BoA: THE QUEEN OF KPOP – Score Global Music

K-pop has established itself as more than a passing trend. At this point, it is a cultural and artistic behemoth that has managed to keep delighting the world for quite a few years now. However, before we fell in love with BTS, EXO, GOT7, Blackpink, and all our biases, there were the first generation K-pop stars who started building the genre from the ground up and are inspirations for some of today’s biggest K-pop acts. 

One such K-pop icon is Kwon Bo-ah, professionally known as BoA, who is one of the first K-pop stars to venture into the global market. She is credited as the QUEEN OF KPOP, no less. In fact, 2020 marked her 20 years in the music industry. BoA has albums and singles in Korean, Japanese, English, and Mandarin.

Her music is vibrant, catchy, and utterly memorable. A look through some of her interesting tracks will reveal the depth of her creativity, her style, and her musical legacy. 

(Disclaimer: this list is not in any particular order)

ATLANTIS PRINCESS

A very uplifting song that keeps you hooked with a great melody. This will remind you of all the times you wondered if you have descended from someplace other than Earth. Daydreamers will definitely relate to this one. With background vocals complimenting her amazing voice, this song is one of her best deliveries and can quickly turn you into one of her fans.

“I wonder what is at the end of the far-away sea

It’s probably far away from being something from this world

Will I be able to see it if I go on top of the clouds?

The children playing the trumpet with the angels

If you listen closely somewhere in a forest

There is a small voice that only I can hear

Shall I fly away like a dream?

The place high away, a world without anyone“

Isn’t it great to find a song that can give you a break from reality and bring you back to the days when we used to find shapes in the clouds and made stories out of them?

EVERLASTING

Available in both Korean and Japanese versions, this ballad talks about everlasting love for someone to whom you have to say goodbye. Laced with amazing vocals by BoA and sincere lyrics which makes it utterly relatable for listeners. This song was the ending theme for the Asahi drama ” Gate of Miracles” and the OST for the Japanese dubbing of the movie “Oliver Twist”.

“Silent tears are falling in my heart

But I’ll move on with no regrets,

I’m sorry for your tenderness 

Until we meet again

Everlasting..”

Once you listen to it, this 2006 release is set to engrave itself in your heart for a long time.

STARRY NIGHT ft Crush

A fairly new track in BoA’s discography, this one is like a hug on a cold winter night. Crush’s deep husky voice perfectly complements her honeyed vocals. This song successfully depicts the warm and fuzzy feeling of being in the company of your loved ones at the end of the day and living your days in anticipation of those starry nights.

” Starry night,

at the end of this beautiful night (baby)

Under the starlight shining upon us yeah

In this cold winter

I come into your

Warm arms that melt me in”

This beautiful chorus gives us a peek into this lovely song and what it represents.

P.S: If you haven’t listened to Crush, give him a few moments of your time… I can bet you’ll never regret it. 

VALENTI

This is a song that will take you back to good old 2000’s pop music as well as your teenage dreams. This song talks about love and the desire to hold on to that love with all you have got. 

“Our two bodies live together

Having chosen each other’s racing heartbeat

I’ll give you the strength to believe

In your faintest of hunches, that’s my dream

To fulfill even your smallest wishes that’s my dream”

Although released in 2002, this song still sounds fresh. If you watch live performances of BoA performing the song, everything becomes complete. A perfect track to remember that first love and youthful promises made.

No. 1

Like many of BoA’s songs, this one too has Korean, Japanese, and English versions. With a very catchy chorus repeating -” You’re still my NO. 1“, this track talks about wanting to get back together with the loved one. It’s a complete earworm, easy to listen to on repeat, and dance your days away. 

“but tonight don’t look for me

hide my sadness

hide behind those clouds

and block the light (block)

so that this road won’t know my tears for him

when the full moon goes away, the sad light will be smaller

on behalf of me, will you

show him his way?

my unfinished love

you still my No.1″

EVERY HEART 

This track from her debut Japanese album Listen to my Heart is a very familiar one to anime fans as it was the ending theme for trailblazing anime Inuyasha. Also available in Korean and English versions, this song showcases great vocals and equally good lyrics:

“Someday, someday, our souls

be at peace, someday

 In times come and gone

We’re alive to learn something

Today will still continue on

When we laugh and we cry.”

BoA has a lot of music under her belt. It is hard to choose from the plethora of music she has generated. The six songs detailed above reveal BoA’s range through their different musical styles, themes, and performances.  You can find so many kinds of songs in her discography, starting from tracks that make you dance all night to ones that hit you right in your feels. 

BoA’s popularity in k-pop, even after all these years, establishes that she is here to stay. Go on… STAN the queen and bend your knees (pun definitely intended).