BoA grew up in South Korea with two older brothers. At the age of eleven, her brother was auditioning in a talent search for the next international icon held by Korean musical conglomerate SM Entertainment. BoA was brought along and eventually chosen. After her reluctant parents agreed to letting her pursue a career in singing rather than focus on school, BoA was trained in singing, dancing, and foreign language before finally making her Korean album debut.
BoA has released albums in both South Korea and Japan, and her recording company, SM Entertainment, is positioning her as a cross-cultural star in Asia. She has released eight full length albums, three “.5″ albums and twenty singles in South Korea and Japan. Her albums have also been released as “overseas versions” throughout Asia. Almost seven million copies of her albums have been sold to date. She can speak native-level Korean, plus fluent Japanese and conversational English and Chinese.”Orizon Style” Magazine Page – 09.12.05
BoA broke records in both Korea and Japan with her smash hits, including “No. 1,” “Valenti,” and “Listen to My Heart”. She has made strides in music and acting with chart-breaking albums released in both Japanese and Korean (BoA accounts for over 75% of musical exports from Korea), as well as being a cover model for huge companies such as Shiseido, Honda, KDDI: Au, Calpis, and recently the Japanese division of Gap. BoA has also become a cross-cultural icon, bridging historical tensions between the nations of Korea and Japan.BoA was awarded “Most Influential Asian Artist” and “Favorite Artist Korea” Prizes at MTV Asia Awards held in Singapore on February, 2004. Her songs are now popular even in Taiwan, PRC and some Southeast Asian countries. She has appeared on numerous magazine covers and some commercials, including KOSE, MISSHA, Lipton, Ting, Pantech & Curitel, Elite, Lotte, Maybelline, and Wired XYZ.BoA also appeared in the Korean Music Festival held in the Sydney Opera House on June 21, 2004 and in the Volvo “Hallyu” Concert in Universal City, California (outside of Los Angeles) on June 11, 2005. Most recently, she performed at the 2005 APEC conference in Busan, South Korea.
