While basic K-Pop girl groups are busy trying to choke their own members with rice cakes before kicking them to the curb, Eternal Queen of K-Pop BoA has just stood up from her throne, silenced the lessers and unleashed the second video from her very, very good seventh Korean studio album Only One: “The Shadow.”
Let the slaying commence once again.
Just like her dance-tastic clip for the album’s lead (and title) track “Only One,” the follow-up features footwork aplenty, as BoA cycles through about a half-dozen sets serving up endless shoulder shimmies, kicks and ferociously intricate handography. Watch for some very Cheryl Cole “Fight For This Love”-esque soldier choreography to come into play at one point, as well as lots o’ shots of BoA looking all grown ‘n’ sexy. She’s certainly come a long way from the bubbly teenybopper behind “Shine We Are,” hasn’t she?
As for the video’s plot, I really couldn’t help you there–something about blindfolds, magical spirits, creepy hallways and ghosts? Maybe clones or something? Seems fairly par for the course of a Korean pop music video.
It helps, too, that “The Shadow” itself is an incredibly fierce track–it gives me Michael Jackson vibes, quite frankly.
The release of this video is nicely timed, too–I’ve been utterly (re-)obsessed with BoA’s self-titled 2009 English effort, which is essentially Blackout Part Deux. Same producers, same icy urban beats–if you haven’t, I really, really encourage you to give it a listen.
Enjoy!
Only One was released on July 22. (iTunes)