This year will witness the creative expansion of an international star like none other. She’s young. She’s beautiful. She’s talented. And she’s a proven success. Quite frankly, she’s the embodiment of mainstream music - 2.0. As one of Korea and Japan’s biggest pop stars, we’re talking 20 million records sold; BoA’s grand entrance to the United States is not only highly anticipated it is warmly welcomed. With her American debut - the self-titled CD just hitting store shelves and her digitally released, bass pumping, first single “Eat You Up” charting on Billboard, BoA is set to reach out and touch the American music market in a way it has never felt before.
Born in Korea to a relatively small family with two older brothers, BoA knew from as early as she could remember that she wanted to be a singer. There was never a question in this pop phenom’s mind what her career path would be. However, what she didn’t know is how fast it would take off. Accompanying her brother on an open audition call at Korean based entertainment industry powerhouse S.M. Entertainment, BoA was literally discovered by the CEO of the company and then the magic began.
Soon after signing with S.M. Entertainment, BoA entered their intensive training academy where she took her singing and dancing skills to the next level. BoA’s vocals became stronger and her hip-hop and pop dancing advanced. By 2000, a 13-year-old BoA was ready, and she released her Korean debut album ID; Peace B which debuted in the top 10 on Korean charts. A slew of successful albums (see accompanying discography below) would follow that release but not before BoA opted to breakout and into something else.
In 2002, BoA moved to Japan. She embraced the challenge of penetrating a totally different music market. Intelligent as she is talented, BoA learned Japanese within two years. She released Listen to My Heart which debuted at the very top of the charts and won over her Japanese audience with her pop sensibilities and superior dance skills. She couldn’t be stopped.
Throughout the early 2000s, specifically from 2003 to 2006, BoA seamlessly shifted between Korea and Japan releasing several albums. Her second Japanese CD Valenti moved more than 1.2 million units. During this time, BoA also toured in support of her releases bringing her energetic and engaging stage show to the masses. And then BoA came into her late teen years and she was poised for the challenge of transitioning into that young adult phase of her life.
In 2008 the announcement was made that BoA, a triumphant artist in Korea and Japan, would make her American debut in 2009. More than 200 journalists from Japan, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the United States descended upon Korea to hear the tri-lingual, dancing and singing music marvel reveal her imminent plans of focusing on an American music career.
BoA’s first full English album, the self-titled gem, features a collection of hip, R&B influenced, pop tunes – a unique sound that has become her forte. Her stellar and strong vocals continue to play the front while the production provides the perfect pop backdrop. One listen to BoA’s debut single “Eat You Up” with its aggressive synthesizer ridden instrumental playing under BoA’s crisp, clear, and sonically sturdy vocals and there’s no question that the victories amassed in Korea and Japan are on the horizon here in the United States.
In fact, the singer hooked up with Atlanta, Georgia’s go-to super star songwriter and producer Sean Garrett (Usher, Ciara, Chris Brown, Beyonce Knowles, Whitney Houston) for the smash hit “I Did It For Love.” A contagious, body moving, dance floor, riot inciting, melodic duet, “I Did It For Love” is a guaranteed night club banger. Also penned and produced by hit record maker extraordinaire Sean Garrett is the aptly titled “Energetic.” This futuristic sounding tune falls fittingly in the line of dance tracks featured on the album. Its mesmerizing chorus intoxicates the sound waves as BoA’s vocals swim in and out of the instrumental. In the same vein, “Hypnotic Dancefloor,” a sizzling, percussion pushing tune perfectly complements BoA’s cosmic and compelling vocals.
But it’s not just about heating up the night club with BoA. In “Obsessed,” she candidly and artfully addresses going insane over an individual in the name of love all over a syncopated and pulsating heartbeat paced drum arrangement. And BoA’s “Scream,” with its grand instrumental opening, brings a subtly aggressive charge to the rest of the album, further displaying BoA’s powerful vocals as she sings: “Scream/there’s nobody to hear/it doesn’t matter/it’s only me and you and all of your fears.” And of course, it is the hubris and harmony of the boastful “Look Who’s Talking” with its provocative lyricism and hip winding instrumentation that takes the CD to another level of enjoyment.
BoA may be most comparable to Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, or a young Janet Jackson but with her fresh contemporary edge, she has got an expert hold on this pop thing and her self-titled American debut proves it.
