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You would think that an artist as legendary as BoA, who is releasing her tenth studio album and celebrating 20 years in the KPOP industry would get some decent promotions to make sure the public knows about all these milestones so they can celebrate with her. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case. Better, the title of the song and BoA’s tenth studio album, felt like it was released out of the blue yesterday. And it is pretty much overshadowed by SM Entertainment’s over big release of the week. I just hope SM Entertainment has big things planned for this album, so that BoA can celebrate in style and get recognition for the amazing feats she has achieved. In the meanwhile, here is my review for Better.

Better brings out some of BoA’s best skills that I haven’t heard for a while. She has released some really good tracks recently, including Woman which really made itself known thanks to its boldness and elegance. Better diverts into a different territory. To me, the song feels simple yet executed amazingly. Simple may have the connotation of being plain or obvious. But I feel Better is ‘simple’ in a more dynamic sense. It is a R&B track that has this deep funky beat embedded in the background of the verse. I thought it was a really showstopping piece that really attracts my attention. There isn’t anything else of major interest that steals my attention other than BoA herself. It is straightforward and consistent (another example of when consistency is a positive trait). There are some bellowing synths throughout the song, but I feel that blend in nicely with the deep funky R&B roots this song has. BoA’s raspy vocals come into full effect, adding an amazing texture to the song that I am digging. The harmonies with the backing vocals during the chorus really helped oomph up the song without going for anything too extreme. I love the elegance that she brings to the first half of the bridge. The rapping that kicks off the second half of the bridge capitalises on the deep funky notes that I mentioned, giving the song an awesome change up before reaching the final chorus. Overall, Better is amazing in many senses and definitely pulls together her legendary skills in a suitable manner to celebrate her achievements.

The music video has this eerie dark vibe to it which feels highly suitable for the song’s simple profile. There were a few different sets and this eerie dark vibe really helps blur them altogether to make the video feel like it was one whole piece. And I feel this is better than having multiple sets come together in an attempt to feel like one video, but instead it comes off completely mismatching. The music video adopts that closeup and choreography formula, which I feel is totally fine for this video. BoA steals my attention for majority of the video (further helping blend the video’s components together) and keeps me captivated for the three and a half minutes with her beauty and choreography skills.

While I am chatting about choreography skills, we can’t skip the actual dancing when it comes to BoA. While this might not be as bold as Woman‘s choreography (I mean – how does one top her upside walk entrance?). To me, the choreograph utilises pace extremely well. There were parts that had a kick to it and other parts which took time. Put these together and you had a performance that made complete sense when it comes to BoA.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10