BoA Book Recommend : Just cry when life gets tough

BoA recommended a book on her twitter

On Dec 9th, BoA tweeted complaining that she couldn't seem to take interest in whatever book she got her hands on lately. She wasn't sure whether the problem was her lack of focus or was it only because she hasn't met a book of her liking.

Then not long after, on Dec 12th, BoA recommended a book to her followers describing its healing power. It is a book she wants to recommend to everyone around her.





What kind of book is it, you ask? :)

힘들땐 그냥 울어 cover

Apparently, this book is originally written by Suzuki Hideko, a Japanese nun. Its original Japanese title is 奇跡は自分で起こす (Literal English Meaning: Create a miracle by yourself) while the translated Korean title is 힘들땐 그냥 울어(Literal English Meaning: Just cry when life gets tough). Too bad, an English translation is non-existent so far. :(

Fun tidbit : Jaejoong introducing the same book in this vid -> JYJ "Sharing a book every day" campaign![Long Ver.] 

• Retweet
• Favorite
• More options

Learning Philosophy from BoA

Difficult words in BoA's tweet

"So difficult... Physicalism, Dualism, Free Will, Determinism... Is there even an answer?..."

Yes, Ms.BoA. This truly is difficult. Never have I thought being in a fandom would require this much work just to follow your idol. Well... turns out thing is different when your idol is BoA. LOL


To help fellow fans, I'll try to sum up these 4 big words in an easy-to-understand version (but might be wrong. what do you expect? I only quickly read up wikis).

Physicalism (believes only Body exists) vs. Dualism (believes in both Body&Mind)

Determinism (believes everything is predestined. things will always turn out a certain way) vs. Free Will (believes things result from our own selected actions. we can control our future)

For more accurate info about these 4 beliefs, try google them or watch the below vids (which I haven't finished watching yet. LOL)

The nature of persons: dualism vs. physicalism (Yale Lecture)
Free Will, Determinism and Choice (Oxford Lecture)

Enjoy!

Only One Japanese Version 4 Types+Special Gifts Summary

Confused with the complexity that is the Only One Japanese Version products and their respective free gifts? Here is the post that will help you with your headache.

Basically, there are 4 types of Only One Japanese Version.

1. CD+DVD, Product Code : AVCK-79085/B, Price : 2,100 yen (tax included)

CD+DVD AVCK-79085/B
(First Press Limited Edition)

CD+DVD AVCK-79085/B
(Normal Edition)

2. CD only, Product Code : AVCK-79086, Price : 1,050 yen (tax included)

CD only AVCK-79086

3. USB Music Memory Card Type A, Product Code : AQZ1-50854,  Price : 1,500 yen (tax included)

USB Type A AQZ1-50854

4. USB Music Memory Card Type B, Product Code : AQZ1-50855,  Price : 1,500 yen (tax included)

USB Type B AQZ1-50855

Note that USB Memory both types are only available to SOUL fan club members and are of limited quantity. 

Now, about the free gifts. Let me talk about the ones for everyone (no matter if you are a SOUL member or not) first.

Free Gift for everyone: Special DVD ｢Only One ～Dance Version～｣, for those who purchase both the CD+DVD (First press limited edition) AND the CD only (First press limited edition) 
※Note that you need to purchase the "First press limited edition" for both. Inside, you will find application coupons. (I'm afraid you need to have a Japanese address for this but I don't know for sure.)


Free Gift for SOUL members 1:  ｢Only One original letter set｣ for those who purchase CD+DVD (First press limited edition) AND USB Type A AND USB Type B
※Note that you need to buy these 3 items as a set meaning all at one go. The letter set includes Original Clear File (all 3 types), Original Writing Paper, and an Original Ball-point Pen.

Original Clear File (3 types)

Original Writing Paper + Original Ball Pen

Don't fret if you're a SOUL member but cannot afford to buy the 3 items above. 

