34 replies to this topic

[Japan02008]

Does anyone really know?

[yunapolaris]

1- It's BoA , not "Boa"
2- Because BoA is not Japanese, Amuro is.
3- After all, who said BoA wasn't as big as Namie Amuro ?
4- What do you think?
5- One of the most vague topic I ever cam across. Try to get attention? Fail.

[2boamystar]

BoA used to be more famous than Namie but now I don't think so. That person has a point there, please do not be rude to that person...

[happy!]

i hope she'll be a big star in Japan again one day.. :-)) keke

[Mashimaro-san]

With a  Korean comeback BoA obviously doesn't give a crap for Japan any more.

[boocmarc]

Namie's career hit rock bottom and then she bounced back with a great CF tie-in and triple-A-side single. After much success, she released BEST FICTION which was very widely received. just hope that BoA can do the same.....

[~Milestone~]

Yes, BoA did not sell that well on her last Japanese album, but that doesnt mean that she will keep failing again and again. When she sold BEST OF SOUL that sold 1.2 million copies, she probably has a big fanbase in Japan. Maybe everyone knows who she is in Japan, it's just that the Japanese werent that interested in Identity. At least she isnt like Crystal Kay and sell horribly now. Namie Amuro did well in Japan too, but she is a PURE JAPANESE while BoA isnt.

Edited by ~Milestone~, 20 February 2012 - 11:26 AM.

[~Milestone~]

WeLuvUBoA-kiddo, on 20 February 2012 - 11:13 AM, said:

She hasn't even confirmed whether what she's working on is a Korean comeback or Japanese.  Has anyone thought that maybe because of her japanese contract, it's contributing to this awkward hiatus in Japan.

@Milestone, as awesomely positive as that is, after Best of Soul (o5) her sales pretty much decreased.  She's relevant but her popularity has definitely taking a beating.  I'm not really sure what she's going to do.

Well Namie's career was declining from 2000-2008. But when she released 'BEST FICTION,' a lot of people liked it. It sold 1, 850,000 copies. Maybe BoA  can do the same?

[MOTOWAYohsixfive]

2boamystar, on 20 February 2012 - 02:05 AM, said:

BoA used to be more famous than Namie but now I don't think so. That person has a point there, please do not be rude to that person...

Uh no... at one point, BoA was more popular, but definitely not more famous. Namie is a legend in Japan, kind of like how BoA is one in Korea.

I noticed someone up there said that Namie had hit rock-bottom before. But Namie at her lowest point was still more popular than BoA at her lowest point, which is now.
BoA isn't as big as A LOT of stars (i.e., Ayumi, Utada, etc)... let alone Namie.

[Mashimaro-san]

I think its a matter of how much impact you've made.

Namie Amuro made a huge impact back in the 90's, she was a pop-culture phenomenon. I don't really know the details because I really don't know much about Namie's early career but that is basically what most of her fans say. Namie Amuro debuted in 1995. BoA, although having been active for ten years in Japan, hasn't really made that much impact. BoA's most memorable for only two songs, VALENTI and Do The Motion, her other singles did well but didn't make that much of an impact.

Its not that BoA's other singles are all terrible, most of them are great, its just that she seems distant I think, her Korean background will always stop her from totally immersing herself with Japanese culture. I believe BoA herself probably doesn't know much about traditional Japan and its modern subcultures, really she's a foreigner that makes localized music. BoA mainly knows corporate Japan, not the real Japan I think... there is still a cultural barrier. BoA doesn't really observe traditional Japanese customs and traditions I believe, and you can't blame her, she's there for work really... (i.e. with AKB48 you get reports of them celebrating coming-of-age day, or doing volunteer work for the tsunami survivors, etc.)

And music-wise BoA is not very consistent unlike Namie Amuro. With Namie, the quality of her songs tend to be top-notch and very current. With BoA, sometimes its great sometimes its downright bland/boring.

But in conclusion I think its the cultural barrier, BoA is in essence a Korean, she can never make a big impact or start a  cultural phenomenon in Japan unless she totally immerses herself with Japanese culture. Sure there's Korean Wave I guess, but the Korean Wave have created a niche market for itself, by trying to bring Korean culture in Japan they are only attracting those who have an interest in Korean music. I mean really K-pop seems to be concentrated only in Tokyo, and I guess Osaka, so where does that leave the rest of Japan?

Edited by Mashimaro-san, 23 February 2012 - 11:24 AM.

[Ghabi Yuha]

I think she is not doing something big because she works in Korea, japan and, now, USA. With the movie COBU 3D, I think she is focussing in the american career while she tries not to 'forget' the asian career.
It's hard to have a good balance when you have a career divided in three countries at the same time, but it doesn't mean that "she doesn't give a crap" for Japan anymore.
During this year, it's the 10th anniversary of her career in Korea AND a big dance movie will be released. I mean, she'll have to focus in two countries, so, it seems she'll 'forget' Japan for a while.

