J-pop and K-pop starlet BoA’s self-titled American debut is composed of autotune-heavy electropop. That actually makes it one of the better stateside releases from an Asian pop import, because it’s in step with musical trends.
Asian pop singers’ earnest attempts at fame in the American mainstream have usually had something off about them. Coco Lee sang well, but she sang extremely bland songs for her U.S. career. It was hard to stomach Utada Hikaru’s lyrics about showing a dirty blonde Texan “how people from the Far East get down.”
To their credit, SM Entertainment, whose U.S. branch released BoA, recruited contemporary hit-makers whose styles define current American electropop. Sean Garrett, best known for Usher’s “Yeah,” wrote “I Did It for Love” and “Energetic,” and producers Bloodshy & Avant, famous for their work with singers like Britney Spears and Madonna, produced “Touched” and the first single “Eat You Up.” The result is an album that sounds comparable to some of today’s best-liked pop music.