BoA (album)

Not to be confused with Boa (album).

BoA is the first US studio album by South Korean pop singer BoA and her twelfth studio album overall. The album was released on March 17, 2009, in the United States. BoA was released in Japan boxed with her second greatest hits album, Best & USA, as a 2-in-1 CD.^[1] BoA debuted on the Billboard 200 at #127 and topped the Billboard's Top Heatseekers (Pacific). On August 31, BoA: Deluxe was released digitally via iTunes and includes the single version of "Energetic" and two bonus songs, "Crazy About" and "Control". On September 22, 2009, the album was released worldwide.^[2]

BoA
Studio album by BoA
Released	March 17, 2009
Recorded	2008–2009
Genre	Pop R&B dance-pop electropop
Length	38:47 (Standard) 49:00 (Deluxe)
Language	English
Label	SM Entertainment USA Arsenal
Producer	Bloodshy & Avant Sean Garrett Henrik Jonback Brian Kennedy Clubba Langg Adrian Newman The Phantom Boyz Chief Wakil
BoA chronology
The Face (2008) BoA (2009) Best & USA (2009)
Singles from BoA
"Eat You Up" Released: October 21, 2008 "Look Who's Talking" Released: December 3, 2008 "I Did It for Love" Released: June 2, 2009
Singles from BoA: Deluxe
"Energetic" Released: July 21, 2009

Background

In January 2008, it was reported that BoA was planning to enter the US market.^[3] However, Lee Soo Man, the head of BoA's label SM Entertainment, denied this, saying there was still more work to do in Asia.^[4] On August 29, 2008, SM Entertainment announced it had started a subsidiary label in the U.S., SM Entertainment USA. News reports started to surface once again about BoA breaking into the U.S. market.^[5][6] On September 2, 2008, BoA's label officially announced that she would be entering the US market under their subsidiary label.^[7] On September 10, a press conference was held at the Seoul Imperial Palace Hotel to further clarify her plans.^[7] With the album, BoA hoped to become a "world-renowned entertainer" in the vein of Janet Jackson.^[8]

Production

For the album, BoA worked with well-known music producers such as Bloodshy & Avant, Brian Kennedy and Sean Garrett.^[9] The recording of the album took place in Thailand, Australia, Atlanta and Los Angeles.^[10] On Space Shower Music Update during her interview, BoA said that the album consisted of upbeat songs and the use of a vocoder.^[11] The album was originally titled Look Who's Talking.^[12]

Singles

During her press conference, SM Entertainment announced "Eat You Up" was chosen to be the lead single from the album.^[13] The track was produced by Henrik Jonback (who worked with artists such as Britney Spears and Madonna). "Eat You Up" was released online on October 21, 2008. The single charted on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart peaking at the number 8 spot.^[14] "Look Who's Talking" was first performed at MTV World Presents: BoA Live in New York on December 3, 2008.^[15] BoA also performed the single at the 2008 Jingle Ball, which was held at the Anaheim Honda Center.^[16]

"I Did It for Love" was the second official single from the album. A 1:30 snippet of the song was released online on February 17, 2009, on various websites.^[9] The track was written and produced by Sean Garrett, who is featured on the single. The single charted on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart peaking at the number 18 spot. On May 30, before their performance at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, BoA and Sean Garrett confirmed in an interview^[17] that "Energetic" would be the new single. It is another track written and produced by Sean Garrett, therefore continuing their partnership. According to Kenny Wormald, one of BoA's backup dancers, the music video for Energetic was shot between June 3 and 5, 2009.^[18] The music video was released online on July 21, 2009, through EW.com. The single charted on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart at number 17.^[2]

Promotion and live performances

In order to promote the album, BoA performed at the YouTube Live Tokyo event in November.^[15] A taping was held on December 3, 2008, at the MTV studio in Times Square of a live performance titled MTV World Presents: BoA Live in New York. She performed "Eat You Up", "Look Who's Talking" and the title song of her fifth Korean studio album, Girls on Top.^[15] BoA also performed at the 2008 Jingle Ball, as an opening act.^[19] She also promoted in South Korea at the 2008 SBS Gayo Daejun.^[20] BoA herself told EW.com that she has a "repackaged album [to be] released in September", with the new songs "Control" produced by Brian Kennedy and "Crazy About", produced by Sean Garrett.^[2]

Track listing

BoA track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer	Length
1.	"I Did It for Love" (featuring Sean Garrett)	Sean Garrett, Melvin K. Watson Jr., Matthew I. Irby	Sean "The Pen" Garrett, The Phantom Boyz	3:01
2.	"Energetic"	Sean Garrett, Yirayah Garcia	Sean "The Pen" Garrett, Clubba Langg	3:41
3.	"Did Ya ^1"	Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, Henrik Jonback, Negin Djafari	Bloodshy & Avant	2:59
4.	"Look Who's Talking"	Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, Henrik Jonback, Michelle Lynn Bell, Britney Spears	Bloodshy & Avant, Henrik Jonback	3:08
5.	"Eat You Up"	Mikkel Johan Sigvardt, Thomas Troelsen	Henrik Jonback	3:13
6.	"Obsessed"	Brian Seals Kennedy, Troy Verges, Hillary Lee Lindsey	Brian Kennedy, Chief Wakil	3:46
7.	"Touched"	Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, Magnus Wallbert, Toby Gad, Arama Brown	Bloodshy & Avant	3:06
8.	"Scream ^2"	Charlie Mason, Kay J, Apollo Andel, The Provider	Adrian Newman	3:16
9.	"Girls on Top ^3"	Young-Hu Kim, Lola Fair (Xperimental Music)	Young Jin Yoo	3:37
10.	"Dress Off"	Adrian Newman	Adrian Newman	3:41
11.	"Hypnotic Dancefloor"	Paolo Galgani, Lisa Rachelle Greene	Henrik Jonback	3:43
Total length:				38:47

