Valenti is the second Japanese studio album (fourth overall) by South Korean recording artist BoA, released through Avex Trax on January 29, 2003. The album's lyrics were written by multiple contributors including Natsumi Watanabe and Kenn Kato, with composition on the album handled by a team of composers including Kazuhiro Hara, Bounceback, Kosuke Morimoto, Ken Harada, and Akira. Valenti is a pop record containing influences from R&B and dance music, and is primarily recorded in Japanese with minor interspersed phrases in English.
Valenti became a massive commercial success upon release. It became BoA's second consecutive number-one album on the Oricon Albums Chart, debuting at the top spot with first week sales of over 615,000 copies. The album managed to sell over 1.249 million copies and is her highest-selling album to date. It also became her second album to be certified million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). Combined with the sales of its three physical singles, Valenti sold over 1.7 million copies during the year.
BoA promoted the album with three singles that were released throughout 2002: the title track, the double A-side single "Kiseki / No. 1" and the double A-side single "Jewel Song / Beside You (Boku o Yobu Koe)." All three releases peaked within the top three of the Oricon Singles Chart and received gold certifications in physical sales by the RIAJ. BoA promoted several tracks from the album in live television appearances in 2003. She embarked on her first concert tour in support of the album titled the Valenti Live Tour, which spanned nine concerts across three cities in Japan.
Valenti topped the weekly Japanese Oricon Albums Chart with first week sales of 615,218 copies. It marked BoA's second number one studio album in Japan, following her debut album, Listen to My Heart (2002); her next four studios albums would also rank atop the chart, with her sixth Japanese album The Face (2008) setting a record for the second-most number one albums by a solo artist in the country.[1]Valenti remained atop the chart for a second week, selling 20,000 copies more than the second place album, Glay Rare Collectives Vol. 1, which was released the week after Valenti. It ranked first on the Oricon monthly chart in February 2003. The album surpassed sales of 1 million copies on March 3, 2003, making it the first album by a non-Japanese Asian artist to have achieved the feat in Oricon's history.[2]Valenti remains the singer's best-selling album to date.
In South Korea, the album was released under license on February 25, 2004, following the South Korean government's fourth opening of Japan's culture, and prior to that, most of the songs on this album were translated into Korean and included in the special album Shine We Are!.[3]Valenti peaked at number one on the international monthly album chart compiled by the Music Industry Association of Korea (MIAK) in February 2004, becoming her first record to top the international chart.[4] It was the 26th best-selling international album in South Korea during 2004, selling 17,958 copies.[5]
Valenti won Best Rock & Pop Album of the Year at the annual Japan Gold Disc Awards, marking her second consecutive win in the category after Listen to My Heart (2002).[6] At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, the single "Valenti" received a nomination for Best Pop Video, but lost to "One Love" by English boy band Blue.
^"BoA、ベスト盤が100万枚を突破!" [BoA, best compilation album tops 1 million!] (in Japanese). Oricon. May 24, 2005. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
^"보아의 일본 앨범 `Valenti' 국내발매" [BoA's Japanese album 'Valenti' released in Korea] (in Korean). kihoilbo.co.kr. February 24, 2004. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
^ ab"2004.02월 – 가요 음반 판매량" [February 2004 Overseas Album Sales]. Music Industry Association of Korea. 2006. Archived from the original on March 7, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
^ abcd"2004년총결산 POP음반 판매량집계" [2004 Year End International Music Sales]. Recording Industry Association of Korea. 2005. Archived from the original on February 13, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
^The Record (in Japanese), vol. 521, Recording Industry Association of Japan, April 2003, p. 6
^ ab"Valenti | BoA". Oricon News (in Japanese). January 29, 2003. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
^"Oricon Yearly Albums Chart". Oricon Style; published through Yahoo! GeoCities (in Japanese). December 2003. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
