BoA

Boa Kwon (Kwon Boa, born November 5, 1986 in Kyunggi-Do, South Korea) is an iconic Korean singer who is better known by her artistic name BoA* (Beat of Angel). She has released albums in both South Korea and Japan. Her Korean record label, SM Entertainment, has positioned her to become a cross-cultural idol for all of Asia. She has released nine full-length albums, three mini-albums, two compilation albums, two remix albums, and over thirty singles in Japan and South Korea. Her albums have also been released as "overseas versions" throughout Asia and her total record sales are quickly approaching the ten million mark. BoA broke records in both Korea and Japan with her top songs, No. 1, Valenti, and Listen to My Heart. She has also made strides in music and acting with chart-breaking albums released in both Japanese and Korean. BoA's first language is Korean, but she also speaks fluent Japanese and conversational English, and is also learning Mandarin Chinese. BoA has re-recorded her more popular songs in Mandarin and has composed and written lyrics for several of her songs. Today, BoA is considered one of the most popular pop artists in both Korea and Japan, and is one of the leading stars of the Korean Wave otherwise known as "Hallyu". She has been credited as helping establish and improve relations between Japan and Korea, where tensions have traditionally existed. She is recognized as the "Queen of Asia" by fans across the globe. BoA has re-signed an extended contract with SM Entertainment until 2012 for which she will receive 100,000 shares of SM Entertainment.