Park Cho-a

Biography

Park Cho-a (Korean: 박초아; 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. 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. 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.

== Career ==

=== 2012–2013: Debut with AOA ===

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. On June 12, 2013, it was announced that Choa would play the female lead, Gabriella, in the musical High School Musical. The musical ran from July 2 to September 1 at Seoul's Blue Square Samsung Card Hall. She was praised for interpreting the character in her unique style while handling songs that span a wide vocal range.

=== 2014–2017: Solo activities and hiatus === In March 2014, Choa released a solo OST for TV Chosun's TV series Bride of the Century. She then appeared as a new cast member on MBC's variety show My Little Television, leaving the show on May 19, 2015. The same year she also became a new model for sports brand NBA's 2015 S/S. 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. 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. 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". The song and the full music video starring Choa were released on July 24, 2015. On December 17, 2015, Choa made her solo debut with "Flame", a cover of a song by Jang Hye-jin featuring Gary, with Gary's rap reworked into a section for Choa to sing.

In October 2016, she was confirmed to be the MC of JTBC new variety show Sing For You, scheduled for December 3, 2016. 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. 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. In May 2019, her contract with FNC expired and was not renewed.

=== 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. 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. 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. In March 2022, it was announced that Choa was preparing to release a single titled "Yesterday" on April 9, 2022. In July 2022, Choa was announced as a main host of Your Literacy+. On November 28, 2023, Choa was announced as one of the cast members of Diva Sisters, a variety show featuring five singers who get together to talk candidly about the entertainment industry and their careers. Other cast members included Chae Ri-na, Lee Ji-hye, Ivy, and Narsha.