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)[4] have contributed to her commercial success in South Korea and Japan and her popularity throughout Asia. She is the only non-Japanese Asian 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.
