BETTER

* Digital
* Physical
* Beige ver.
* Yellow ver.
* Cassette

## Singles

1. "Better"
December 1, 2020

***BETTER*** is the tenth Korean full-length album by BoA. It was released on December 1, 2020 by SM Entertainment and distributed by Dreamus and consists of eleven tracks, with "Better" as the album's title track and the single "Little Bird" as the bonus track. The album was released to celebrate the singer's 20th anniversary.

The physical release comes in two CD editions (Normal & Special) and in limited cassette and vinyl editions.

## Description

‘No.1 Artist,’ BoA, Releasing New Album Marking 20th Anniversary of Her Debut, ‘BETTER,’ on December 1st!
3 Original Songs & 1 Original Lyrics by BoA, Demonstrating Her Singer-Songwriter Talent Once Again!
‘No.1 Artist,’ BoA (SM Entertainment), releases a new album commemorating her 20th anniversary since debut, ‘BETTER,’ on December 1st.
BoA’s tenth regular album ‘BETTER’, consists of 11 songs across different genres, including the lead single ‘Better.’ Since her debut 20 years ago, she has released a wide spectrum of music with flawless performances, receiving trememdous love from her fans. This album’s anticipation is particularly high that it comes as an opporunity to meet BoA’s colorful style in music.
Renowned global hit makers including Yoo Young Jin, KENZIE, Moonshine and LDN Noise joined in production. And famous lyricists Lee Seuran, Cho Yoon Kyoung, and Hwang Yu Bin also contributed to this album, raising the quality to it’s highest. BoA also took part in writing: ‘Cloud‘, ‘All That Jazz’, and ‘Little Bird’ and involved in writing the lyrics for ‘L.O.V.E’, demonstrating her great talent as a singer-songwriter.
Single, ‘Better,’ Carrying BoA’s Charisma for Upgrade!
The single, ‘Better,’ is an R&B dance song driven by heavy bass and an explosive beat in the Chorus. The lyrics show BoA’s powerful yet restrained character by throwing a message of ‘Don’t hesitate and conquer your love’. This song sampled UK’s famous artist AWA’s ‘Like I Do’ and reinterpreted in BoA’s style. Yoo Young Jin, who has shown an astonishing chemistry with BoA since her debut song, ‘ID; Peace B’ to ‘Girls On Top,’ and ‘NEGA DOLA’, participated in composition, lyrics, and arrangement, once again elevating BoA’s charms.
The album includes three songs composed by BoA herself. ‘Cloud‘ is an R&B track that sends a comforting message, ‘You are all right as who you are.’ ‘All That Jazz’ is a jazz-pop with bossa nova based percussion rhythm, gentle guitar, and piano in harmony. ‘Little Bird’ tells a movie-like story of BoA’s journey reaching her dreams and giving new hope.
Also, BoA wrote the lyrics for ‘L.O.V.E,’ a future disco song. The lyrics express the intention to start love frankly instead of playing hard-to-get. ‘Temptations‘ has groovy strings and a dreamy sound. ‘Cut Me Off’ with it’s minimal sound and BoA’s restrained style vocals give a cold and sharp touch to the song.

## Background and release

On November 5, 2020, SM Entertainment announced that BoA will come back with her tenth Korean studio album titled *Better*, two years after the release of her ninth album *WOMAN* (2018). The album release marks the singer's 20th anniversary since her debut in 2000. Preorders began the same day. A music video teaser for the lead single "Better" was released on November 30. The album was released on December 1, 2020, by SM Entertainment, through various music portals. The accompanying music video for "Better" was released in conjunction with the album's release.

> I still can't believe that 20 years have passed since my debut, [...] it feels like people around me are giving more meaning to this than I am. Gearing up for *Better*, I tried to keep myself more lighthearted because I was afraid I might not be able to drop it now if I also put a lot of meaning into it and made it too weighty.
>
> BoA on the album and her 20th anniversary (*The Korea Times*)

"Better" is an alternative R&B written and arranged by longtime collaborator Yoo Young-jin. Alongside music production by Yoo, Aston Rudi, and Jay-Keyz, the song also contains a sample of "Like I Do" by Swedish singer AWA, who was given songwriting credits for the song.

