Single Review: BoA – Emptiness

BoA has released a new song. It’s really good. And quite honestly, we don’t deserve it. Because ever since BoA started to get her shit together and releasing — what I wholeheartedly believe — to be some of her best music, it underperforms. It comes and goes. Netizens say a bitch is too old. The whole time BoA is releasing better music than a lot of the more younger and popular acts. And as far as veteran K-pop talents goes, BoA is also leagues ahead of those who are just about still around. Her homies TVXQ haven’t released anything as good as her in years.

HENNYWAY.

“Emptiness” is great. Fuck them kids.

As somebody who once upon a time thought very little of BoA’s music and wondered if she had it in her to consistently release good music, it’s been amazing to witness BoA actually do it. Even more amazing for it to have happened from a point in her career when she started taking creative control of her own music as a writer and producer.

The release of “Only One” in 2021 was a huge turning point for BoA. But all these years on now, we can see that “Kiss My Lips” was another — forming the basis of what has since become BoA’s core sound. And this was something I never expected to happen, which is part of what made “Kiss My Lips” so thrilling the first time I heard it. Not only was the sound a surprise, but it was such an ideal fit for BoA at that point in her career, and it continues to be an ideal sound for her. “One Shot, Two Shot”, “Better” — all have “Kiss My Lips” vibes. And now there’s “Emptiness” with ‘em too.

What is even cooler about this, is that BoA’s songs continue to have the DNA of “Kiss My Lips”, despite the underwhelming response to that song. Most would have said ‘Ooop. Can’t do that again.’ And it seemed BoA kinda did with her follow-up singles “Camo” and “Nega Dola” — which seemed to be a one, two punch of SM giving BoA something which felt typical for her and something which felt very of the time, respectively. But then BoA said ‘Fuck these songs’ and then went right back to “Kiss My Lips”. And it’s a good thing that she did. Because whilst these “Kiss My Lips” offshoot songs may not be lighting up charts and garnering her new fans in high numbers, they are very reflective of who BoA is and the songs are just [turns and looks into the camera] better.

BoA – Emptiness | SM Entertainment

So often in K-pop we see acts who are just billboards for the company they’re signed to, to a point that they don’t really have a musical identity separate from that. (Welcome to K-pop). But BoA does have a musical identity now, and has done for the past decade. She has her own sound locked down in a way that many of her SM colleagues do not. BoA’s presence and songs such as “Emptiness” feel like a breath of fresh air in K-pop. So it’s really unfortunate that she’s now so grossly overlooked and that there’s talk of her retiring. But perhaps BoA not being at the heart of K-pop as she once was for many years is what allows her to put out the music that she has. That GOT the Beat foolishness was a mess, but also a glimpse into who and what BoA would have been had she stayed on the Hurricane Venus train and just continued to fall in line with the regular SM shit.

But what “Emptiness” also really highlights about BoA, is that not only does she now have a sound, but that she is aware of all of the different facets of it. Because “Emptiness” doesn’t just pull from “Kiss My Lips”. It also sounds a heck of a lot like her 2019 Starry Night EP cut “Black” — which was also written and produced by BoA and Shaun Kim, just as “Emptiness” is.

Starry Night was a grossly overlooked EP, although SM released it at the worst possible time in the midst of so little promo. I honestly think it would have worked far better if it were recorded in Japanese and released in Japan. But, whatever. “Black” was a standout song on Starry Night. And it was a song that SM should have shot a music video for and pushed alongside the title track. But I also get why SM (and BoA, because it’s becoming apparent she is calling her own shots) just went with “Starry Night”, as it’s clear that BoA has really tried to make a concerted effort to not just be known for uptempo songs which can be danced to. BoA wants to build a repertoire of songs that she can just sit and sing in an intimate setting — something which she did with her Live on Unplugged to great effect.

But BoA touching on another song of hers truly shows the awareness she has of her own material in a way that she didn’t before. Way back when, BoA seemed to be so concerned with doing what others were doing. Whereas now, she’s just doing what feels right to her and what works within this sonic soundscape she and her team have created over the past decade. But it’s not like BoA is completely unaware of what is happening in music. “Emptiness” sounds like “Black” to such a degree that the two songs are easily interchangeable. But “Emptiness” still has a bounce to it which makes it feel current and not just like a song pulled from years ago. Not that it would have been a problem if it were, because it’s still a good song regardless. The official press release for “Emptiness” describes it as ‘an Afrobeat-based pop genre song’ and I can kinda hear it. But this vibe doesn’t feel overt or as though BoA is trying to move into this new space. It’s just a nice wrinkle in the song that helps separate it from “Black” and what BoA’s done before. Perhaps this is why “Forgive Me” didn’t connect. It was too much of a shift from what people knew of BoA, even though the song itself pulled from songs BoA had done before. But that’s a whole other post.

And even the fact that BoA retraced her steps with “Emptiness” shows that BoA is business minded too. She’s not delusional about the reception to “Forgive Me”. So rather than make another turn, she’s gone back. BoA really does have such a great handle on her sound and how she wants to be perceived as an artist. It’s so amazing to see her at this stage of her career where she takes her musicianship seriously and is giving it the same level of meticulousness she had always given her dancing.

BoA – Emptiness | SM Entertainment

“Emptiness” isn’t going to win over any new fans at all. I certainly can’t see the current generation of K-pop fans latching onto it, which is really unfortunate. But for an old head like me, “Emptiness” is another great song from BoA which shows that she truly does have a complete handle on her sound. And it also shows complete pig-headedness and fearlessness on her part to be willing to just put songs out like this which go against the grain of current K-pop. It really shows that BoA has evolved out of the K-pop model that made her. Which is why it’s a shame SM aren’t better supporting her. Because “Emptiness” — just as the case was with “Kiss My Lips” and “Better” — would be good songs to push in North American and European markets. And BoA has long had the look and the dancing ability to draw in audiences who like a fly bitch who can dance.