Maps of Music

Identity (2010)

Where the lyrics of Identity take you, and where it was really made.

Identity was BoA's seventh Japanese studio album, yet it became her first not to sell over 100,000 copies and her first not to debut at number one on the Oricon weekly chart.

Key places

Recording studio listed for Identity (2010)

Recording site prime sound studio form — MusicBrainz lists prime sound studio form as a place where Identity was recorded. The listing gives the studio location only, without a recording date. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

2009 release party at Studio Coast (2009)

Live show SHINKIBA STUDIO COAST — The BEST & USA release party was held at Shinkiba Studio Coast on 6 April 2009 as a one-night-only event. Its live footage is included on the DVD of this album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Identity: seventh Japanese studio album (thirteenth overall) by South Korean singer BoA
• Released 10 February 2010, nearly two years after The Face
• Two editions: CD+DVD and CD only
• Theme: music that proves who one is, in line with the album title
• Concept of BoA's own subjectivity, described as a record that fully portrays her identity as an artist
• Four songs written by BoA herself as lyricist and composer, the most she has contributed to any of her albums

Background

• Preceded by the singles Bump Bump! (with Verbal of M-Flo) and Mamoritai (White Wishes)
• Those singles peaked at number five and number two on the Oricon charts
• Commercially underperformed in Japan compared with her earlier albums
• In South Korea, a CD-only edition was licensed for release on 17 February
• Album includes an interlude, a feature not present on earlier BoA albums

Recording

• Most songs were written lyrics-first
• Lyrics and melodies were written in the studio with an arranger while beats and synthesizers were layered
• Mastering credit: Rena Koyanagi

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Kwon Bo-ah, born November 5, 1986 in Gyeonggi Province, was discovered by SM Entertainment talent scouts at a 1998 talent search while accompanying her older brother.
• After two years of training in vocals, dance, English, and Japanese, she debuted in South Korea in 2000 with the album ID; Peace B.
• Her Korean label arranged with Avex Trax to launch her career in Japan, and she quit school to prepare.

Career

• Her debut Japanese album Listen to My Heart (2002) became the first album by a Korean artist to debut at number one on the Oricon chart.
• Valenti (2003) sold over 1,249,000 copies, and Best of Soul (2005) sold over a million copies in Japan.
• Her self-titled English album (2009) was the first record by a K-pop artist to appear on the Billboard 200.
• She has sold over ten million albums and has been called the "Queen of K-pop" for helping open the Japanese market to Korean pop.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Debuted at number two on the daily Oricon albums chart with 14,023 units sold on its first day
• Debuted at number four on the weekly Oricon albums chart with 37,606 copies sold
• Became the first Japanese album of hers that did not chart at number one, ending her streak of studio albums debuting at number one on the Oricon weekly chart
• Sales were weaker than her previous albums in Japan

Reappraisal

• No critical reviews are cited in the source material
• Assessment rests on chart and sales records

Records

• Oricon weekly: number four debut with 37,606 copies
• Oricon daily: number two debut with 14,023 copies
• Sold 59,408 copies after 10 weeks on sale
• First studio album of BoA not to sell over 100,000 copies
• Did not receive certification

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Bump Bump! and Mamoritai (White Wishes) reached number five and number two on Oricon, while the Possibility music video was made but never issued as a single.
• The album is the first in which BoA's self-written share was the largest of her albums.
• The DVD includes a live recording of the 2009 BEST & USA release party at Studio Coast, which had not been released commercially before.
• Vivid, her 27th single, was not included on this album.
• The Possibility duet with Daichi Miura appears on the CD, but its video is not on this album's DVD.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact