BoA x Arden Cho

It’s already been a few years since BoA‘s non-start in the US music industry. And while she carries the crown as one of the biggest names in contemporary Asian Pop music, she failed to make the desired impact in the Western Market. That being said, we’re glad to see her keeping good company, with this picture tweeted a few months back by her friend Arden Cho. This isn’t a fan-pic, it’s one of friendship – and we can only wish both Arden and BoA many more of both, fans and friends, as the years pass.

Say Cheese!

In the picture, BoA poses with a massive pizza box that one can only assume was for her and her staff. But even if she were to eat it all, who are we to judge? The girl has such a crazy work ethic/schedule, I wouldn’t blame her for tryna get her pizzapizza on.

That’s it, I’m ordering some pizza for dinner this week.

Source: AKP

Remember Hype Nation? The film originally set to have Son Dambi star in before she dropped out due to the numerous delays and resulting schedule conflicts? Well it’s been reported that Universal Studios has reached out to BoA to offer her Dambi’s vacated role.

There has been no confirmation on whether or not BoA will take the role. I’m honestly not too sure whether being in the movie would be a good or bad thing for her. Oh well, time will tell!

Source: AllKPOP

Anyways, the point of the video is this: Support the music you love, because we, the consumer can shape the market for Asian American musicians.

Here are the articles I referred to:

• http://youoffendmeyouoffendmyfamily.com/hollywood-and-asians-why-protests-alone-won%E2%80%99t-change-anything/
• http://www.aaartsalliance.org/news/groundbreaking-new-report-from-the-alliance

Hope I didn’t bore you to death! Thoughts? Comments?

I imagine many of you know about this already but BoA’s debut US album has been re-released as a deluxe package.

According to Bump This! …

The deluxe album is pretty much the Western version of a repackaged album and will feature the songs from her American debut  along with 3 bonus tracks. For now, BoA will be heading up promotions for the track, Energetic, and there is also a contest where you can win a free copy of her new deluxe album!

Boajiang Forums are heading this event and all you have to do is twitter your impersonation of your favorite  BoA look and add #BoADeluxe to enter! For more details, check out http://twitter.com/_boajjang_.

So if you haven’t picked up a copy and have been looking to, now may be a good time.

The main purpose of this project is to promote artists you wouldn’t normally hear in mainstream media and increase their exposure because they truly do deserve it. In no way are these mixes meant to undermine or serve as a substitution to actually supporting these artists by buying their music. In fact, it is meant to encourage all of you to find new artists you really enjoy and show your support. That being said,  if there any artist(s) or members of their staff who are reading this and object to their inclusion, then please let me know (giftedthought at gmail) and I will respectfully leave you out of future releases.

Now, with all the information and disclaimers out of the way… a-Tunes is proud to present the ‘a-Tunes Mix Vol. 1: Summer Break’. I know the summer season is rapidly winding down, and many of you will find yourselfs back at your fine educational institutions soon (if you haven’t already). However, that doesn’t mean we still can’t appreciate some fun, catchy music. All the songs included on this mix were released in roughly the past yr (given a couple exceptions), and are light and infectious enough to simpley relax and enjoy like it’s summer break all over again.

You can find the tracklist, links to the artists, and link to DL all after the jump!

1. Far East Movement – Girls on the Dance Floor ft 24/8
2. Wonder Girls – Nobody
3. Zee Avi – Bitter Heart
4. Magnetic North & Taiyo Na – Summertime ft Conchita Campos
5. Johnnyphlo - Just a Friend
6. Tim Be Told – Analyze
7. BoA – I Did It For Love ft Sean Garrett
8. Lyrics Born – Pushed Aside, Pulled Apart ft Lateef the Truthspeaker
9. Calista Wu – Belong to You
10. Kina Grannis & David Choi – My Time With You
11. Roscoe Umali – Never Fallin’ ft One Block Radius
12. Paul Dateh – Untitled #1
13. Decipher – There She Goes
14. Utada – Come Back to Me
15. Jennifer Chung – Common, Simple, Beautiful
16. Deep Foundation – Never Forget ft Ashley Robles
17. Shogunna - Yo Rida
18. Oak & Gorski – One Last Thought
19. Se7en – Girls ft Lil Kim
20. David Choi – Won’t Even Start
21. Kero One – When the Sunshine Comes ft Ben Westbeech
22. Jacqueline Chun – Alleluia

Get a-Tunes Mix Vol. 1: Summer Break HERE.

Thank you to all the artists for creating great music, whether they know they are on this mix or not. And to all the fans out there, please remember to continue supporting them!

listening to BoA’s US CD while working on my secret weapon. girl needs to learn english or just STOP. *cringe*

Now I don’t wanna blow up her spot, and I imagine if you tried hard enough you could figure out who it is but that statement did get me thinking…

You may remember last month I wrote a post about the perception of Asian accents. The statement above definitely exemplifies the point I was trying to get across, and it’s coming directly from another Korean. With that said, I must admit I do somewhat understand where she’s coming from but I really didn’t think BoA’s English was that bad. In fact it all made sense, S.M. paid the writers to make sure of that, it’s just BoA’s accent did peep through now and then, despite the heavy electronic masking of her voice. By no means did I find it all that distracting or detrimental as a listener nor did I ever feel the need to “cringe”, but that may be just me.

And as my train of thought continued, the next thing that popped into my head was that BoA is making much bigger moves than this particular outspoken artist. I don’t see this artist headlining major events, having song placements in major TV shows, putting out numerous music videos, working w/ Akon, etc. Of course it’s not fair to directly compare since this artist doesn’t have the backing of a major Korean entertainment company to see her through the market, but still… it seemed almost silly for her to make such a statement when she hasn’t achieved nearly as much tangible success. It’s kinda like when someone upstaged you in HS so you drew all over the picture in the yearbook.

All of this reminded me of a conversation I had earlier this year with a Korean-American MC named Lyricks, about how it’s hard for him as an artist to garner the support of his fellow Asian community. He expressed that many have a disenchanted predisposition to judgingly question his abilities before ever giving any props. It’s often a case of “OK, I see you, I know who you are… so show me what you got. Prove yourself.” This seems especially true when coming from the perspective of another artist.

Not to say we should blindly follow and support any slant-eyed musician, but perhaps it’s time to learn to give credit where credit is due. And not to say the original artist whom expressed her displeasure with BoA’s album isn’t entitled to her own opinions, and in no way should she be required to like the CD, but telling BoA to “learn english or just STOP” seems out of line. If anything, BoA and her engrish is ever so slightly paving the way for other Asians to make it in this crazy industry.

Of course it’s easy to take a statement limited to the 140 char constraints of a tweet out of context, and if I’ve done so I apologize. However, I do believe it makes an interesting argument regardless.

Thoughts? Comments?

Well it’s out now. It’s basically BoA switched in for Colby O’Donis. It was a good song when first release and it’s pretty much the same w/ BoA.

Source: Bump This

I dunno if I could call this an interview since it’s literally 5 questions but regardless here it is:

1) What’s it like to being a pop star/famous in Korea?

“Well, I definitely feel a difference when I’m here in the States and when I’m back home. It’s a difficult lifestyle and a lot more guarded. That’s why it’s cool to be in L.A. and walk around wherever I want.”

2) How do you like the United States so far?

“Well so far I still haven’t been all over America but I’ve gone to several cities since I moved here for radio promos. I live in L.A. and I kind of enjoy it. But I have to say that I really, really love New York City. Because it feels like my home.”

3) What American artists or musician do you aspire to be like or look up to?

“There’s so many great artists out there like Kanye, T-Pain, Lady Gaga. So I used to really, really love Michael Jackson so my dance moves came from his moves. But these days I’m more focused on pop. To learn more about the American music industry.”

4) What is the best relationship advice you’ve ever gotten?

“Be honest. Honesty is the most important part in a relationship because it builds trust, which is just as essential.”

5) Who is your celebrity crush?

“The actor from The Hangover. Also in He’s Just Not That into You. Bradley Cooper! I just Googled it!”

Source: AmpedAsia

Look out BoA!

Source: ChannelAPA