Free Gift for SOUL members 2: Original Clear File (1 type random out of the 3 types that are the same as the ones above) for any SOUL member buying any one item out of the 4.
※Note that you need to purchase the "First press limited edition" for CD+DVD and CD only to be able to get the gift.

※Also note that these SOUL free gifts are of limited quantity.

So if you want to collect everything, what you have to do is
1. Apply to SOUL (if you're not a member already)
2. Buy all the 4 items from SOUL shop and get the  ｢Only One original letter set｣ with purchase.
3. Take the Special DVD ｢Only One ～Dance Version～｣ application coupons out from the CD cases and follow the instruction to get the Special　ＤＶＤ.

There you go and you'll have all the 4 products plus the letter set and special DVD to add to the ever-growing BoA collection of yours. Who knows, if you divide the order into one CD+DVD,USBa,USBb order and another CDonly order, you might get another clear file from the second order?! But that means you might need to pay more for shipping&handling. Hah! Who would think buying a song would require this much planning?

BoA Special Live 2013 : My Failure Story (LOL)

BoA SPECIAL LIVE 2013 Here I am

Even though it's very well known that BoA is an S, but isn't this too much? The very first concert in Korea in her 13-year long career, held in a mere 4,000 seat hall? BoA wants her fans to fight each other or something? LOL

[list] BoA tumblrs

Some of the amazing BoA tumblrs I know ^^

• http://energetic.tumblr.com/
• http://id-peacea.tumblr.com/
• http://bad-drive.tumblr.com/
• http://dotch-ouch.tumblr.com/

Please inform me if you know of more awesome BoA tumblrs!

[report] SMTown Live in Bangkok 2012

BoA fan project placard

BoA's first performance in Thailand deserves more than one post, don't you agree? ;)

This post contains as much info as I can gather as a person who didn't directly attend the concert. (No, I didn't go even though I live in Bangkok. Feel free to judge me if you want. >_<)  

BoA and her judgement on Bang YeDam

Bang YeDam on KPOP STAR2

Have you seen KPOP STAR2 episode 2? If you haven't and plan to do so, I advise you to read no further because this post contains spoiler regarding a child contestant, Bang YeDam. ;)

BoA's impact on Thai fans after SMTown Live in Bangkok 2012

BoA loves Thai Jumpings

121125 marks the day Thai Jumpings meet BoA for the first time after the long 12 years wait. You already know how BoA felt about Thai fans by reading her tweet on the left. Curious about how Thai fans (and even non-fans) feel about BoA after SMTown Live in Bangkok? I'm sure you do so I've compiled and translated some of the tweets that @BoATHFC have RTed from Thai to English.



Sorry I didn't translate all. There are just too many. and some are already in English so check @BoATHFC feed for more! and if you're the owner of the tweets below and dont feel like having your tweets read by international fans (but why?...), let me know. I'll delete yours.

BoA recommended songs suitable for listening at nights

BoA playing posing with guitar

Need music to listen to at nights? Look no further as the queen has taken her time to recommend us five awesome albums in the latest NAVER's Musician's Choice with the theme "Songs for night listening".

BoA's performances fans can't fully enjoy

BoA is well known as an exceptionally good performer but still there are some performances of hers that fans cannot fully enjoy. >_< I can think of 3 off the top of my head. First is her gijuk performance on MNET where she shed tears while singing&dancing not because of the physical pain (she was sick at the time) but because of gratefulness. She was feeling sorry for herself having to perform when sick, but then she heard cheers from fans who were watching her performance with excitement. BoA couldn't stop herself from feeling grateful for the fans and also feeling ashamed she was not professional enough for that performance.

The 2nd performance I can't totally enjoy watching is her Over The Top performance for MKMF 2005. Wanna curse the stage director or whoever came up with the idea. Why make BoA waste her energy on running that long length before singing? Prepare a golf cart, a bicycle or even a person carrying her on the back or something! Damn it! Poor girl fainted right after her performance! :(

BoA's 7 most favorite colors

In 2006, BoA released her 4th Japanese Studio album "OUTGROW" strangely without any concert tour to support it. Fortunately, there was a mini concert titled "TV Asahi OUTGROW Special Live at Shibuya AX" held on 060306 to promote the album.

