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”