pop culture started in the early 2000s when the two countries began promoting cultural exchanges.[58][59][60] BoA's popularity extends throughout Asia; she has fans in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. She has expressed plans to enter a global market; she stated in an interview, "I will [...] get recognition in the U.S. and Europe to become a world-renowned Diva."[3][61] In June 2006, the music video of her Korean song "My Name" became the first music video ever shown on MTV K, an MTV music channel directed at Korean Americans.

Because of her wide appeal, BoA has appeared in advertisements for many brands.[3] Among the brands she has promoted are Olympus,[62] Nike,[63] L'Oréal,[64] Japanese cosmetic company Kosé,[65] Skechers,[66] and GM Daewoo.[67] Four of her songs have been used as themes. "Every Heart: Minna no Kimochi" was used as the ending theme for the anime InuYasha;[68] "Beside You: Boku o Yobu Koe" was used as the opening theme for the anime Monkey Typhoon;[69] "Key of Heart" was the theme song for the Japanese release of Over the Hedge;[70] and "Your Color" was the theme song of the video game Ninety-Nine Nights.Her widespread popularity has also made her a "cultural ambassador"; she has represented South Korea in inter-Asian musical events and has appeared in an Oxford University Press-published English-language textbook.