[PATREON REQUEST] 202020 BoA (Performance Edit) + 'BETTER' Dance Practice + M/V
Added 2024-10-29 10:50:58 +0000 UTCComments
We LOVE some good levels!
Jessica Holyfield
2025-01-10 12:31:01 +0000 UTCIm actually so bitter she didn’t dance or dress for Atlantis Princess that was like her most iconic and my favorite look
Kevin
2024-10-29 21:27:30 +0000 UTCThe dancers in the 202020 were all hired specifically for that docu, afaik! The reality show filmed for BoA's 20th anniversary actually shows some footage from the auditions that were held for that, with BoA and SM in-house choreographers presiding over them. Re: the legacy of BoA at SM, I think something that really puts things into perspective is that next year is SM Entertainment's 30th anniversary...and BoA's 25th. She has been there for the vast majority of the company's history, and indisputably saved the company from dissolution in the early 2000s, when the company's original successful groups were leaving the company and/or disbanding and SM had a series of unsuccessful debuts. There is a fairly famous quote from Lee Soo Man, "If BoA wasn’t here, there would be no SM." Some facts about the songs in 202020, in chronological order as shown in the video (this turned into a BoA history essay lmao): - Listen to My Heart. Originally released in early 2002 in Japan. This was BoA's first real hit song in either Korea or Japan, and ironically, was also originally going to be her last Japanese song because her Japanese label was unhappy with her middling success so far compared to the amount of investment. It's the song that rocketed her to national fame in Japan, which subsequently catapulted her to fame as a national prestige kind of artist in her native South Korea (where she had debuted, to moderate success and a TON of hate in 2000). - Valenti. Originally released in late 2002 in Japan. This is BoA's biggest dance song hit in Japan. To this day the "tight jeans" line in the chorus randomly gets mentioned on Japanese shows, lol. Definitely has some Latin vibes to it, she sometimes adds Latin vibes to other tracks to perform as a medley with it! - No 1. Originally released in mid 2002 in South Korea. This was the first song she released in Korea after becoming famous in Japan, which is why the music video is shot in Tokyo, haha, there was a level of patriotic pride to BoA's success in Japan at the time because of the fraught historical relationship between the two countries and the economic/cultural inferiority complex South Korea had with Japan at that time. This was her first real hit in Korea. - Only One. Originally released in 2012 in South Korea. One of the relatively rare hits of her post-golden age career. BoA considers this song her filial son because it was the first title track she wrote/composed. Fun fact, this song was up against Gangnam Style during its promotion run and still managed to eke out a music show win. - Eat You Up. Originally released in the USA in 2008. This was her debut single in America! The choreo performed in this video is the canonical Eat You Up choreo that has always been performed live, but for some reason, Eat You Up actually had two different choreos from the start, one used in the "American" music video (which sucks lol) and one used in the much better MV which SM for some reason thought would not appeal to the US?? So you learning the Just Jerk choreo is kind of in line with this song's history, haha. - Girls On Top. Originally released in South Korea in 2005. A feminist anthem! BoA pushed for this song to be the title track over the company's choice. It kills me that SM named their female supergroup after this song and then proceeded to give Step Back lyrics that are uh...not very feminist...lmao. Choreo-wise, BoA pushed for the part of the choreo you could see in this vid where she and the female dancers get on the male dancers back. This part of the choreo was never showcased in the original MV for this song because Lee Soo Man didn't like that part, hahaha. But BoA really liked that part because she likes to have at least one part of the choreo that sticks out to anyone regardless of their dance background. - My Name. Originally released in South Korea in 2004. This was a big image change moment for BoA because she was at the age when she really wanted to be perceived as more mature, classic teenager stuff. This is also another title track BoA pushed for vs. the company's choice, and was the breakout song for the SM in-house songwriter Kenzie. BoA specifically wanted a choreo focused on the hips for this song, which is showcased best in the dance break which is unfortunately not in this vid. She also wore low-rise pants during the promotions for this song to further accentuate that! - Kiss My Lips. Originally released in South Korea in 2015. This was the title track for her 15th anniversary album, which is notably BoA's first fully self-produced album. The title track was picked by having the staff vote for their picks, because BoA didn't think she could objectively pick any one track. I think this is the most overtly feminine title track choreo she's had in Korea. - Atlantis Princess. Originally released in South Korea in 2003. It's placement at the end of this video is quite moving and significant to the fans. When BoA was originally promoting this song, her manager died in a tragic car accident. Her manager that she was super attached to died like that when she was only 16 years old...BoA performed a ballad instead of the song for the promotions directly after the incident, and once the promotions were over, didn't perform this song for the next twelve years. She finally started performing it again in 2015, and in recent years, she has directly used this song as an example of music functioning as a time machine for her. She says performing Atlantis Princess nowadays makes her feel like that 16-year old girl again. This bright, cheerful song has gone from a thing of trauma to a thing of happiness for her. Some commentary on the Better dance practice: - This is actually the first ever dance practice for BoA released by SM. Honestly, a tragedy that it took this long, I will never forgive SM for this! Release the backlog of videos WE KNOW YOU HAVE! - This video was provided wayyy after the original promotions for the song (to promote a Chinese version BoA did a collab on) because BoA had shoulder pain when SM was planning to film the "formal" dance practice video, so it was never filmed/released. This video is the choreography confirmation video. AKA SM despite never filming official dance practices has all these choreography confirmation video (and BoA has informally posted them on Instagram before) so...release the videos SM! - I literally just noticed while watching your reaction that some of the dancers are wearing Tapaha merch! Tapaha is a dance studio, located in a building BoA owns, that was run by one of BoA's older brothers and one of SM's primary in-house choreographer/concert director/ex-failed group member, Shim Jaewon. I forgot to mention this during the Only One reaction, but he was actually the male dancer during the extended choreo sequence. There is a lot of footage of various SM artists in this studio, including a choreo video BoA shot to promote the studio in 2019 that is actually one of my fave BoA dance videos ever. Unfortunately, BoA's older brother passed away from cancer a couple of years ago...I suspect this, in-part, led to Tapaha going radio silent since 2022 :( - I just remembered Lachica filmed a reaction to Better where they discussed some decisions made while choreographing the song, relationship to BoA, etc.! Will leave the link here if you'd like to watch it on your own time, or I can squeeze it in with a different request in the future if you think it'd be fun to react to~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtKxLd5mD4M
Rue
2024-10-29 18:38:21 +0000 UTCIt's actually only a couple of days away from her 38th birthday. Boa has such a great catalogue of mvs and choreos (i still do the hand choreo from One Shot, Two Shot when it comes on)
Zephyr
2024-10-29 13:15:32 +0000 UTCBoA is queen and can always count on Lachica to give levels, levels, levels!!
Yoel Cho
2024-10-29 13:04:52 +0000 UTC