TV Asahi broadcasted the concert later with interviews and BTS scenes added. I feel grateful for this format (even though I wish they had broadcasted Do The Motion too, it'd have been perfect).

In the show, we get to see the most adorable, hyper-active BoA filming "Nanairo no Ashita Brand New Beat" PV. The cameraman/interviewer must be someone she's really comfortable with. It really shows. See it if you haven't already!

In the BTS, we see BoA complain about not being able to memorize the lyrics. It happened to Everlasting too. Apprently, for her self-written songs, since she has to make changes to the lyrics so many times, all the versions are mixed together in her head. (understandably so)

Regarding the title 'nanairo' which means 7 colors, BoA shared that she considered using the word "rainbow" but since the rainbow colors are fixed, she chose 'nanairo' instead and went on to enumerate her 7 most favorite colors. Can you guess what color was mentioned first? LOL yes! of course it's black! (A pick that draws laughters from people nearby) White, pink, blue, purple, red and yellow soon followed but what to do? It's 7 already but BoA also loves green! So she jokingly considered removing black from her list before walking off to lunch when told it was time for food. XD

[photo] adorable BoA cakes!

 These are compiled and posted by 미노 at UriBoA.com. I put them in my blog so that international fans can appreciate adorable BoA cakes too! (Actually international fans can sign up at UriBoA as well. It's easy! The instruction is in English.)

BoA's best friends

I've been rewatching vids from Hurricane Venus era lately. That's why I'm blogging all these tidbits from around that time. :)

Anyway back then, on Entertainment Weekly Guerrilla Date aired on 100814, when asked to name her best friends, BoA named YeonHee for female friend and Choi Siwon for male friend.

Fast forward 2 years, on the 120929 episode of Entertainment Weekly where they followed her to the Hyundai CF shooting location, the host asked her who would she want to drive to a faraway place with. It didn't take BoA even a second to reply "YeonHee!" and when the host further asked for a male answer, she said she'd kidnapped Yunho.

I wonder what Siwon thought of all this. You really have to give your friends time or they'd have new best friends. :P

BoA's brother's complaint about "Don't Know What to Say"

"Don't Know What to Say" that beautiful song off her 6th album "Hurricane Venus". Any hardcore BoA fan would know that the piano accompaniment in this song was actually done by the pianist Kwon SoonHwon, BoA's oldest brother.

During BoA's 6th album promotion, ETV interviewed Kwon SoonHwon in which he revealed that BoA casually asked him to play piano for a song in her upcoming album and he simply felt honored for it. The difficult part, however, was the process they recorded the song. Normally the instrument should be recorded first then the singer should sing on top of that. But BoA was too busy she recorded her singing first leaving her brother with a difficult task of playing the piano to go along with her previously recorded singing. :P

BoA's current SM contract

To keep the blog alive, I decide to start a tidbit series where in I'll write random stuffs, old and new, about BoA. ^^

I've recently watched the 110221 episode of TVN talk show Brunch, in which "Sung YoungJa", BoA's mother, appeared to talk about how she raised her child to become a top star.

It was revealed in the show that BoA renews contract with SM every 3 years and the current contract will end around early 2014. (Knowing how much she loves her SM Family, she'll probably renew the contract with SM until retirement. LOL)

[hangul lyrics] LOOKIN' feat. The Quiett

BoA's new song "LOOKIN'" is the first released song from an SM-Hyundai collaboration project album for "Premium Younique Lifestyle" Hyundai car campaign.

