Music Observer

Korean superstar BoA was very successful in breaking into Japan’s music industry. Since then, she has focused on the even greater mission of cracking the American market, coming up with her self-titled debut English album. Released March of this year, the set arrived in the Billboard 200 at No. 127, after the release of breathtaking dance single “Eat You Up” and the R&B-oriented single “I Did It For Love.” But don’t expect the album to be shooting its way up the chart.

While this somewhat surprisingly solid dance pop album has a dark, electric, R&B feel to it, and her strong accent is masked pretty well with slick production and use of a vocoder, these tracks don’t seem to have much potential outside of clubs and malls. (“Touched” perhaps has the best chance of penetrating the U.S. R&B charts.) And her Asian fans will realize the total absence of ballads or anything that truly showcases her voice, forcing her to rely heavily on attitude and sex appeal.

Rating: B

Track Pick: “Eat You Up”

She’s a superstar in Japan, but most of her very limited fan base in the U.S. know her through being featured in the video game Kingdom Hearts, or her Japanese work, or 2004’s Exodus (her first official release in the U.S.).

When I first heard “Come Back to Me,” as enjoyable a ballad it is, it was a disappointment because I knew it wasn’t going to become a hit in the U.S. (a.k.a. I will remain apart of the minority that knows about this immense talent).

Her effort to break into the American mainstream is very evident, but don’t expect that from Utada if you haven’t heard the album yet. While there are many mainstream R&B beats and stylings (particularly “Taking My Money Back”), a typical American would still find the music and lyrics here quirky and eccentric. It’s a clear and commendable step up from Exodus, but definitely not a mainstream album.

Is it a solid album? Yes. Is this the one in the sense that she sees it? No.

Rating: B

Track Pick: “On and On”

Due to school, I won’t be updating as much as I’d like to.

Keith Urban announced that his upcoming studio album will be titled Defying Gravity.  This follows the country star’s 2006 album, Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing, and has already launched Urban an 18th top ten country hit with first single “Sweet Thing.”  The album is set for a March 31 release date through Capitol Nashville. 

Regarding the title, Urban said on Billboard.com that it “comes from the lyrics of a song on the album and it just struck me at the time as a phrase that really defined the joyous, optimistic and uplifting spirit that seemed to show itself while making the album.”

A tour is set for this May, which will include Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, the Zac Brown Band, and Dierks Bentley as rotating supporting acts.

Last year, Japanese singer Amuro Namie made the comeback of her life with her third compilation album, Best Fiction, which contains singles dating back to 2002.  The set (released in July) proved immensely successful for the star, bowing with the highest debut sales week of any album in Japan for 2008 and winded up as the second best-selling album of the year. 

Her return to the spotlight began when three singles that preceded 2005’s Queen of Hip-Pop notched 100,000+ sales each.  I’ve only heard a few Japanese albums, but Queen is easily the best one.  You can dig the tunes without understand the Japanese.

2007’s Play boasted her sensational single “Baby Don’t Cry,” helping the album’s sales eclipse those of its predecessor.

Videos were filmed for each of the three singles of “60s70s80s,” a Vidal Sassoon tie-in released March 2008 that became her best-selling single since 2001.  Timing couldn’t be any better.

Namie is currently on tour and hopes to have a new single out by around May this year.  She anticipates a new style as well, since Fiction marked the end of something for her.

It’s time to feature a song by one of my favorites. She’s extra special because most people have never heard of her. I’ll get a “who?” or a “Jem???” She doesn’t get any mainstream airplay in the U.S., which is a shame. Her debut album, the critically-praised Finally Woken was still able to move more than 300,000 units in the U.S. through song features in various T.V. shows (Grey’s Anatomy) and word of mouth. Interestingly, she got signed in the U.S. first, then had to release her album in her native U.K., where it became a platinum-certified hit, yielding three hits (”They,” “Just A Ride” and “Wish I”). Debut single, “They,” was the most successful, entering the singles chart at No. 6.

Down to Earth was released September 2008, making a respectable debut in the Billboard Top 200 at No. 43. Oddly, no music video for first single “It’s Amazing” has been released until recently, with Jem co-directing this time. The video isn’t one of my favorites, but the song–which was released last summer as part of the Sex and the City Soundtrack–is a beautiful motivational song.

As announced on their website, “Get On Your Boots” will be the lead single to be lifted from rock band U2’s new album, titled No Line On The Horizon. The album will be released on March 3^rd in the United States.

No Line On The Horizon track list:

1. No Line On The Horizon
2. Magnificent
3. Moment of Surrender
4. Unknown Caller
5. I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
6. Get On Your Boots
7. Stand Up Comedy
8. Fez – Being Born
9. White As Snow
10. Breathe
11. Cedars Of Lebanon

The album follows 2004’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, which—along with its singles—won all eight of its Grammy nominations.

America’s favorite rapper, the controversial Eminem, plans to release his much-anticipated new studio album—his first since 2004’s Encore—Spring of this year. The title has been confirmed by Shady himself as Relapse on his Sirius radio station, Shade 45, and will be mostly produced by Dr. Dre. Late 2005, during the release of his compilation album, Curtain Call: The Hits, Eminem implied that he would be taking some time off as an artist to think about his career.

Expectations run sky high, considering the immense critical and commercial success of his previous studio albums. I’m interested in seeing how he fares in the current U.S. market.

On October 21, 2008, he released an autobiography titled The Way I Am.

South Korean girl group Wonder Girls rose to prominence in their home country in 2007 with their single, “Tell Me”—the lead single off their debut full-length album, The Wonder Years. Sampling Stacey Q’s “Two of Hearts,” the single proved to be a big hit for the girls. The dance choreography in the video became widely popular and imitated.

Wonder Girls, a five girl piece (ages 16 to 20), are the creation of Jin-Young Park, founder of JYP Entertainment. Their singles “So Hot” and (most recently) “Nobody” have been very popular as well. The three aforementioned singles are all equipped with creative and humorous music videos. “Nobody” was inspired by Motown girl groups and was even featured on Perez Hilton’s popular entertainment blog.

Her ubiquitous hit single, “Just Dance,” remains at the summit of the Hot 100 for a second straight week, as well topping charts in multiple countries. As album sales continue to plunge after the holiday season, Lady GaGa’s The Fame moves up to a new peak of No. 14, despite a 7% decrease in sales. While total album sales are close to 200,000 copies here in the States, it has already been a success in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—and is expected to crack the debut in the top 5 of the U.K. Top 40 Albums.

Second single, “Poker Face,” has similarly been topping the charts in multiple countries, so far reaching No. 72 on the Hot 100.