BoA's interview for Vogue Korea, March issue, 2018

Rough Translation

BoA Spirit

BoA for Vogue Korea - March issue, 2018

"If one day you're curious about BoA's whereabouts & you search "BoA" on the Internet, there must be some additional phrases that go after her name, such as, "Enternal", "Asia Star", "Queen of K-Pop", "Legend", "A singer who can sing & dance perfectly at the same time". Time will change but with BoA, her name lives on among the public forever"

"#Keyword #BoA": People felt familiar watching your first reality show every day of the week"

BoA: People around me used to know me but it seems like they have become closer to me after my first reality show ended. So, I personally think that I did well. Especially, my younger friends have become so much friendlier when they approached me. One day when I was in the elevator, suddenly there was a younger friend told me "I like you so much". I drink a lot of alcohol in real life, there were literally countless scenes of me drinking alcohol throughout the show but I was glad to see the reactions from the viewers, they were okay with that.

"BoA's about to release a mini album"

BoA: This is my first mini album ever in Korea. I've made a numerous of attempts musically for this album. Some of the songs had certain melodies, some had many catchphrasing parts while the others hightlighted my vocal tones & the hip-hop beats. I was quite surprised that my vocal tones matched hip-hop better than I thought.  In fact, my voice sounds better with lower notes than high notes but I feel like I've failed to highlight it in this mini album. Rapping was very difficult (LOL). I was out of breathe when I did ad-libs. To be honest, it was like I was talking more than rapping.

"BoA starts shooting from 2PM today until 6AM the next day"

BoA: First of all, I hate working at late night. The reason I hate being awake at late night or stay up too late because it makes feel uncomfortable, I can't think of anything properly. Healthy mind makes healthy body. I always try to follow this principle at work: when people work, I work, when people rest, I rest. It's been quite a long time since I lived this life so I can't sleep late in the morning. The time I go to to bed is also the time I wake up. My dancers are always having hard times to fit in my timetable. People say that it's difficult to dance in the morning so I always delay my dance practice to 2PM. I used to start working from noon. 

"Music shows recordings & movie shootings always have tight schedules. Sometimes it can be tough, but have you ever used your voice to change any schedules?"

BoA: Let's take the lead yeah? I usually come a bit earlier than I promise because I'm kind of a puntual person. There will be no delay if you come early & stay prepared ahead of an appointment. It's very strange to even think that the ones you're going to meet would cancel their appointments with you in a matter of time. In the past, I came back to Korea for a magazine photoshoot after I worked & stayed in Japan for a long time. The editor came late about 30 minutes & he said: "Oh, I thought BoA would come late". Since then, all the magazine editors in the industry have been told: "BoA is always on time, take this as a warning".

"Is there a regular daily routine?"

BoA: Sleep. Tbh, there's no particular thing I wanna do every day other than sleep. I do exercise when I have time, and when I have music schedules that require me to sing then I need to practice singing. In fact, vocal training is not fun, I can't do it every day, just when I need to do it.

"There's a rumor said that you're always using the practice room the longest?"

BoA: No, it isn't true. I always hurry up myself & finish everything as soon as possible. There isn't enough practice room, so I must be waited in order. I always try to concentrate, make it short, quick & perfect. I hate playing in the practice room.

"There're a lot of praises about your singing & dancing skills, such as "BoA's singing and dancing skills are so clean", "BoA makes no mistake when she sings & dances", "She always sings & dances on beat", any tips for the people who pursue singing & dancing?" 

BoA: I try to feel & adapt to the music I pursue. I have a feeling that people nowadays always sing & dance to trendy music. I usually watch many videos of dancers on Instagram, I admire them whenever I watch their videos. I love listening to music on iTunes radio. There're some songs you don't like in your first listens but if you keep listening to them, you might change your mind. About singing & dancing skills, training & practicing make perfect. About my music, these days I'm trying NOT to follow trendy & mainstream music.

"Action actors say that by the time they're in their 30s, they feel certain physical limitations. How about dance singers?"

BoA: There's a lot of physical pain. I'm having a little pain @ my hip joint these days. So I'm being safe here, I'm definitely letting my body rest. Older people used to say "work till you drop", it seems so true. These days I question myself how could I dance non-stop when I was a teenager? Maybe it was the way that I pretended I wasn't doing my best dance routines yet.