[Chronicle] BoA in 2011

BoA at SMT Tokyo Special Edition 2011

After the 1st half of 2012 recap, the most logical thing to do next is nothing but to do recap of the year before, no? ^^

So here you are! The recap of BoA in year 2011! I'll try not to be wordy this time around and this shall be the last of my posts of this kind (which includes lists, recaps, score keeping, everything that does not help with my unhealthy obsession. The other factor being it's taking so much time to compile this kind of stuffs and I don't even know if people wanna read these posts >_< )

[Chronicle] BoA in the first half of 2012

We all know BoA's released her 7th Korean album 'Only One' at the end of July but what did she do in the first half of the year?

Let's do a quick recap together after the jump!

[list] BoA on non-weekly music shows during Only One era

Thought I ran out of things to list? Think again!

Are you sure you did not miss any music show by BoA? Apart from the weekly music shows, BoA also appeared in 3 other music shows, i.e. Sketchbook, You&I, Beautiful Concert. These are better than all the weekly music shows combined.

Check out the set list for each show below.

[list] Events BoA participated during Only One era

BoA at Vogue Fashion Night Out

Apart from weekly music shows and other music shows, BoA also participated in other concerts and miscellaneous events as listed after the jump break. XD

*SMTown Concerts are not listed here as they have their own page here.

[list] BoA on radio shows during Only One era

LOL back with my list again. Somebody, please stop me. >_<

This time around we are blessed with 6 radio programs, 3 of which are viewable radio! ^^

BoANOSS has subbed some of these so be sure to check them out!

[list] BoA on magazines during Only One era

Somebody must send me to an institution. I can't stop making lists. >_<

Well, this promotional period has been a bless. Not only do we have BoA on numerous magazines, we also have her mom and bro on some of them too. LOL

I do not have the magazine pictures on my computer so I can't share them. This is just to give you a list to work with (if you happen to be a collector).

*Can you believe it? I can live without saving all BoA pics on my computer!! >_<

**The list here goes back to early 2012 where BoA started appearing on a lot of magazines due to K-POP STAR fame.

[120828] BoA songs episode on Kim JaeWook's radio show

Remember the waffle guy from K-drama "Coffee Prince"? Haven't seen him on TV lately? Of course, he's been serving his time for the Korean military and what's a better way to serve than hosting a radio show? With a voice like his, I mean. Yes I'm clearly a fangirl. XD

[111207 Oricon Interview] BoA's thoughts from her debut til now

Translated from original article here. I posted this at BoAjjang before. :P

For Milestone promotions, BoA's interviews are up on Excite, Barks and Oricon. I decided to translate the oricon one since I find it the most interesting.

Only One/The Shadow MVs Behind Story

BoA with METAOLOZ on Only One MV (Dance ver.) set 

Last month, Kwon SoonWook, BoA's brother who directed MVs for her 7th album "Only One" posted below picture in his cyworld minihompy.

Along with it is a short behind story of the sequence of the 3 MVs shooting.

Check below for the translation!

The Shadow MV Explanation by METAOLOZ

[120827] Kim DongRyul's praising BoA's rendition of "YeopSaram" Live on You&I

Kim DongRyul, composer of "YeopSaram (Stand By)", a song off BoA's 6th album "Hurricane Venus", praised BoA on his facebook.

"I saw BoA singing YeopSaram live on You&I.

She really did well as expected.

Apart from one mistake (keke), JaeHyung-hyung also played the piano well. If I say this, BoA might be disappointed but personally I enjoy this more than the album version.

[120813 DongA Interview] I want to stay an idol and also want to get married. Am I too greedy?

The Korean article is here. It's long so I'm gonna translate only some (funny/interesting) bits.

Q: After "KPOP STAR", people expect more from you musically.
"That's the exact reason why this album contains fewer songs. I didn't want to put in medium quality songs just to fill the album. There are many song I could have put in the album but I only selected high quality ones to record. This album is really 'Quality over Quantity'. My other albums have songs that you skip while playing but this album doesnt have even one song that I don't like."

