Park Cho-a

In this Korean name, the family name is Park.

Park Cho-a
Choa in 2016
Born (1990-03-06) March 6, 1990 (age 34)
Incheon, South Korea
Occupation(s)Singer, Host
Musical career
GenresK-pop
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active
  • 2012–2017
  • 2020–present
Labels
Formerly of
Korean name
Hangul
박초아
Hanja
Revised RomanizationBak Cho-a
McCune–ReischauerPak Ch'oa

Park Cho-a (born March 6, 1990), known mononymously as Choa (stylized as ChoA), is a South Korean singer. She is best known as a former member of the girl group AOA.

Early life

Choa was born on March 6, 1990, in Incheon, South Korea.[1] She wanted to major in music at university but her conservative father wanted her to get a traditional job, so she enrolled in Aviation Business Administration in Inha Technical College. She also worked as an IPTV salesperson, where she secretly auditioned to be an idol, failing the audition at SM Entertainment 15 times.[2][3]

Choa's first step in becoming an idol was when she met singer-songwriter Juniel, who told her about FNC's auditions for their girl group, AOA. Both Juniel and Choa were previously trainees at a company that went bankrupt.[4][5][6]

Career

2012–2013: Debut with AOA

Main article: AOA (band)

On July 30, 2012, Choa made her debut as a member of AOA on Mnet's M Countdown with the song "Elvis" from their debut single album, Angels' Story.[7]

On June 12, 2013, it was announced that Choa would play the female lead, Gabriella, in the musical High School Musical. Her agency, FNC Entertainment, revealed photos of Choa practising the duet song, "Start of Something New". Choa said that she wanted to portray Gabriella as sincerely as she could. The musical ran from July 2 to September 1 at Seoul's Blue Square Samsung Card Hall.[8]

2014–2017: Solo activities and hiatus

On March 16, 2014, Choa released a solo OST for TV Chosun's TV series Bride of the Century.[9]

Choa appeared as a new cast member on MBC's variety show "My Little Television".[10] She later left the show on May 19, 2015.[11]

Choa also became a new model for sports brand NBA's 2015 S/S, the first few pictures released were colourful and sporty.[12]

On March 25, 2015, it was revealed that Choa would be one of the members on the studio panel for MBC's We Got Married, replacing Hong Jin-young.[13][14]

On June 6, 2015, she became an advertising model for Alba Heaven, a website to help people find part-time jobs. She appeared alongside Yoo Byung-jae in a commercial for the website that month.[15]

On July 22, 2015, it was revealed that Choa would collaborate with Primary and Iron for Primary's new single 2-3's song "Don't Be Shy".[16] The song and the full music video starring Choa was released on July 24, 2015.[17]

A teaser trailer for Choa's solo debut, "Flame", was released on December 14, 2015. "Flame" is a cover of a song by Jang Hye-jin featuring Gary, with Gary's rap reworked into a section for Choa to sing.[18][19] The song was later released on December 17, 2015.[20]

In October 2016, Choa was confirmed to be the MC of JTBC new variety show Sing For You, scheduled for December 3, 2016.[21]

On June 22, 2017, Choa announced that she would be leaving AOA due to depression and insomnia. She stated that she had tried using medication to help, however, there was no improvement in her mental health.[22] This followed after Choa had a hiatus from the group following their activities from January 2017 when they released their first studio album Angel's Knock. Her departure from AOA was officially confirmed by FNC Entertainment on June 30, 2017.[23] In May 2019, her contract with FNC expired and was not renewed.[24]

2020–present: Return and Great M

After a three-year hiatus from the entertainment industry, it was announced on August 6, 2020, that Choa had recorded a new song for the soundtrack of the KBS2 drama Men Are Men.[25] Officials confirmed her participation after viewers heard the song on the August 3 broadcast of the show, and speculated that the singer sounded similar to Choa.[26] According to an entertainment industry official on August 21, 2020, Choa has moved to Great M Entertainment, a new agency founded by Kim Young-sun, who was a founding member and managing director of FNC Entertainment.[27]

In March 2022, it was announced that Choa was preparing to release a single titled "Yesterday" on April 9, 2022.[28] In July 2022, Choa was announced as a main host of the "Your Literacy+".[29]

On 28 November 2023, Choa was announced as one of the cast members of "Diva Sisters", which is a variety show featuring five singers who get together to talk candidly about the entertainment industry and their careers. Other cast members include Chae Ri-na, Lee Ji-hye, Ivy, and Narsha.[30]

Discography

Main article: AOA discography

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Album
KOR
[31]
As lead artist
"Flame" (불꽃) 2015 25 Non-album singles
"Yesterday" 2022 —[a] —
"Butterfly"
(with Juncoco) 		2023 — —
As featured artist
"Don't Be Shy" (아끼지마)
(Primary featuring Choa and Iron) 		2015 10 2
"Cloud"
(Primary featuring Choa) 		2020 —[b] — Boxtape
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart

Soundtrack appearances

Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Album
KOR
[36]
"Breaking Free" (자유롭게)
(Choa with Lee Jae-jin) 		2013 — — High School Musical on Stage! OST
"What I Wanted to Say" (아직 하지 못한 말) 2014 — Bride of the Century OST
"Happy Me" (행복한)
(Choa with Byul) 		2015 — King of Mask Singer OST
"Beautiful Restriction" (아름다운 구속) —
"I Guess" (그런가봐요)
(piano by Yoo Hee-yeol) 		26 Two Yoo Project Sugar Man OST
"Sing For U"
(Choa with Kim Tae-woo) 		2017 — — Sing For You OST
"What More Do You Need To Say" (무슨 말이 더 필요해) —
"Here I Am" (난 여기 있어요) 2020 —[c] Men Are Men OST
"Thorn" (가시) 2021 —[d] Lovestruck in the City OST
"I Wish"[40] 2022 — Never Give Up OST Part 8
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart

Filmography

See also: AOA filmography

Television shows

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015 We Got Married Host [41]
King of Mask Singer Contestant Omae, Fall Autumn Foliage (Ep 25-26) [42]
2016 Girl Who Leapt Charts Host [43]
Sing For You
2021 On & Off Cast member Season 2 [44]
Shutdown Fairy [45]
Beauty Time 3 [46]
Awesome Romance Host Episode 1–8 [47]
2022 Surprise: Secret Room Spin-off [48]
Your Literacy+ [49]
2023–present Diva Sisters Cast member [50]

Web shows

Year Title Role Ref.
2021 Blue Chip Stars Host [51]
Double Trouble Contestant [52]

Awards and nominations

See also: List of awards and nominations received by AOA
Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination
Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result Ref.
MBC Entertainment Awards 2015 New Star of the Year We Got Married Won [53]

Notes

  1. ^ "Yesterday" didn't enter Gaon Digital Chart, but peaked 104 position on the Gaon Download Chart.[33]
  2. ^ "Cloud" didn't enter Gaon Digital Chart, but peaked 85 position on the Gaon Download Chart.[35]
  3. ^ "Here I Am" didn't enter Gaon Digital Chart, but peaked at 130 position on the Gaon Download Chart.[38]
  4. ^ "Thorn" didn't enter Gaon Digital Chart, but peaked at 43 position on the Gaon Download Chart and at 22 position on the Gaon BGM Chart.[39]

References

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  39. ^ Peak chart position for "Thorn":
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  • Media related to Park Choa at Wikimedia Commons