BoA's success in Japan is assured. Every new album tops the Oricon music chart and more than 10,000 fans gather to see each concert on the tour. But it is the result of a punishing regime in her teens.
For one thing, she couldn't wear sneakers like other teens because she always danced wearing high-hilled shoes. That has caused inflammation in her feet. "It's an occupational hazard," she shrugs.
On Sunday afternoon, BoA was preparing for part of her 2007 concert tour "Made In Twenty" at the Yokohama arena. "Now I can wear sneakers. It feels good," she says. Age has crept up on her. "I never used to take vitamins when I was in my teens, but now I take vitamins and proteins. It is harder to get up early in the morning when you're 20."
To BoA, life as a 20something brings more responsibilities. "I have more responsibility and I can't joke so much because all staff take my jokes seriously."
Her fifth Japanese album, also titled "Made In Twenty" went straight to the top of the Oricon music chart when it was released in January, just like the former ones, and tickets to the fourth national tour are sold out.
Last Sunday was the second day of the tour, which began March 31. The Yokohama Arena was crowded with fans from their teens to their 40s. It was the biggest concert in two years, the ultimate multi-entertainment extravaganza. "It's the biggest concert I've ever given," she says.
Throughout, her outfits accentuate her figure. Her dancer's body shows the hard training she has done since elementary school. Because of those efforts, she can sing while dancing without gasping or being off pitch.
The big Japanese music stores have given the album pride of place. BoA's DVDs were on top of J-pop section rack in a record shop in Shinjuku, side by side with Namie Amuro's live concert DVD. A fan in his 30s said, "She's so powerful, it's amazing. I can feel more passion from her than from any other Japanese singers. Nationality is meaningless."
BoA's tour consists of seven shows over four weeks, and more than 70,000 fans bought tickets for. Next, BoA will make a new Korean album. "I'd like to put more emphasis on music," she says, to shake off her image as a dancer who also sings.
