Mr. SM Entertainment Lee Soo-Man spills all of BoA's tea in Nobody Talks To BoA

As part of promo for BoA's 10th studio album Better, and her 20th anniversary as a K-Pop star, SM had produced a documentary called Nobody Talks To BoA. If y'all fans know what this title means or refers to, please let a bitch know.

The short-run show is pretty much just BoA sitting with people within SM Entertainment who know her best, and talking through her career. The third and fourth episodes in particular are must sees, as they feature conversations between BoA and Mr. SM himself, Lee Soo-Man. This is a big deal, because their relationship is as long as BoA's career (longer in fact, as they've worked together for 22 years) and we rarely see Lee Soo-Man do interviews or televised appearances, much less with BoA. So, if you needed any more of an idea just how big a deal BoA is to SM, I don't know what to tell you. This display from Lee Soo-Man is a contrast to how SM have promoted her last few releases, where it's like they had no fucks to give. But that's a whole 'nother post.

Despite BoA being in the game for so long, there is a lot about her career behind-the-scenes and the dynamic between her and people at SM that we still do not know, and the lid gets blown off a lot of it in these interviews.

If you've never seen an interview with Lee Soo-Man before, then you may be surprised at just how playful and honest he is. Not a single moment of this interview was serious, and his relationship with BoA feels very much like one between a father and his daughter.

You can watch official uploads of the episodes from the links below, each with full English subtitles. Because South Korea and K-Pop don't hate the Internet how Japan and J-Pop do.

📺 Episode 1: BoA recording her album
📺 Episode 2: BoA talks with TVXQ's U-Know
📺 Episode 3: BoA talks with Lee Soo-Man about her upcoming album
📺 Episode 4: BoA talks with Lee Soo-Man about her Japanese and US debuts

For those who couldn't be bothered to watch any of them. Below are some highlights.

• BoA's 10th studio album was due to release in August, the month of her anniversary, but she herself pushed it back because she was not happy with the songs. This explains why the promo around her 20th anniversary back then was garbage - the hole that was left was the album.

• BoA had plans to do a 20th anniversary, but it was scrapped due to the pandemic.

• TVXQ's U-Know is jokingly refereed to as 'Future director' by BoA, but it's tea y'all. He probably will become a director at SM entertainment, and it would make complete sense.

• When Lee Soo-Man chose to sign BoA, it was always with the intent of her being an act who would debut in Japan.

• Lee Soo-Man confesses to being scared of BoA and being on the receiving end of her berating him.

• BoA's career almost tanked in Japan before it had began.

• Contrary to what many of us thought, there was no pressure from SM for BoA to succeed in the US, partly because she was already a top-seller in Japan. Lee Soo-Man told BoA that if at any point she is done with the US, then she can say the word and they'll pull the plug and head back to South Korea, which is exactly what happened.

• BoA and Lee Soo-Man both admit that they tried for the US too early, but Lee maintains that it was still worthwhile, because she paved the way for other SM acts such as Girls' Generation to see some moderate success there, in addition to the likes of BTS being one of the first K-Pop acts to fully break through.

It was interesting to see just how much control BoA actually had early on in her career. For many of us there was a sense that she had no say in anything, when in fact, she made a lot of her own calls and went head-to-head with Lee Soo-Man on things as early as the days of Girls on Top.

There is a genuine sense of BoA and Lee's relationship being that of a father and daughter. They fight, she gets her way sometimes, but ultimately does what he says and knows he wants what's best for her and her career. There is a real sense of trust that BoA has in him and others at SM with whom she's worked with throughout her career. So even in times when she's unsure, she trusts them and goes along with their choices, because she knows they have her best interests at heart, and they know her in ways very few do.

BoA ain't ever leaving SM.

Ever.

💿 BoA reviews: Albums: Woman | Hurricane Venus | Identity | BoA | The Face | EPs: Starry Night | One Shot, Two Shot