Meh, music rant time. Just heard this song for the first time in years and really listened to it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2QCjFX6NzASo, BoA is someone I put on my list of people I don't really care for a very long time ago. I have never tagged her as a terrible singer, but if I could describe her in a single phrase, it would be "Asian Britney Spears." Which means this performance was surprisingly not bad. On the other hand, she is still a pop singer, and the weaknesses shine through with something like this. She doesn't have very much depth in her voice, typical for a pop singer, and especially when she hits low notes her vocal quality seriously diminishes. This seems like a more ambitious song than she can really perform. The instrumentation and musicality of the song itself are good, though, and she is a far better singer than anything I expect out of a typical pop singer.
I think the musical style fits way better with someone like Mika Nakashima. Mika Nakashima makes up for all of the weaknesses BoA shows in this performance, and also the music is very much like the kind of music Mika normally makes in the first place.
Also on another note: Adele. The stuff people say about her is hilarious. Yes, she's not particularly physically attractive and has a very good voice. She reminds me of a better Regina Spektor. But people think she's amazing because she can sing well despite her looks, woo? Just because they aren't popular since public opinion is complete shit and totally random doesn't mean good singers don't exist. Yes, I think Adele is a very good singer, far better than any other American singers I've heard. No, I don't think she has as much talent as Mika Nakashima. No, I don't think she's even close to comparable to Onitsuka Chihiro, in terms of music writing or singing talent. I like that she's popular, but seriously, I don't get what's the big deal. I guess if people weren't so fucking tasteless Adele would be their standard for musicians and not a high point.