Q: Yoo AhIn is your ideal type?
"Fashion King was on air during the time I was preparing for the MV. We needed a bad boy character and were looking for someone who could do it and Yoo AhIn came to mind. He is not an actor who films MV often but willingly accepted our offer so I'm grateful. That's why I said he was my ideal type but he really is not."

SMTown Live World Tour III (SMTown Live 2012-2013) : BoA's Set List

BoA in Taiwan concert

I cannot help myself. I love being organized so here is the place I'll compile BoA's Set List in all legs of the SMTown Live 2012 :)

BoA's fans who thought themselves lucky to be able to attend the LA and Taiwan concerts must have felt frustrated their concerts were held too early. They didn't get to enjoy BoA's new songs off her 7th album! Poor them.

SMTown Live World Tour III in LA 120520 & Taiwan 120609 : BoA Set List 

1.Look Who's Talking 

2.Energetic 

3.One Dream - featuring SHINee's Key, EXO's Kris 

4.I Did It for Love - featuring SHINee's Key 

5.Hurricane Venus

[120806] NAVER meet&greet fan account

The event was held at SMTOWN building on the night after BoA took a flight back from Japan where she joined the 2-day SMTOWN Live in Tokyo concerts.

Out of 20 lucky winners, 4 could not come so that left 16 fans to share ample time with BoA. >_< 

(the following fanaccount was written by hotdog372 at UriBoA and translated by me) 

Yunho vs. Eunhyuk vs. Taemin vs. Sehun vs. Luhan!

                                  BoA-Taemin

For some reason, I have been very obsessed at keeping scores of the 3 5 male idols that are good enough at dancing (No! It's not everyone who can dance with BoA. Sorry Donghae!) to have an oppotunity to do couple dances with BoA.

So here we go! Count with me!

[120814 MBC Show Champion] BoA won her first No.1 for "Only One"

 It's her first time on the show and she won the "Champion Song" award already! Yay!

BoA sang "Only One" live with a beautiful backdrop giving off the image that she was singing in a garden. :)

Fans were worried about her body condition because she was not feeling well during fansign event on Sunday and she had to travel to film MBC Music Core in Sokcho (far from Seoul) the day after. It was raining hard there too but BoA turned the bad situation into an opportunity to show her love to fans.. Fortunately her performance today was top-notch as always, assuring fans that there's nothing to worry about.

Apart from this being her 1st win, it is also the first time her couple dance partner is not an idol. One of her backup dancers did the couple dance this time around. :'(

Look for more pictures after the jump break. ^^

[Chronicle] 1st half of "Only One" promotion

Since "Only One" promotion will end around the end of August, I think it'd be nice to summarize what BoA and SM have done and results of their efforts. ^^


SM sure has tried (moderately) hard this time. They gave BoA 1 hour comeback show. Having NAPPYTABS choreographing "Only One" must have cost a lot since they're famous? But maybe BoA's personal connection might help a bit? :P Having 2 versions of the MV is nice too. SM must have spent quite a bit on them although having BoA's brother directing them for free might compensate a bit for hiring Yoo AhIn? LOL

Having 2 versions of the physical CDs is nice too. The Limited Version is so huge, it'll draw eyes in music stores. The pictures this time are super nice too, compared to the weird flower headdress thing she did in "Hurricane Venus". >_<

[120728] BoA 4354 Comeback Show

It seems BoA has established a good relationship with SBS since KPOP STAR. They gave her a full one hour slot to air her BoA 4354 Comeback Show which is a rarity for KPOP artists. The KPOP STAR staff actually produced this show too! Around 400 lucky fans got to attend the filming of her performances which took 13 hours to complete! By that time it was like 4AM and the show chartered buses to send fans home whille BoA herself continued shooting other parts til dawn and had an interview scheduled in the morning. She had practically no time to properly sleep and you can be sure this shall continue until the end of 7th album promotion period.

