Alright, just a quick little ditty before I journey off into slumber.
It’s from BoA. I’ve mentioned her at some point, just never introduced her. If I’m forced to generalize (which I don’t, but I shall anyway) I would say she is recognized as the Korean Britney. Or was anyway. That is to say, the Britney of the ’98-’00 era. Bubblegum stuff. BoA started out just as squeaky clean, and has only recently been tip-toeing into more mature issues and/or outfits. She’s had a career in Korea for over a decade. Don’t get me wrong though: BoA is, and never has, been a slutty act. She’s fairly conservative in her performances, and I surprisingly appreciate her subtlety considering I idolize the most sluttilicious acts in show business.
Unfortunately, she decided to embark on an annoying little crossover act into Japan a while ago. She’s been releasing things in Japan for about…three or four years now, and frankly I’m rather sick of it. J-Pop has a horrible tendency to sound samey and unoriginal, and even BoA’s strong pipes cannot save her Japanese tracks from their mechanic construction. I’m a firm believer in a Korean only BoA, but that’s just me. Her music was fresher, livelier, and most importantly, original when it was sung in her native tongue. Regardless, I do love her. She’s got a great natural voice, and her overall dancing skills best any other J-Pop act I’ve seen.
She has made the decision to drop music for a little while this year to study in America. I know that she’s just being a silly bitch, and will surely come crawling back in a few months. For now, I wish to celebrate her glory days in Korea. Now this is from her last classic Korean album, My Name, the fourth major release from 2004 that turned me into a major fan. The track I’m pulling from the CD is actually called “그럴 수 ìžˆê² ì§€…!? (Maybe…maybe not!?)” I’ll give you a moment to digest.
It’s a groovy little number, complete with pre-packaged imagery of smoke filled dance floors, punctured with neon lights. It’s mid-tempo, but it’s a lot of fun. And I think the instrument in the chorus is a synthesized steel drum or something. Anyway, listen and let me know what you think.