"Is there a competition?"

BoA: There is, but I give it up so fast. Nothing is impossible. I don't know what to win if I really do my job well, there's literally no competition for me when I always do my bests. My life is right in front of my eyes, everything just happens to me very quick & clear. Take a look back into my life, I got a career, I got good results because I've always worked very hard. I didn't seem to live my life to win any competition. 

"What is the most time-consuming operation of making an album?"

BoA: There's so much to do. Picking the songs, working on the lyrics, making choreos, doing mixings, finalizing the songs. Usually, the staff ask me to do almost everything. It's worrisome if the process doesn't go without me. Let's me see, I think I got to participate in making an album since 2010, the year I released my 6th studio album "Hurricane Venus". And in 2012, when I released my self-composed song "Only One", I got to touch more on the process of making my own album. I really had a difficult time working on my 8th studio album "Kiss My Lips", that was when I started producing my entire album. At that time, I only lived with earphones. 

"Is it more rewarding when you get to touch on the whole process of making your own album?"

BoA: Yes, I'm very proud of the results. Rather than thinking I'm composing the songs, I would consider it like I'm doing the final process of fashion designing. The clothes always need to come out beautifully, but how you touch them makes you feel about them very different. When I listen to the mixing, sometimes I don't feel the sound, I think it already sounds good but when I listen to it again, I think my vocal tone just doesn't match. 

"I thought that you'd walk on the road of a singer-songwriter for a while after you wrote and composed all the songs in your 8th album, but it wasn't, as if it was just one of many attempts of you musically"

BoA: I wonder what does it mean to create a song that's never released in the world? Does it really make you become an artist when you write your songs? Maybe people normally think artists are given songs & their responsibility is to express them well to the audiences. Writing songs is good, but you can't always write good songs. I enjoy my work as a performer so much that I don't want to be tied up with writing. You can write a song when you have a good inspiration comes to your mind. After releasing "Kiss My Lips" filled with my self-composed songs, my excitement of writing songs was hitting rock bottom. I haven't been out of my house for a year to only write songs. Once I entered my room, I stayed there for more than 12 hours, so my mom came in to check. I got rid of doing that, I needed a new stimulus. I wanted to get back to work as a singer. Nowadays, computers can help writing songs perfectly, I started learning & writing my songs through it, steps by steps.

"When you create something, you lose your objectivity, then there will be a moment that you don't give an objective look"

BoA: It's rational that the normal emotions of my friends sometimes make me feel envious because the artistic emotions of me are too sensitive to them. I'm better doing as an excecutive director. (laughs). I'm truly a detailed person.

"When is the rational personality helpful?"

BoA: When to make a decision. The most difficult thing in the world is to decide something. There is always a reason to blame for the decision I make, whether it's good or bad. Even if it doesn't work out, I admit it, and I think this is also the way for me to learn for the better. Then I don't repeat the same mistake next time. Of course, I'm a human's being so I also go through trial and error.

For "#Keyword #BoA" reality show, a mini-album meeting was held and one of the staff members asked you, "Why is BoA now?"

BoA: To tell the truth, I can't join any fandom arguements. There's no such thing as fandom to me. It's natural to release a good song, then we have to worry about the next. It's the staff's job to analyze how to approach the younger listeners & plan the plans, so they started with the question of me at that meeting because I have been working in this industry for so long. It was good to be able to see the situation exactly from the staff. It seems now to be a time when a new method is needed rather than a common publicity method of publishing & broadcasting your album on music sites. So, I offered them 'NEGA DOLA' with a light heart. It seems that it's important to let people know that I'm as an artist is doing good music & making art stages. Good music will be recognized someday.

