South Korean female vocalist BoA, who made her Japanese debut in May 2001 with the single "ID; Peace, is unusual in that she's a star both in her home country and in Japan. BoA was born on Nov. 5, 1986, and was signed to South Korean record label SM Entertainment in her early teens. She came to the attention of Avex, Japan's biggest independent label, after scoring a top-10 album in South Korea with her debut set, ID: Peace B, and in 2001 signed a recording deal with Avex. Her success as a chart-topping J-pop artist can be seen as part of the overall "Korea boom" in Japan that was triggered by Japan and South Korea co-hosting the 2002 soccer World Cup tournament. Unlike many Japanese-Korean celebrities, who hide their ethnic origins for fear of discrimination, BoA has been billed as Korean from day one. "BoA," by the way, is a stage name - which stands for "Beat of the Angel" - based on her real name, Kwon Boa. BoA's 2002 album, Listen to My Heart, hit No. 1 on the Oricon album chart, making BoA is the first artist from Asia ever to have a No. 1 album in Japan, according to Japanese music industry magazine Oricon. Her music lies somewhere between Avex's trademark dance-pop (for example, Ayumi Hamasaki) and the more American R&B-influenced type of music that's proved so successful for Hikaru Utada. BoA has become a "tarento" (talent) in the classic J-pop mold, with endless media appearances and scads of product endorsements.
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