On this joyous occasion, let’s take a look at some of the best tracks created by BoA, the artist that paved the way for K-Pop as we know today. Read ahead to know more.
BoA is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer and actress. One of the most successful and influential Korean entertainers, she has been dubbed the ‘Queen of K-pop’. Born and raised in Gyeonggi Do, South Korea, BoA was discovered by SM Entertainment talent agents when she accompanied her older brother, a music video director, to a talent search in 1998. She trained for two years and made her debut in August 2000. BoA has released twenty studio albums, including ten in Korean, nine in Japanese, and one in English.
On television, she appeared as a judge on the reality competition show K-pop Star (2011–2013), as an actress on the television drama Listen to Love (2016), as a host for the second season of Produce 101 (2017), and as a coach for the third season of The Voice of Korea (2020). BoA’s ability to sing in Japanese, English and Mandarin has helped her find commercial success beyond South Korea, in China, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore. With the release of her debut Japanese studio album, Listen to My Heart (2002), BoA became the first South 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.
She is the only foreign artist with three albums that have sold more than one million copies in Japan and one of only three female artists with six consecutive number-one studio albums on the Oricon charts since her debut, the others being Japanese singers Ayumi Hamasaki and Hikaru Utada.
She has created some absolutely legendary tracks and here’s are curated list of it :-
1. Only One
For the choreography of her title track, ‘Only One’, she enlisted the help of Nappytabs who also contributed to the choreography on her upcoming dance flick Make Your Move 3D. The title track ‘Only One’ was released digitally on July 22, 2012. It entered the K-pop Billboard Hot 100 at number 12 and peaked at number 2 on its fourth week. It remained in the top 3 for four weeks. It stayed in the top of the Gaon charts for weeks, and has sold about 2 million singles as of October. The physical album was released on July 25, 2012, and sold over 28,000 copies on its first six days of release. Since August 2012, the album has sold more than 34,000 copies in total. The album also got more than 934,059 digital downloads according to Gaon Chart. The album is her best selling Korean album so far with the combination of digital and physical sales. The song was the most 2012-like song with the pretty pop coupled with the silky vocals of BoA and the best choreography as expected by the Queen of K-Pop.
2. No.1
It is a dance song that incorporates stylistic elements from europop. The version released by BoA was written by Kim Young Ah, while arrangement of the track was handled by Ahn Ik Soo. The original was created by a Norwegian producer. It was met with positive reception in both South Korea and Japan. In Mnet’s Gayo Best 27 half-year ranking of the top 100 popular songs, ‘No. 1’ ranked at number three, placing behind Shinhwa’s ‘Perfect Man’ and Lee Seung-hwan’s ‘Wrong’. The song was dubbed as not only a milestone in [BoA’s] career as a transnational idol star, but also proved the viability of SM Entertainment’s export strategy. It was the first time the company gained chart success in Korea and Japan with a song licensed from Europe.
3. Woman
The track shows Boa’s idea of a real woman and depicts how women can do better than just competing against each other. The singer embraces her womanhood and inspires other women to do so as well by urging them to be comfortable in their own skin and set their own standards for themselves. The music video further emphasizes this point, exhibiting a diverse group of women from different ages, sizes and racial groups. The accompanying choreography for the title track went viral following the record’s release for the ‘upside-down walk’ that was utilized in the introduction. Woman additionally received a nomination for Best Pop Album at the 16th Korean Music Awards in 2019.
4. Better
It is an alternative R&B written and arranged by longtime collaborator Yoo Young Jin. Alongside music production by Aston Rudi, and Jay-Keyz, the song also contains a sample of ‘Like I Do’ by Swedish singer AWA, who was given songwriting credits for the song. The song received critical acclaim from critics upon release, with several publications listing Better in their rankings of best albums of 2020. It was ranked at number six on Metro UK’s list The 20 Best K-Pop comebacks of 2020 and at number one on Billboard’s The 10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2020. It described the album as one of BoA’s strongest records to date, and it’s filled to the brim with songs that present her as someone assured in her artistry – its excellence is obvious.
ALSO READ: Quiz: Create a scrumptious Indian meal and we’ll reveal if GOT7’s Jackson will join you for dinner
Stay updated with the latest Hallyu news on: ,,,and
Which song is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below.