"Over the past 19 years, the music market has changed so much. The ways people listen to music & the ways musicians express their music have changed"

BoA: I think the music market has changed like the water flows. When the company asked me if I should release a regular studio album instead of a mini album, I suggested them that I would rather release a mini album first. If there is any good music in the future, I will also release a single. It's an era where people listen to music through their smartphones though. Anyways, don't you think your smartphone is so smart that you feel like a fool? I don't know the last time I memorized any phone number. So I try to read many books & poems these days. Now, I have weird feelings about the smell of papers. (LOL) 

"I have no words when it comes to smartphones. I think it's a "collective disease" that the whole world is suffering from"

BoA: Right? I hate being the one who says, "You know what?" (LOL) It's frustrating if you don't tell me what it is. Many people KakaoTalk me out of the blue. My younger friends often say "Hey guys, read this book" (LOL) And I hate to see misspelled words. Because I love Korean language. But do you think the gap between the words in one sentence in Korean is still lacking? Many times a few words need to stand out more than the others, it's so confusing.

"What about men who are misspelled?"

BoA: Hey, I'm also an old man. I'm not attracted to a guy who lacks basic knowledge. (LOL) I was talking about Michelangelo's "Creation" a while ago, I didn't remember what the style was but my big brother told me about it right away, I felt he's really cool. (LOL) That's why many people want to exercise their brains & they love watching "The Dictionary Of Useless Knowledge" TV show. 

"Men with knowledge?"

BoA: Have you ever married? 

Interviewer: (Yes)

BoA: So you can talk like that. I'm envious. People who have married told me marriage is crazy but I still want to experience it for once, anyways.

"What do you think about marriage?"

BoA: I want to have someone on my side. Some people say that it's YOUR husband but when you actually have kids your husband will marry to the kids or even worse he'll cheat you & become someone's husband (LMFAO). Most of my friends are not interested in marriage. We often talk like this, if we don't get married, let's build a town for blind dates. Buy 3,300m2 worth of land, get 10 teams, build a 1500m2 house, use the remaining 1500m2 to build a shopping mall with screen golf courses, karaoke rooms, and bars...(ROFL)

"You have been writing lyrics ever since, and there's always a liberal woman to put in the center. It feels like it's your own character. What kind of stories you used to think of when you write the lyrics?"

BoA: I've written a lot of love songs. Nothing seems to be more realistic than the feeling of love. The most empathetic & forgotten memories always come to my mind. I think songs are like the fastest time machines. There are things people can relate & imagine when they listen to the old songs. If you want to check on some of my self-written love songs, you can go for "Only One" or "Love and Hate". Recently, I've had fun & enjoyed writing the lyrics for one of the songs in my upcoming mini album, it's called "RECOLLECTION". It's one hell of the song about an experience that any women would have gone through once in their lifetime. When I literally ran into my ex & I found him looked so much better. ‘Ah, I should’ve been more nice to him’ that was the case when I wrote this song.

"Are you interested in others?"

BoA: I like listening to people's stories & get inspired while listening to them. If you ask me if I like drinking, I must say I don't remember anything when it comes to drinking. It's a caution to ask someone something at the drinking party. I don't want to make any mistakes if I get asked when I drink. According to some researches, there're people who drink alcohol for 4 hours at a party & they keep drinking after being drunk, then the next day none of them say the same things or remember what happens at the party. The effects of drinking on your memory.

"You have great posture when you play golf. You move your body very well"

BoA: The rate of reaction when I play golf is so fast. I learn to play golf very quick but I also forget it as quick as I learn. My short-term memory is good, my long-term memory is bad. I think it's pretty normal for all people.

"You both have crafted and pioneered your own images since early days. You were almost the first example of a singer who was produced for overseas advancement, I think it was possible because it was BoA"

BoA: In fact, I heard a lot of stories about singers & music products that were succeed in the early days. I think it was my ability to follow along. I hate to talk about idols being considered as 'products'. The training can only be completed because the idols put many efforts into it. Well, the children's grades seem to be very different even if you send them to the same school. Thanks to the companies that do good management, but also again, the training can only be completed because of the efforts of the idols. I want you to see how much effort the idols make to upgrade themselves without being exhausted. 

"Is it the time for BoA to directly lead in management?"

BoA: I still get a lot of help. The difference here is, when you say "This is the damn song", "This song fxxk yea?" "Hmm, what do you guys think about it"? People in the industry like us tend to direct a lot of questions to the experts & their employees, the lack of judgment is inevitable to all of us.

"It seems like you have musically pursued the "perfection" according to your own standards. What is the standard of your satisfaction?"

