BoA | |
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Native name | 권보아 |
Born |
Kwon Bo-ah November 5, 1986 Guri, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea |
Other names | BoA |
Occupation | |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 2000–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts | SM Town |
Website |
boa www boaamerica |
BoA | |
Hangul | |
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Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Gwon Boa |
McCune–Reischauer | Kwŏn Poa |
Kwon Bo-ah (Korean: 권보아, Chinese: 權珤雅, Japanese: クォン・ボア, 権宝兒, born November 5, 1986), commonly stylized and known by her stage name BoA, is a South Korean singer and actress active in South Korea and Japan.
BoA was born and raised in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. She 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. Two years later, she released her debut Japanese album, Listen to My Heart, becoming the first Korean pop star to break through in Japan following the fall of barriers that had restricted the import and export of entertainment between the countries since the end of World War II. On October 14, 2008, BoA debuted in the United States with the single "Eat You Up" and released her debut English-language album, BoA on March 17, 2009.
BoA's multilingual skills (she speaks Japanese and English along with native Korean and has recorded songs in Mandarin Chinese) have contributed to her commercial success throughout East Asia. She is the only foreign artist to have three albums selling more than one million copies in Japan and is one of only two artists to have six consecutive number-one studio albums on the Oricon charts since her debut, the other being Ayumi Hamasaki.
At age eleven, BoA accompanied her older brother to an SM Entertainment talent search. Though her brother was the one who auditioned as a break-dancer, SM talent scouts instead took notice of BoA and offered her a contract on the same night as the auditions. Her parents initially opposed the notion of BoA's leaving school to enter the entertainment business but eventually consented at her older brothers' persuasion. She has said that her early influence as a singer was Seo Taiji.