K-pop solo artist BoA has turned to an online reality show for her music comeback and in the recent episode, she talked about the public's perception of her music and image, and her frustrations of stereotypes.
BoA is starring in the online reality show "Keyword #BoA" with SHINee's Key in preparation for the new album which will be released on January 31.
On the show, BoA had a meeting with the music video director and other staff and said, "Honestly, I don't do bright songs but the (album) is entirely filled with such dark songs. I've never had an album like that."
"But having moved into my 30s from my 20s, it's music I can do in my 30s in a modern way," she said. "I'm meddling with what's in trend these days, hip-hop."
It was discussed how the public viewed her image and the director said, "People think you succeeded so quickly and achieved everything. People are so used to you."
BoA debuted in 2000 and also became successful in Japan that paved way for other K-pop artists to enter the market.
According to BoA, her concern was "I always thought about how to pull out something new from BoA, who isn't fresh to the public."
BoA is frustrated about stereotypes in the industry especially when it comes to dancing.
"There are dances that make people think that that that is a cool looking dance versus dances that look fun so they want to try it. But our agency always ends with people thinking that dance is cool, especially me," she said, referring to SM Entertainment.
She complained that choreographers come up with difficult dances once they knew it was for her.
"If I ask why the choreography isn't simple like Girls' Generation or other girl groups, they say it's because you can do it. I think we need to break this stereotype starting with our own staff. At some point, I became so distant from the public, so I want to find that myself," she explained.