BoA: Actually, I don't seem to have ever made an album with 100% of my satisfaction. There is always a feeling of regret. Can we ever play the music that 100% satisfies us before we die? I'm afraid I can't do that because I only have a few percentage of satisfaction (LOL). It's regrettable & I'm so sorry for my audiences each time I put out something musically, but I Hope they know I'm continuing to solve this regret in my next album.

"I saw someone's comment on a video of you "There isn't a hairstyle that BoA hasn't tried". It seems to you that 'newness' is worthy of constant renewal. You keep breaking the barriers"

BoA: Fortunately, fashion trends keep changing. I'm always worried if the styling used for my songs fit the current fashion trends. In fact, the stage costumes aren't much different. There is definitely a style that suits each person, so it's about making a trend.

"What is BoA's favorite fashion style?"

BoA: Girly styles don't seem suit me very well. There's no reason to wear girly styles every day. So, I always wear comfortable jeans, sneakers & a cap. I only buy super casual clothes, but recently I've bought a Balenciaga cap. Caps are easy-to-wear items everywhere I go. I've once worn the same hat for 10 years & my manager's unnie repeatedly threatened me she would make it go vanished (LMFAO) People thought the hat was vintage, but it actually got worn out. I used to wear baseball caps, I only started wearing a Balenciaga cap since last year. The model fit me well, it looked better on me than I thought & of course it was a trending fashion item of last year. But it's too expensive.

"The difference is only you know what suits you the most"

BoA: Right. These days I don't like wearing skinny jeans because I don't want to look too skinny. I'm also spending a lot of money on sneakers because I can't normally wear heels anymore. (LOL) In the past, I danced a lot on heels, my feet felt very painful. I think I should only wear heels when I'm at work, I usually let my feet rest as I don't want to make my feet condition gets worse. What can I do when I was born small (short height)? (LMAO)

"Barely anyone has mentioned your name with such concepts like "sexy" & "innocence" when most idols nowadays have to pass through these concepts & being mentioned. There's never a concept that you haven't tried. Have you been steadily pursuing to change your concepts all the time? What kind of attempts have led to this?"

BoA: Well, I personally think concepts are decided based on the music. "Sexy" concepts don't fit me physically. "Innocence" concepts, no one is innocent though?...I can't pretend to look pretty all the time & the first thing I hate as a singer is lip-syncing. I think I should try to look pretty all the time but I just can't do it because I'm not good at it. You can't do it because you can't, right? (LMAO)

"Mood that you feel comfortable with?"

BoA: It's easily playful mood. It's my real personality. I always playfully tease people around me. 

"Maybe that's the reason why you say "NEGA DOLA" is your comfortable genre?"

BoA: I decided to take on "Hip-hop Girl". The dance style for it is also one of my favorites. I feel so good when I dance to this song.

"Artist" or "Performer" would describe you better?"

BoA: In fact, I don't seem to have a desire for such a title or to become a person that people see me as. "The person who wants to express this song well on stage" has come to my mind, so far.

"The same things may be true to the child actors, the lives of the stars who have shown to the public since their childhoods are often compared to "The Truman Show" movie. Have you ever regretted for choosing this life?"

BoA: The whole Korean people witnessed my growth. Sometimes I get scared when I think they'll see the process of me getting married, having a baby & becoming a grandmother. My life is being documented, and I can find my old self so easily. But how many people can have this kind of experience? I am grateful & now I think it is all fun.

"You're preparing for a tour in Japan in March?" 

BoA: YES. This tour is holding the concept of 'BoA the Live'. It's a live concert with just a band & my voice, and the venue is small enough. I want to spend good times with my Japanese fans again in a close distance because of my long absence over there. Last year's Billboard LIVE ended with the piano, guitar but this time the drums & bass are included. Billboard LIVE was fun, but it was a real burden on the vocal side. However, the echoes from the simple sounds were very satisfying because they were different.

I saw the phrase "BoA do whatever you want". It feels like they're the certain words that people are cheering for you these days. What do you want to do at the moment?

BoA: I want to do EVERYTHING. I want to act when there's a good script comes in. But I still want to concentrate on my singing career. Because I am a singer.

BoA's shooting for Vogue Korea, March issue, 2018

 I'll make sure to share more BoA's contents in my blog. Thank you guys for reading! ✌