Archive of ‘korea’

Asian artists have been trying to break into the North American market for a while now, the two most notable being Hikaru Utada of Japan and Coco Lee of China. Hikaru made the jump with Exodus (2005), only to reach the modest #160 spot in the US Billboard 200 chart. Lee however saw brighter lights with her albums Just No Other Way (1999) and Exposed (2005, #1 HMV Music Charts), which may be attributed to a number of movie placements. However, neither saw the longevity or the mass popularity seen by local artists. On September 2nd, 2008, SM Entertainment decided to change that.

Under their new American branch, SM Entertainment USA, SM Entertainment is taking a stab at mainstream music with their long-time ubertalent, BoA. Will she succeed? I really, REALLY hope so. Hit the video for the Asia version of her debut song, Eat You Up:

Production wise, it’s similar to our homegrown material. Four on the floor beat with stutters thrown in for good measure. Massive, fat “womp-womp” saws alternating between kicks. Catchy hook. Nonsensical, vocoded lyrics. A little poppy, but it sounds about right, no?

I love it, but I’m biased; I have a ton of BoA albums reaching way back to the start of her career, so I have a lot invested in her success. As people who may not have been exposed to her earlier work, what do you guys think?

P.S. Thanks Lindsey Le for making the introduction. Always Loyal, Always Lindsey Le – the new fragrance from Jeremy Lim.