brief profile: there were some reviews below saying 'she is not a korean britney spears'.well she is not definitely and she doesn't have to be because she has more solid material to offer to the people who love light pop music. BoA(full korean name - Bo A Kwon) was born in November, 5th, 1986 in Korea. as a child, she had rather normal life up until she went along with her big brother who was going to a talent audition that was hosted by Korea's most powerful talent agency company, SM Entertainment which by then had H.O.T, and SES who'd been mega popular not only in korea and also overseas in China, Hong Kong and southern asian countries. just like any other stars who were born to be famous, it was rather odd turn of destiny that company immediately noticed BoA who seemed rather humble and shy but, had beautiful vulnerable voice and the look.

looking at current pop stars, people talk about how stars are being made by the system. when it comes to BoA, there is no bigger case than her that how the powerful entertainment company can do anything they want. well, BoA is an example of result of shameless exploitation and plans of any entertainment company ever produced. as a prototype model to be successful first in japan and rather to be imported back to korea with all the hoopla, BoA went into extensive language training(japanese, and english), dance and vocal training for almost 3 years. in the meantime, her S.M entertainment company started spreading rumors on the newspaper of this female singer they are producing for 'big' market. that was all happened in Korea. after 3 years of preparation, her first album ID:Peace B had lukewarm reception at the japanese market but, it was enough to keep her going in japan and to create buzz in Korea. her biggest break came with her second album No.1/Valenti that had numerous hit singles such as No.1, Beat It, and Listen To My Heart and smash hit, Valenti. her second album in japan was sold 1million copies in single day. and she was only 16. the album which led to be steady seller selling around 2 million copies, kept BoA the new hottest female star since Utada Hikaru in japan and she was more like a hero in korea who break the barrier to japanese music market and making it a model for all korean singers. this hard working girl never stopped since, touring after touring, and hit single after hit single, it seems she's born to make people feel happy. now, amazon.com doesn't carry her new album but, she now has third album in korea, Atlantis Princess which now is mega hit in korea and chinese market(yes now she speaks chinese!) and new remix album in japan that was another number 1 album in Oricon chart.

her music: to be quite frank with, her music is a mix-up of this and that from everything. so, if you happen to casually listen to, you may not appreciate and skip although it may be really catchy. her music has elements of korean kayo, japanese pop and enka and typical american pop music approach. the dillema is she has to come up with music that can be well received in japan and korea, and the rest of the asian markets. just translating words into different languages wouldn't work. No.1 is very catchy typical japanese pop music. it's light, up-tempo and really positive as if sun is shining, great melody and her voice blends well with the instrument (if you like Madonna's Don't Tell Me. you will love this song), Listen to My Heart is another powerful song. Jewel Song is very sweet and romantic slow-tempo song that you can listen while you are doing very long long drive. Winding Road is another showcase song that show off her beautiful silky and smooth voice with beautiful tune of melody. it features Dabo(rap musician). their two distinct voices blend so well together through out the music. Valenti is the title with spanish guitar and modern pop instruments. it's dancy, edgy, and stylish. you can almost imagine yourself walking down the coolest tokyo fashion downtown where all those cool kids come in cool and expensive clothes. Personally my most favorite song is Shine We Are (which is japanese 9th single that was released much later than this album) and Valenti. u can purchase valenti from amazon.com but, Shine We Are is only available from amazon.co.jp. but for anyone who is interested in BoA, i'd recommend Shine We Are.

Valenti is a great album for you to experience the epitome of light-hearted and cute japanese pop music. you will never be disappointed.

...


VALENTI ~ Transends boarders!   June 17, 2003
FredericWhite (Montreal,Canada)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Unfortunately, I am unable to comprehend the lyrics nevertheless I award this CD with five stars.
As they did on AMERICAN BANDSTAND's "RATE A RECORD", I based my rating on melody, production level and (oh yeah) the songs make you want to dance cause they have a good beat.

The novelty of this CD is most of us will be unable to understand the lyrics but this CD will stand on the merit of the POP material. By the way; I do believe that I hear english lyrics (Where ever you go....") sung during the choruses of the song "B.I.O"

This is a great CD.


Briliiant Talent!   March 14, 2003
Mac from London (London-Croydon to be specific)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is BoA's second Japanese Album. And I think it is stunning! BoA is a Korean and girl and i read about the gruelling process it was to learn Japanese to break the market-and let me tell you, on everyone song she throws her heart and soul into them!
I love the slick stlye of 'Kimochi Wa Tstuawaru' which in english would be 'Expressng My feelings'

Peace B is a excellent song. It was okay in Korean but the way BoA uses her Japanese is pure genius.
If this were to be released next week in the USA or the U.K it would be branded as Pop, simply because she is a young girl with a LOT (and I mean a LOT) of energy to fill a stadium (have you seen her dance-Wooh!

But this is R'n'B, not soul like Coco Lee or Delta Goodrem who are born balladists. BoA throws down on hip hop songs about lost love, being able to stand up for herself and not taking any [junk]on 'Don't start now' which has some excellent choreography, but back to the album. I reccomend this Cd to you even if u are not a fan of kpop, Jpop or even POP! buy it because a lot of love has been put into this cd and you should give love back.


Go BoA! ^-^ /~   July 20, 2003
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

BoA is a Korean singer who also sings in Japanese. This is her second album (yay!). I would recommend it to anyone who likes dance music (mostly) or pop. The music and beats are similar to the ones like "N Sync". It's real catchy.
I wouldn't say I have a favorite song, since I like all of them. It depends on how I'm feeling...like if I was sad (or tired ^-^;) I'd turn on "Jewel Song" or "Moon&Sunrise". "Valenti" is a faster, more upbeat-ish type of song; while "Jewel Song" is more slow. Track #4 is "Sekai no Katasumi de" and #5 is "Kiseki"
The whole album is in Japanese, but you can find translations on the internet.
The DVD is either region 2 or 3, so it won't play on a U.S. DVD player, so I can't watch mine >.< but I did download "Valenti" and BoA dances well in it!
I am neither Japanese or Korean (or Asian for that matter ^-^;) and I enjoy the CD as much as anyone in Japan might, so you can too!! I really encourage you to buy this CD!!
^-^ Byebye~!!
~autumn


One of BoA's Best   January 25, 2005
Ash (Moorhead, MN)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful

This CD has to be one of BoA's best collections. It's one of her first albums and it's one of the greatest! Any BoA fan should own this album. But I have to say, if you liked this you'd love her album LOVE & HONESTY. Support BoA, buy this CD!