The physical album was made available for purchase on December 2, 2020, and has two editions: regular and limited. The limited version was made available in two special editions: yellow and beige. A few hours after the album's release, BoA held an online live show titled "Better BoA" which was broadcast through Naver's V Live channel, where she introduced songs from the album.

## Composition

"Better" is an alternative R&B written and arranged by longtime collaborator Yoo Young-jin. Alongside music production by Yoo, Aston Rudi, and Jay-Keyz, the song also contains a sample of "Like I Do" by Swedish singer AWA, who was given songwriting credits for the song.

## Critical reception

*Better* received critical acclaim from critics upon release, with several publications listing *Better* in their rankings of best albums of 2020. It was ranked at number six on Metro UK's list The 20 Best K-Pop comebacks of 2020 and at number one on *Billboard'*s The 10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2020. *Billboard* described the album as "one of her strongest records to date, and it's filled to the brim with songs that present her as someone assured in her artistry – its excellence is obvious." Additionally, the track Start Over was named the number one Best K-Pop B-Side of 2020 by MTV, which explained that "BoA's tangy, raspy-edged timbre is a compelling match for the song's pleading urgency and breathless declarations of "You're gonna love me, let me start over."

## Trivia

* The title track "Better" contains a sample of "Like I Do" performed by AWA.

## Videos

* Music Videos
* Teasers
* Dance Practice
* Making Film
* Audio

BoA 보아 'Better' MVBoA 보아 'Better' Performance Clip (Vertical Ver.)

BoA 보아 'Better' MV Teaser

BoA 보아 'Better' Dance Practice

BoA 보아 'Better' MV Making Film - Behind of ArtistBoA 보아 'BETTER' Jacket Making Film - Behind of ArtistEP8. BETTER - 'Nobody Talks To BoA - 모두가 그녀에게 말을 걸지 않아'

BetterTemptationsCloudAll That JazzL.O.V.ECut Me OffGot Me GoodHoney & DiamondsStart OverGravityLittle Bird

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dong, Sun-hwa (December 1, 2020). BoA celebrates 20th anniversary of debut with album 'Better'. *The Korea Times*.
2. ↑ SMTOWN Official Website
3. ↑ K-pop artist BoA to drop album marking 20th anniversary. *The Korea Herald* (December 1, 2020).
4. ↑ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters **url** and **title** must be specified (ko). YTN (November 5, 2020).
5. ↑ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters **url** and **title** must be specifiedKim, Myung-mi (November 30, 2020). (ko). *Newsen*.
6. ↑ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters **url** and **title** must be specifiedLee, Seung-Hoon (December 1, 2020). (ko). *Osen*.
7. ↑ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters **url** and **title** must be specifiedJeon, A-Ram (December 1, 2020). (ko). *Xports News*.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Herman, Tamar (December 3, 2020). K-pop grandmaster BoA on 20 years in the music industry: 'I'm grateful that I'm called a pioneer'.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lee, Sun-min (November 26, 2020). BoA to go live online to promote 'Better'. *Korea JoongAng Daily*.
10. ↑ BoA Vol. 10 – Better (Normal Edition). YesAsia (December 2, 2020).
11. ↑ BoA Vol. 10 – Better (Special Edition) (First Press Limited Edition) (YELLOW Ver.) + Random Poster in Tube (YELLOW Ver.). YesAsia (December 2, 2020).
12. ↑ BoA Vol. 10 – Better (Special Edition) (First Press Limited Edition) (BEIGE Ver.) + Random Poster in Tube (BEIGE Ver.). YesAsia (December 2, 2020).
13. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
14. ↑ MTV News Staff. The Best K-pop B-sides Of 2020 (en).
15. ↑ 10 Best K-pop Albums of 2020 - (en-US) (December 29, 2020).
16. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
17. ↑ MTV News Staff. The Best K-pop B-sides Of 2020 (en).
18. ↑ The best K-pop solo albums of 2020: BoA, Kai, Hwa Sa and more (en) (December 17, 2020).
19. ↑ QQ音乐-千万正版音乐海量无损曲库新歌热歌天天畅听的高品质音乐平台！.
20. ↑ 2020년 49주차 Album Chart.
21. ↑ 국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!.
22. ↑ Herman, Tamar (December 3, 2020). K-pop grandmaster BoA on 20 years in the music industry: 'I'm grateful that I'm called a pioneer'.