BoA, Crystal Kay and Verbal's debut performance of "Universe"

BoA, Crystal Kay and Verbal all hit up Music station to give their first performance of "Universe". One of the 3 A-sides to feature on her latest single release. I had big hopes for this single, all of which were dashed with the quickness in one fell swoop of a performance.



What utter bullshit! BoA and Crystal do not sound good together. BoA's voice is too hoarse and Crystal's is too smooth. And I have no idea why Verbal was thrown into the mix. To be completely honest, the main problem is that the song just isn't that good, full stop. And the unecessary guest features made it worse. BoA cannot sing as good as Crystal on her best day, so BoA never should've agreed to letting her feature on the song. Verbal's raps; whilst tight, feel throwaway and unecessary. BoA should've done the song on her own. Or better still, scrapped it. "Eien" makes for a strong enough A-side on its lonesome. So why bog it down with 2 other A-sides that are nothing but fluff and filler!?

The performance also did the song no justice. It was dry. All 3 of them looked like hot messes. Crystal looked like a Gap store threw up all over her, BoA looked like a prostitue ready to turn tricks outside the Music station studio, and Verbal looked like a walking ad for UniQlo's coloured denim and premium down jackets. They didn't look as hip as they thought they did and their swagger was non-existant. Crystal was at least trying, but BoA looked fed up. Surely the bitch could've worked the waist, done a little grinding or something! She weren't to shy to drop, pop and lock it in her "Eien" video.

Overall, "Universe" is a mess. You'd think between BoA, Crystal Kay, Verbal, Bloodshy & Avant and one fifth of The Clutch that the song would've been the hottest thing. But nope. And you'd think the live performance would've been explosive, but nope. Double fail.

BoA shouldn't even be in Japan. Her English language debut releases in the U.S in less than 4 weeks. Shouldn't she be whoring herself out over there about now!? And shouldn't Verbal be over there with her plugging the Teriyaki boyz western debut? Clearly AvexTrax don't give a damn about their US endeavours.

Comments

  1. I totally agree. When I first heard the song I was disappointed. BoA is not the best singer and really needs to be in America at the moment! I guess they have no hopes for her there, seeing as they have her in Japan at the moment.

    By the way, have you checked Utada's video message to her fans yet?

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  2. Crystal sounds ok, but BoA sounds nasally, dry, and half dead.

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  3. what is this song even about... i hadda "be strong" listenin to it!

    jk it was alright but would have been better without the BoA constrictor. CK and Verbal play off of each other like they did in "Love Don't Cry", I noticed.

    But, this thing gets me thinking whether Kuri is just sitting and analyzing how her industry mates do here in the West before making a move. Utada has potential, because her whole album is Stargate and Tricky, but everyone else might just fade. Alas, we have to wait a month or so more just to look who's talking.

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  4. We all know Crystal has a good shot as a Western debut because she has the sound, the voice, the perfect english and the look to make it. But she's not as big a seller in Japan as Hikaru Utada or BoA. And I don't think we'll get a big Western debut from her until she has a good couple of Japanese singles and albums top the Oricon chart. Color change! didn't do all that well despite her touring with it. But the tour may help her next album, so we'll see.

    It's a shame, because there's nothing preventing Sony from testing the waters. They should've put her last 2 albums up on iTunes worldwide, just to gauge the sales and see if there's a market for Crystal outside of Japan. There's no doubt in my mind that "It's a crime" would've caught people's attention, because it's a great song to penetrate the Western market with.

    As for BoA: I can't see her shit selling in the U.S because she's spent more time in Japan over the past 6 months than in the States, which is NOT a good look. Her U.S fans will cop her shit, but nobody outside her fanbase will. Where-as Hikaru was at the Grammy's kicking it with folk and her single will appeal to a wider demographic outside her fanbase because of it's sound.

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  5. And, by the time BoA's album is released, the record label is gonna pull its usual tricks and not promote!

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