Bonus Tracks (iTunes Edition)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer	Length
12.	"Eat You Up (DJ Escape & Johnny Vicious Radio Edit)"	Mikkel Johan Sigvardt, Thomas Troelsen	Henrik Jonback	3:38

BoA: Deluxe bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Energetic" (Radio Edit)	Sean Garrett, Yirayah Garcia	Sean "The Pen" Garrett, Clubba Langg	3:25
2.	"Control"	Brian Kennedy, Dwanna Orange, Julian Lowe, Isaiah Freeman	Brian Kennedy^[21]	3:00
3.	"Crazy About"	Sean Garrett	Sean Garrett, Davenport & Spencer^[22]	3:35

Notes

• The bonus tracks are at the beginning. Tracks 4-14 are the original album, with the original version of "Energetic" moved to track 14.
• ¹ Remake of Buddha's delight by Haley Bennett from the soundtrack Music and Lyrics: Music from the Motion Picture.
• ² Cover of the 2007 B-side by German girl group Monrose.^[23]
• ³ English self-cover of the song with the same name from her fifth Korean studio album (2005).

Personnel

• Tom Coyne (Sterling Sound) – audio mastering (Deluxe version)
• Hoon Jeon (Sonic Korea) – audio mastering

Charts and sales

Weekly charts Chart (2009, 2011) Peak position South Korean Albums (Gaon)^[24] 76 US Billboard 200^[25] 127 US Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)^[26] 5 US Independent Albums (Billboard)^[26] 16 US Top Heatseekers (Billboard)^[26] 3

Sales Region Sales United States (Nielsen SoundScan) 8,000^[27]

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
United States	March 17, 2009	CD, digital download	SM Entertainment USA/Arsenal/Fontana
Japan	March 18, 2009		Avex Trax
South Korea		CD	SM Entertainment
Canada	March 17, 2009	Digital download	SM Entertainment USA
	April 7, 2009	CD
Taiwan	April 3, 2009		Avex Asia
Worldwide	August 31, 2009	Digital download	SM Entertainment USA/Arsenal
	September 22, 2009	CD
Philippines	November 18, 2009		Universal Records^[28]

References

1. "First! BoA's best album and American debut album combined" (in Japanese). Livedoor. Retrieved January 28, 2008.^{[dead link]}
2. "BoA, 'Energetic': Korean pop superstar debuts exclusive video, talks Britney, Weezer, and more". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
3. "Asia's Star BoA, U.S. Operation In the Works... Top Secret Album" (in Korean). JoongAng Ilbo. January 31, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
4. "Lee Soo Man, BoA and TVXQ not ready for America? "We Have a lot to Do In Japan and Asia"" (in Korean). Newsen. May 6, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
5. "BoA, a Step Closer To USA?" (in Korean). Yahoo! Korea. September 1, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
6. "BoA, to Enter the U.S. Market Next Year" (in Korean). Newsen. September 1, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
7. . The Korea Times. Han Sang Hee. September 11, 2008. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
8. "Rap-Up.com - Korean Pop Star BoA Prepares U.S. Takeover". September 23, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
9. "#1 Pop Star From Asia Gears Up to Launch New Single Recorded With Top Hit-Maker Sean Garrett". Marketwire. February 18, 2009. Retrieved February 17, 2009.
10. . natalie.mu. Archived from the original on March 13, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
11. (in Japanese) BoA's interview. Space Shower Music Update. Space Shower. February 17, 2009
12. (in Korean). Yahoo! Korea. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
13. "Singer BoA to Knock on US Music Market". The Korea Times. Hankook Ilbo. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
14. "Hot Dance Club Play rank". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2008.^{[dead link]}
15. "BoA to Make US Debut Through MTV". The Korea Times. Han Sang Hee. November 30, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
16. . Korean Broadcasting System. December 3, 2008. Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
17. . MTV. May 30, 2009. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
18. Kenny Wormald's Twitter
19. . Korean Broadcasting System. December 3, 2008. Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
20. "BoA Famous Movie Star And a New Year's Greetings'" (in Korean). Star News. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
21. . blog.ningin.com. Fontana Distribution. September 1, 2009. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
22. "Davenport & Spencer's Myspace". myspace.com. Devonport & Spencer, Myspace. September 1, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
23. . MySpace. Charlie Mason. January 30, 2009. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2009.
24. . Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). May 22–28, 2011. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014.
25. "Boa Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
26. "Artist Chart History - BoA". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
27. "Asian pop star BoA takes on the U.S". Reuters. April 24, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
28. SUPER JUNIOR-M & BoA ALBUMS RELEASE DATE CONFIRMED ! Universal Records Philippines @ facebook.2009-11-14.

External links