Here are my credentials: Somewhat shockingly for someone who’s been a k-pop fan for going on six years now, I’ve never sat down and listened to BoA’s discography. So, I figured that, now, on the 25th anniversary of her debut, was as good a time as any. Let’s get into it!

(Also, important to note: I could not—and would not—cover all of BoA’s work, because, as mentioned, she’s been doing this for a quarter century, and I am a college student with a limited amount of time. So, I’m doing all of her major Korean albums and EPs, which is about 10 hours’ worth, rather than the 30-odd hours all of her music would be. If there’s any die-hard BoA fans out there, I’m sorry. Please recommend me your favorite songs I didn’t cover in the comments. :) )

(Part One) (Part Three)

Album #5: My Name

My Name’s sparkly, folksy guitar seems to mark the beginning of a new era of BoA’s discography. Vocals are the star of the show as always, but they feel updated. It didn’t go how I was expecting from the intro, instead working in the strings and hip-hop based beat from her earlier works and discarding the guitar from earlier. I did still like it, but it threw me for a bit of a loop. We’re also clearly in a new era from the “sexy” image they’re going for, having her dressed in tight leather, having hip-thrust and touch heavy choreo, and having her crawling in a vent with far too much focus on her body to feel comfortable. And that’s not ever mentioning the fact that she’s wearing some kind of cultural appropriation as a hairstyle. To be clear, I’m not blaming BoA for any of this; she was still only seventeen, and SM is infamous for giving their idols very little creative control, especially as teens. But it does mean that I didn’t really enjoy the song fully.

From the album, I enjoyed the fast pace of One Wings—Embracing Each Other, the light-footed strings of Etude, and the racing chorus and percussive guitar of Spark. My hidden gem was easily the aptly named Don’t Give A Damn, which goes for a harsher, rockier sound than I was anticipating, and stands out from the rest of BoA’s body of work.

Album #6: Girls On Top

Girls On Top may be labeled the original “girl crush” kpop track, but I think it shares more similarities with late 2010’s era boy group noise music, despite the R & B backdrop. The intro is certainly…a choice, as my grandmother would say, a siren-esque instrumental and some cringy English dialogue courtesy of a man’s voice. BoA’s voice is great as usual, but I just can’t focus on it with everything else going on. That siren just presses a huge red button in my brain, like the damned flute in NCT 127’s Sticker, the bane of my existence. And every criticism of My Name’s MV is multiplied here, down to that terrible haircut. Sorry, Boah. I couldn’t make myself sit through it more than once.

From the album, I enjoyed the confident delivery of Moto, the incredible, emotional vocals in If You Were Here, and the odd spacey beat of Heroinea. With a title track like Girls On Top, I was expecting a similar album. But instead it sounds pretty similar to her others; not a bad thing, just not for me.

Album #7: Hurricane Venus

Hurricane Venus, finally, is a title track straight up my alley. It’s very mid-2000s-SM, make no mistake, right down to the electronic / supersonic / bionic rhymes that recall both SNSD’s Mr. Taxi (supersonic, hypertonic) and SHINee’s Lucifer (loveholic, robotronic). I’m a sucker for a synthy, distorted beat like this one, and BoA pulls it off very well. I do wish that the song went further than it does, though, because despite having a completely ridiculous music video that looks more like Janet Jackson than Janet does, it feels a bit too restrained at moments. 

The final chorus definitely makes up for this, though, going for a showstopping finish with several layers of vocals. I can see its influence in so many kpop tracks from decades after, making it a very interesting watch for both me and my mother (who made the mistake of walking by the TV while I was typing this up and promptly walked right back out, but not before making Janet Jackson comparisons).

From the album, I enjoyed the light synths of My Electronic Piano, the vogue-worthy, percussive Let Me, and the elegant golden age musical sound of Romance. Also, shout-out to the aespa precursor Dangerous, with its heavy-footed EDM and distortion.

Album #8: Only One

Only One is one of the few BoA tracks I’d actually heard before this deep dive, and presents another change in her work (a welcome one, at least from my angle). It’s subtle and understated, but still manages to be catchy, in the same way a song like Love Scenario or Super Shy is. But I confess that my attention while watching the MV wasn’t really on the song itself, but on the dancing, which is very impressive. BoA’s very smooth and light on her feet, making it look like she’s barely breaking a sweat, when I know from experience that a choreo like this is actually one of the hardest to nail. Also, I was pleasantly surprised that her backup dances were so diverse, which I haven’t really seen in kpop outside of Taemin’s Press Your Number. It’s more of a dancing vehicle than anything else, but I can’t really complain when it’s so good.

From the album (though it’s more the length of an EP), I enjoyed the confident and funky The Shadow, Henry and Key’s feature in One Dream, and the racing roadtrip sound of Not Over U, my hidden gem. It’s honestly one of my favorite releases of hers.

Album #9: Kiss My Lips

Kiss My Lips takes on a sleeker sound than we’ve heard before, taking the trim R & B of Only One and adding it to a relaxed synth beat like Hurricane Venus. It’s a good combination, and especially a good one for BoA, whose vocals are as great as ever. The chorus isn’t my favorite—I would’ve preferred more of a payoff, definitely–but overall I liked it. The MV, meanwhile, is the first of hers that feels like modern kpop to me, which makes sense, since it was released in 2015. I’m a little surprised that it was so recent, since we have a whole third part of this review to get to, and for a veteran act to still be that active is very impressive. I have a feeling that the next part will be my favorite.

From the album, I enjoyed the head-bopping dance floor beat of Smash, the off-kilter synths of Fox, and the ballroom inspired sound of Green Light, which reminded me of Gfriend’s Song Of The Sirens. I couldn’t choose a hidden gem. There were still a lot of ballads, but I’m hopeful that, between this album and the last, we’re laying the foundation for a newer, better sound, because I’ve really enjoyed them.

Next time, we’re onto our third and final part. Tschüss!