@Mashimaro-san , I agree with you.
While Namie made a cultural impact, BoA made an impact based on her age, because she was too young and very talented at the same time.
But, BoA is memorable for merikuri too; every year, in December, there are downloads of this song in Japan. So, we can say that japan didn't forget BoA.
And, remeber: she's not just a big k-pop artist, she became a big j-pop artist too. I have a japanese friend, she's not from Tokyo - I forgot her city's name, but it's not very know outside Japan, and it's not a big city -, and she is from a k-pop fan club in her city; she knows k-pop better than me. .__.'
Nowadays, k-pop is becoming more and more popular, because of BoA and other artists like DSBK. So, I think the cultural barrier is starting its end.
I know BoA is not as big as Ayumi Hamasaki, Utada, etc., but she is big and has a big fan base in Japan.
I think she just need to make an innovator japanese album, just like Namie made in the 1990s; maybe the impact will brig her back to the top. :3

[Mashimaro-san]

Ghabi Yuha, on 23 February 2012 - 05:49 PM, said:

I think she is not doing something big because she works in Korea, japan and, now, USA. With the movie COBU 3D, I think she is focussing in the american career while she tries not to 'forget' the asian career.
It's hard to have a good balance when you have a career divided in three countries at the same time, but it doesn't mean that "she doesn't give a crap" for Japan anymore.
During this year, it's the 10th anniversary of her career in Korea AND a big dance movie will be released. I mean, she'll have to focus in two countries, so, it seems she'll 'forget' Japan for a while.

@Mashimaro-san , I agree with you.
While Namie made a cultural impact, BoA made an impact based on her age, because she was too young and very talented at the same time.
But, BoA is memorable for merikuri too; every year, in December, there are downloads of this song in Japan. So, we can say that japan didn't forget BoA.
And, remeber: she's not just a big k-pop artist, she became a big j-pop artist too. I have a japanese friend, she's not from Tokyo - I forgot her city's name, but it's not very know outside Japan, and it's not a big city -, and she is from a k-pop fan club in her city; she knows k-pop better than me. .__.'
Nowadays, k-pop is becoming more and more popular, because of BoA and other artists like DSBK. So, I think the cultural barrier is starting its end.
I know BoA is not as big as Ayumi Hamasaki, Utada, etc., but she is big and has a big fan base in Japan.
I think she just need to make an innovator japanese album, just like Namie made in the 1990s; maybe the impact will brig her back to the top. :3

I see K-pop more of a trend in Japan to be quite honest. It is becoming more popular, yes, but it will never break the cultural barrier. If you follow Japanese music industry closely K-pop only makes a small percentage really. I think it will always be a niche market. Korean media likes to exaggerate everything, and the Oricon charts is not a good indicator of popularity and cultural impact, look at the Recochoku Chaku-Uta and Karaoke song lists, its dominated by J-idols with maybe one or two K-pop artist.

Reminds me of the time Namie Amuro won "Best Asian Artist" in Global Music Awards 2011 held in Monaco, she won it from a panel of international judges from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), not fan voting. But you don't see me going around saying "J-pop is dominating the world and breaking cultural barriers!" It got reported maybe once or twice in Asian music news. If it was K-pop, expect it to be plastered everywhere on the net and people will be saying "K-pop is dominating the world!"

You're mistaken, this year, 2012 is BoA's 12th Korean anniversary and it will be her 11th Japanese anniversary. As to what country BoA will focus on, I don't know, it was her 10th Japanese anniversary last year but she was in the USA for most of it.

I do know about Meri Kuri's popularity but if you check out polls its been decreasing each year as the top Christmas song in Japan. BoA's fan base is Japan has been dead for a long while now. You know Milestone only sold 7,000 copies? That's BoA's lowest selling single ever.

Edited by Mashimaro-san, 24 February 2012 - 06:53 AM.

[yunapolaris]

Every time I read some topic like this, it saddens me. And 1 question is always in my mind is that "Now what?"
okay, BoA is not as big as Namie, Utatda, Ayumi etc, now what?
BoA's career is declining, we all know that, now what?
You keep saying over and over again and again that BoA's era was over. Yes, you are right. Now what? Are you happy that you are totally right about it now?

I honestly don't understand the point of keep rubbing the fact that BoA's career/sales is decreasing. What are we doing that for? No one here is denying it, that's the fact which we all know. I feel like some of you in here just wait for a chance -aka a topic- to jump in and start whining about her career. Again, I don't understand what we are doing it for. Even if you list in here a thousands evidences that her career is slopping, it will not pick up, not even help in picking up the career.

As I said numerous times in many topics, there's no celeb can be on top forever, they are like the stars in the sky, they won't shine forever, they will 'die' eventually and that's the fact that we-all-gotta-know-and-accept.  Sometimes, you need to go with the flow, rather than put your hopes & expectations TOO high.

I'm optimistic yet realistic when it comes to BoA, but reading these topics sometimes I gotta say that some of you in here is lack of faith, ungrateful and greedy. We keep asking more and more from her, but as fans, shouldn't we also care about her as herself rather than just a singer? What if she is tired from 12 years on the stage and now she want to take a hiatus? What if the loneliness finally catches up with her and she want to stay away from singing to find the balance in her own life?
A lot of what-ifs we could think of & could use to cheer up & keep going on. But no, you choose to just pin-point her down-hill period, all the time.

Why can't we just stop whining, stop all of the numeric analysis and just enjoy what BoA is doing? like go watch the latest ep of Kpop Star, watch her being a judge for the very first time and having fun with it, and wait for whatever happens next in her career & life.

I know that when you're a fan, you will always want your idol is on the top all the time. Just it's not how it works. And when you pushing too hard, you will not be able to enjoy what happens in the present anymore. So, enjoy it while you can. Who knows if tomorrow she won't announce that she will retire from singing? Will there be anything left then for you to criticized?

Just enjoy the show, please.

[2boamystar]

^ Yes! Totally agree with you.
I think that we should enjoy BoA and support her all the way. It is what fans do. If you are not happy with BoA, please do not make others feel the same.

[Sakurada]

This is why although her awesome era is over, I still support her <3