Comments

Posts

BoA’s debut English single “heats up” in the U.S.

A follow-up on our earlier post about the release of Korean Jpop/Kpop star BoA’s debut single “Eat You Up” in the United States:

The South Korea-based Chosun Ilbo has report that her release has seen an “immediate positive response” from American listeners.

The song was introduced on music sites MyTunes, Amazon, AOL, eMusic and MySpace at 3:00 am on the 22nd (Korean Standard Time) and reached 3rd on iTunes in the Dance category and 10th on Amazon’s list of Hot New Releases in MP3 Downloads and 21st among Today’s Top MP3 Songs.

ROK Drop attempted to verify the Chosun Ilbo’s claim and found that BoA’s single wasn’t even in the top 200 for the day. At the time of posting, it was “number 213 and dropping fast.”

—

Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

19 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - October 28, 2008 at 7:57 am

Categories: Celebrity News Tags: BoA, jpop, kpop

SD1

Average Ho

http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

Yeah, almost all the “hos” I know speak three languages and are going on their fourth. Studious yariman, the lot of them!

Ralph

Boring, did’nt Janet do this b-4. she looks weird, she wore a cap, how come most all of the korean gals i see where a cap, is something wrong with there head or is it an insecurity…The only positive thing about this is its a role model for the Asain kids Abroad, but “I wanna eat you up” HEN NA NO!!

http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

It’s a style. That’s like saying, “Why do Americans wear sunglasses? Is there something wrong with their eyes or is it an insecurity?”

Koreans are more conscious about the health of their skin than the average Westerner, and “milk-white skin” is ideal beauty. Tan skin is a symbol of labor, and therefore looked down on, which is why you see women walk around with umbrellas and shaded caps in the summer sun.

http://www.rokdrop.com GI Korea

I just went and checked the most recent MP3 listings at Amazon and she has now dropped from #213 to #231.
Lana

No, it’s not ‘heating up’, here. She’s very popular amongst people that already were fans. That’s who’s doing the downloading. BoA came all the way to the U.S. and marketed herself to……..her fans.
Rated R

For BoA to catch on in America … that would be the day! How is a copy of a copy going to catch on?? Fat chance! Koda Kumi already learned her lesson. Too bad.
kenji

it seems to me that the Chosun Ilbo is blatantly fabricating stories half the time. i certainly havent heard boa on the radio around my hood haha
James

Unless she is played on American or Canadian radio, then nobody will know her. Only her current fans will be interested in this. Plus you need to remove all the Asian gayness out of it, or Americans won’t even go near it. It would also be wise to make an original song. Hell, even Valenti would have done better with her singing in her updated English skills.
tentaro

The funny thing is she has a couple songs in English already and they weren’t too bad. I hope she is at least smart enough to release those here.
http://yamatologic.com Jeshii

If my precious Hikki isn’t going to make it in America, no one is!

I bet the Genki Rockets could do better… the whole virtual thing went well for the Gorillaz.
anon

Why won’t she sing in japanese/korean? Pretty stupid to just copy american pop it makes no difference if it’s sing by american or korean if they are gonna sing in english. Well maybe average americans are just too stupid to even listen anything foreign language.

fh

Well they listen to reggaeton, and that’s largely in Spanish.

But I think asian languages are a little too exotic to be palatable among American pop “sensibilities”.
Rob

It’s not an issue of stupidity. Rammstein actually has done pretty respectably here with their music being in German, but being in a different language didn’t automatically make your music better or even just good – they succeeded because they offered something you couldn’t necessarily get from American corporate rock in the mid-90s.

I haven’t heard any of BoA’s music, but if that promo video is any indication then she’s not covering any territory that hasn’t already been beat to death here. It won’t matter what language she sings that stuff in because it won’t sell here either way.

fh

Agreed, although I don’t think you can treat BoA the same as Rammstein despite a similar language barrier. European and American music has been intertwined for quite a while which has made it easier for European acts to make their way stateside. Asian music and Western pop culture simply haven’t fully bridged the divide yet, and there really aren’t any indicators that Western audiences would be receptive at this point in time.

I think the criticisms of BoA’s english is mainly because she is trying to be patently American despite not having Western credentials. Even native Asian-American hiphop/pop acts have enjoyed very limited success. Maybe Hollywood is to blame.

Put differently, she could either be more successful singing in Korean but limited to the “International Music” section, or less successful singing in English but open to a broader audience.

Rob

Yep, it’s by no means a perfect comparison, I was just taking issue with the fact that Americans can’t/won’t tolerate music in another language.

kity

what does this mean? Korean propaganda? I’m not suprised
Alphonse

I’m sure any release strategy is not initiated by BOA – more likely her record company. And the fact that her position on the charts has been greatly exaggerated shows they’re doing their best to talk it up to help profits along.

They must be delusional if they think that they can serve up rehashed American pop back to the States. Like Rob said, no new ground being covered. But then again it is pop…
Pity cause she seems talented.

I agree, the cap is not a good look.
http://nonplayercharacter.blogspot.com/ NPC

BOA is a great singer, unfortunately she’s trying too hard to be popular instead of making great music. Someone pair her up with Mondo Grosso again! I don’t care is house music never makes it to American radio, she’s perfect for it.

BoA’s debut English single “heats up” in the U.S.

Recent Comments

Further Reading

South Korean Government Demands That International Hydrographic Organization Use “East Sea”

Japanese Documentary About Sea Shepherd’s Protest Activities in Taiji (English Subtitles)

Babies Born on March 11th Receive Special Present

Washington Times Freelancer Slams Former Employer, Fails to Ethically Disclose Relationship?

Christopher Johnson Attempts to Silence Criticism of His “Gaijin Gulag” Article (Legal Threats!!!)

Tabloid Reports About Yu Darvish’s Love Life: Kirara Asuka & Miho Koga?

Does K-Pop Group KARA Have Ties to North Korea?

Tokyo Gate Bridge

Sara Errani Admits She Avoided Tennis Tournament in Tokyo: Feared Radiation

Chinese Workers Who Survived March 11th Tsunami Return to Tohoku

Categories

Archives

Subscribe

Japan Blogs

Korea Blogs

Linkroll

Other Asia Blogs