K-pop grandmaster BoA on 20 years in the music industry: ‘I’m grateful that I’m called a pioneer’
- BoA was 13 when she arrived on the South Korean pop scene in 2000, and has since earned a reputation as one of the forerunners of modern K-pop
- Ahead of the album’s release, the singer spoke of how she hopes to keep going for another 10 years and beyond
It’s said that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill. Considering that BoA has been at the top of her game as a K-pop artist since debuting 20 years – or more than 175,200 hours – ago, she can be considered a grandmaster.
Since arriving on the South Korean pop scene at 13 years old in August, 2000, with the album “ID; Peace B”, the now-34-year-old has earned a reputation as one of the forerunners of modern K-pop. As a singer-dancer who has seen hit after hit during the past two decades, she helped the industry grow across Asia as well as the United States.
As a whole, “Better” is less about advancing BoA’s musicality and instead revelling in all that she’s had to offer during the past 20 years, a celebration of who she can be as a performer representing a generation of women. Songs such as No. 1, Girls On Top and Woman embrace both her success and the power of embracing her gender.
The album’s title track is an alt R&B dance tune created by producer Yoo Young-jin, who wrote BoA’s first single and has worked with her throughout her career.
Made to be performed by BoA in the song’s music video, where she shows her dynamic dance skills, it features her typical lush vocal-meets-choreography approach to pop music, and samples British pop singer Awa’s Like I Do, released in December 2019.
