generasia:Featured article for 2010 week 31

BoA

BoA (보아) is a Korean pop singer who debuted under SM Entertainment in 2000 with the album ID; Peace B. She was soon marketed as a "world artist" and debuted in Japan under avex trax in 2001. In 2009, she released her debut English-language album, BoA, worldwide.

BoA was discovered by Korean record label SM Entertainment while attending an audition for her brother at the age of 11. Impressed with the young girl's singing and dancing abilities, SM Entertainment quickly met with BoA's parents to work out a deal. In the beginning, her parents were strongly opposed to the idea, hoping that BoA would continue on in her education instead of turning to the entertainment business. Eventually BoA's parents agreed and she began her training.

Two years later, BoA released her debut Korean album, ID; Peace B. The album was a success, and SM Entertainment began to work on a deal with Japanese record label avex trax. After a Korean mini-album, Jumping into the World, and a few Japanese singles, BoA released her first Japanese album on March 13, 2002 called LISTEN TO MY HEART. It was an instant success, debuting at #1 on the Oricon weekly charts and selling over 900,000 copies. She carried on being a successful singer in both countries, then in 2005, she released her last album in Korea, Girls On Top, before becoming more focused on the Japanese market.

This year, on August 5, 2010, she is making her Korean comeback with the album Hurricane Venus for her tenth anniversary.