BoA - 7th Korean Album "Only One"

This new Korean album in 2 years after "Hurricane Venus" is special in many ways. Firstly, it's the first time BoA's self written/composed song "Only One" is chosen as a title song for album promotion and it's a mid-tempo song to boot! Secondly, BoA co-produced this album and has many says in what and what-not to add in the album. (Sure she has produced her Japanese album "IDENTITY" before but anyway.) Thirdly, it only has 9 songs and if you deduct the 2 instrumentals and previously-digitally-released "One Dream", you're left with only 6 tracks. But as the Queen herself said "Quality over quantity" :)

[120727 10asia Interview] BoA: Flying from 'No. 1' to 'Only One'

No matter how many barriers stood in her way, reaching for the top has never been an issue for BoA.

"I hated people telling me, 'Because you're BoA' [taking all my efforts for granted]."

The 26-year-old popstress became a public figure at the age of 13, when it was a booming trend for numerous talent firms and producers from broadcasting stations to search and train young teenage idols.

Some rose high, some fell, some stayed exactly where they were when they first began. While there were no set rules and how-to guides for them to grow as true K-pop stars, BoA has always been a true believer in herself and strived to become No. 1. 

And she did.

[120809] BoA Dishes on Her Debut, Shin Se Kyung and Being on an Island With U-Know Yunho

BoA recently dropped by KBS’ radio show Hong Jin Kyung’s 2 O’Clock as well as SBS’ Choi Hwa Jung’s Power Time where the singer candidly opened up on a wide range of topics about herself.

Reflecting on her long career full of many hits, BoA shared No.1, Tree, My Name and Energetic as her best songs but however revealed her self-imposed ‘banned’ track to be none other than her debut track ID: Peace B saying, “I’m still embarrassed of the ‘Chuka-chuka-chu’ part in the lyrics.”

She touched upon her romance life saying, “I’ve usually dated during my rest periods in between activities,” and shared she usually she dated through phone calls or text messaging. Asked about her most recent date, the singer revealed it had been at least 2 to 3 years, and the other person was a celebrity.

[120807 Interview] BoA, "I′m inseparable from song and dance."

“My company always makes me be the one to do everything first. I’m sad that I have to go through the trials and errors, but I’m also kind of honored that I’m the first one to do something. It’s easier to follow someone else, but you’ll never shine that way.”

She’s only 26 years old, but she’s already been in the business for 13 years. BoA debuted in Korea in 2000, and a year later set foot in Japan to sweep through the Oricon and win the throne.

She then spilled over into America, and also tried her hand at acting. BoA said she’s used to having the title of ‘first’ be attached to her name, and she naturally thought it was her destiny without complaint.

[lyrics translation] 7th Album Only One

1. Only One

You’re only getting farther
you’re the only one
As much as I loved you,
you’re the only one
It hurts and hurts and
it’s foolish but good bye
Though I may never see you again,
you’re the only one
Only one

[hangul lyrics] 7th Album Only One

Only One
멀어져만 가는 그대
You’re the only one
내가 사랑했던 것만큼
You’re the only one
아프고 아프지만
바보 같지만 Good bye
다시 널 못 본다 해도
You’re the only one
Only One

[120727 Korea Herald - Interview] K-pop queen BoA returns to music

Crossover artist focuses more on vocals, experiments with musical talent with new album
Even among fans, not many know that BoA has a six-letter tattoo on her left wrist.

“Chiara, it is my baptismal name, meaning clear,” the singer explained.

Now, she might seem a little more transparent than some Korean fans would like, since she has spent most of the last decade away from home to expand her international career.

Her dynamic dance moves and heavy stage make-up even on TV often hid the person behind the act and kept many wondering who she really is.

“I was watching my comeback show yesterday, and realized that you cannot possibly look pretty while dancing. The audience probably has never seen me sitting down and talking like this since my debut. My makeup has never been this light. Many people will probably think, ‘That’s how BoA really looks,’” she told The Korea Herald in a private interview at a hotel in Seoul.