BoA teams up with Xin for a Chinese version of “Better”, and the song belongs to the lesbians now.

In a move outta nowhere, SM Entertainment have released a Chinese version of BoA’s 2020 comeback song “Better”, with a brand new music video and everything.

This new version of the song features Xin Liu from the Chinese girl group THE9, with newly re-recorded Chinese vocals from BoA.

BoA really be out here speaking Korean, Chinese and Japanese.

“Better” belongs to the lesbians now.

I’m willing to bet money that BoA and Xin were not on set together when they shot this music video. There would have been some choreographed moments where the two of them interacted if they were. But props to the director for at least putting them in shots together and trying to make it work.

Xin’s androgynous look made me think of how if f(x) were still going, that this could have been BoA and Amber Liu. But that’s in a whole other timeline we’ll never see.

I’m not entirely sure why SM decided to release a Chinese version of a BoA song, but I’m sure there is a reason. Maybe SM are testing the waters to enter the Chinese market with an upcoming group, and are trying to leaves footprints in the market leading up to that. Or maybe Lee Soo-man knows BoA won’t make it as big as she once did in either South Korea or Japan, so he’s trying their hand with her in a new market. Or maybe it’s SM’s realisation that they can’t keep putting Chinese members in their Korean groups, but doing nothing in the Chinese markets.

I don’t fucking know. What I do know, is that SM Entertainment have no idea what to do with BoA. They know that she is a K-pop icon, and that SM wouldn’t be what it is without her - but they don’t know where to place her in today’s landscape. By K-pop’s ageist (and sexist) standards, she’s too old to have the same type of impact that the younger and newer acts have. And BoA’s Japanese career has fallen so far off from whence it was, that nothing she releases will have a major impact in Japan either. And trying to do anything in the US again is just a lost cause. So what do they do with her?

There is absolutely a place for BoA. And I don’t think how to move forward with her requires as much thought as SM are (or aren’t) giving it. But it’s a symptom of K-pop as a whole, that it just chooses to move so quickly and age acts out - which is insane to me. Because BoA being who she is and being in the game for as long as she has, means that she brings a stage presence and finesse that NONE of these younger acts can come close to touching.

BoA x Xin | Better

It’s unfortunate, because BoA continues to get better and show her artistry more and more with each Korean release she puts out. And even her 2022 self cover album The Greatest showed some promise that with the right team, she could potentially deliver a Japanese studio album on par with her Korean albums over the past few years.

For now though, I’m just glad that “Better” has gotten a second chance. It’s a great song that I feel showcases BoA in all of the best lights. And it was a shame that the whole sleeping tablets non-scandal halted all of the promo for Better at a point where it seemed like there was a renewed interest in BoA, and even US outlets were writing about her and speaking praises of the album.

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🎧 Playlist: BoA’s Pussy Music
💿 Reviews: The Greatest | Better | Starry Night | Woman | One Shot, Two Shot | Kiss My Lips | Hurricane Venus | Identity | BoA | The Face | Outgrow | Listen to My Heart