Somewhat ironically, BoA’s self-titled American album was my introduction to the Korean singer. I’d heard of her, but I’d never had a chance to listen to her music until I heard she was releasing an English album. Curious, I decided to check it out.

The first thing that’s clear about it is that it is a very American album, from start to finish. It would sound right at home blasting from any club. As such, it’s fairly typical of American music — lyrics about love, sex, and clubbing are quite prominent. Hardly surprising, given the intended audience.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from listening to foreign music, it’s to completely ignore the lyrics and just listen to the music. I do like actually understanding the lyrics I’m hearing, and in the case of “Obsessed” I’d definitely say it makes it more entertaining, but overall it’s easy enough to just listen to the music and enjoy it.

Enough talking about the album itself, let’s get to the music! It starts off strong with “I Did It For Love.” It’s catchy as hell and downright addictive, and the song serves two purposes: it pretty much spells out what the rest of the album will sound like, and it leaves you wanting to hear more.

(Please view the post to listen)

Which you do. “Energetic,” “Did Ya,” and “Look Who’s Talking” are good dance songs, sounding much like those before it while having their own unique style. “Eat You Up” stands out, though, and not really in a great way — it sounds different from the other songs, and by different I mean trashier. I can look past it for the other songs, but that’s really all “Eat You Up” makes me think. And for a single (it was BoA’s first English release), it doesn’t sound particularly catchy.

“Obsessed,” however, makes up for this entirely. It, too, is thoroughly Americanized, but in a good way — it’s the kind of song I’d expect to hear on the radio and have stuck in my head the rest of the day. It’s for this reason that it’s easily my favorite track on the album.

(Please view the post to listen)

The rest of the album follows along the same lines as the tracks before it, with another exception in “Scream,” which honestly sounds completely out of place and strange, between the lyrics and the sound. This is perhaps because it’s a cover of a song by the German group Monrose, but it really just sounds odd. Somewhat conversely, her English version of her song “Girls on Top” sounds more natural here than it does in Korean. BoA finishes strong with “Hypnotic Dancefloor“, which to me feels like a reprise of “Energetic” between the lyrics and the sound.

Sure, BoA sounds like an American album. But for a Korean artist, this is a good thing — it fits right in with typical American music. I find it enjoyable and catchy, if you ignore some of the more trashy lyrics, and I hope she releases more here. In the meantime, I think I need to check out her Korean and Japanese releases.