Every Heart -Minna no Kimochi- was BoA’s 5th single. It was released on March 13, 2002 and reached number 10 on the charts. In all this single has sold over 84,430+ copies. The title track was used as the fourth ending theme song for the popular anime InuYasha. It was released on the same day as her debut Japanese album LISTEN TO MY HEART.

Tracks:
1. Every Heart -Minna no Kimochi-
2. Every Heart -Minna no Kimochi- (English Version)
3. Listen To My Heart (Ken Harada’s TB-Bassin’ Remix)
4. Every Heart -minna no kimochi- (Instrumental)

Review:
The song Every Heart -Minna no Kimochi- lit. Everyone’s Feelings, is what got a lot of overseas fans into BoA. Well assuming you watched InuYasha. And like all of the previous theme songs before it, like My will, Fukai Mori, and Dearest it’s certainly memorable, and a great ballad. The song begins off with such a spectacular opening, it might be short but it’s so beautiful. From there BoA sings in some rather great vocals. Now that being said, her vocals are great but her Engrish isn’t. Heart sounds more like hurt honestly but this was way back when so I’ll give her a break for now. The music is pretty gentle but slowly builds up, it’s pretty evident once the acoustic guitar begins to play then the strings. The chorus was phenomenal, very powerful, and actually memorable and somewhat catchy. I just really loved the instrumentals I guess. The constant beats didn’t hurt the song either, they were odd yet very fitting. And I loved it as the InuYasha end song, so fitting like all the others before it, and the closing scene was awesome!

While the previous track was beautiful, fantastic, phenomenal, the English Version, or Engrish as I call it, it rather lackluster. You can tell that this was recored back when, especially when you hear her vocals and her Engrish. The song still features the great instrumentals, but lacks good lyrics. Now at times they sound nice and profound, but they’re grammatically incorrect. I swear, my English teacher would have a heart attack if I said something like this.

And now we have Listen To My Heart (Ken Harada’s TB-Bassin’ Remix). The original version was fantastic, and all but this version has basically butchered it. It’s added in heavy synth/techno beats and annoying claps. They’ve also slowed down the chorus a bit, to make it sound horrific. I really miss the original now.

Overall Review: Every Heart -Minna no Kimochi- was a rather impressive single. Well impressive in this case means, began good then fell short. I loved the title track, it was fantastic but the following tracks were horrible. Now the English version wasn’t all that bad. It could have been a lot better if the lyrics made more sense and all. But the remix was just horrible, they turned a great song into a pile of trash basically. But at least the title track was profound and memorable.

Final Grade: 93B+

OUTGROW was BoA’s 4th album. It was released on February 15, 2006 and reached number 1 on the charts with 220,000 copies sold. In all this album has sold over 428,000+ copies. It was released in a limited CD+DVD edition, and an unlimited CD only edition. This was also her first album to be released in two editions featuring two separate covers. The album features five new tracks and one bonus track from her digital single. This album features the singles DO THE MOTION from Everlasting.

Tracks:
1. Silent Screamerz
2. DO THE MOTION
3. Kimi no Tonari de
4. OUTGROW ~Ready butterfly~
5. make a secret
6. Everlasting
7. LONG TIME NO SEE
8. cosmic eyes
9. Dakishimeru
10. Love is just what you can’t see
11. Stay My Gold
12. soundscape
13. With U
14. First snow

Review:
The album begins with the very unusual Silent Screamerz. From the blaring synth beats and loud music it’s very confusing, but just then BoA begins to sing. Her vocals are very controlling, being stronger than the music, and giving some structure to this chaotic song. With the all the music it’s almost hard to hear anything, but you can still hear to some degree. I don’t know, the music reminds me of synth/pop with some R&B, it’s just very hectic to say the least. The English was great for once, but I just couldn’t get into the song, not enough unity at all, it was just chaos in my opinion. I really didn’t even like the chorus at all, just so confusing. Not the best opener in my opinion.

Just as things seem to go wrong we begin to hear powerful, infectious, superb DO THE MOTION. This was in fact the first single that she released during this era, as well as the best selling one, it sold nearly double the copies as the last single Everlasting. And to top it all off it was her first no. 1 single ever. The beats are so infectious and the music is jazz oriented, yet so so addicting. From the whispered vocals, to the English lyrics this song has it all. Even the verses are catchy, but the chorus takes the cake. The music is southing and the melody is perfect, they create an infectious duo. This song is undeniably the best song on the album, well the best song from a single anyway.

To keep up with all the great music Kimi no Tonari de was placed next. Believe it or not this song was a B-Side to DO THE MOTION, and it’s just as good as that track, well not as good but it’s pretty hight up there. Still the song is a bit average for BoA, but that’s all right, she’ll do better in the future. The song overall was very sweet and very goody goody. The strings were a nice addition to the song, along with the piano too.

And just when it gets good, we have the title track OUTGROW ~Ready butterfly~. I wasn’t sure what to think of the song from the title, but I hoped it’d be good. The music is very aggressive sounding and very techno oriented. Well I really didn’t like the opening vocals, mostly because they were so hard to hear, but I liked the English ones. I liked the fast moving music, very nice, and the occasional English was great too. I just felt that this song was way to un-BoA like. It seems like it should have been on MADE IN TWENTY (20) rather than this album, more aggressive and such. I didn’t find any part of this song catchy at all, even the strings.

I guess the trend in bad music continues with make a secret. Not many people I know like this song, and I have to agree with them. It might be slow and all, but it’s not good at all. The vocals sounded nice but that was about it. I did like the R&B beats and vibe it had but that’s it. This song is just way too boring and too bad. I can’t stand this song, end of story.

It’s been a while since BoA’s released a very strong ballad in this era, but Everlasting broke that trend. The music is more lovely, and more classical than anything with the piano and strings. The chorus was so dramatic, but in a good way, the climax was so beautiful, and the chorus itself was magnificent. And BoA’s vocals were at the height of perfection, and just so heavenly. It’s no wonder why it outsold her previous singles in the era, except DO THE MOTION.

Hearing LONG TIME NO SEE almost after make a secret is too familiar, but this time it’s good. Even though it was the B-Side to make a secret, it should have been the title track. It’s bar far the sweeter track, and the stronger of the two. The constant water drops were great, and sounded so adorable. The vocals were wonderful, and the music was so lighthearted and so cutesy. The song even gets better too just listen towards the last part, just listen and you’ll love it even more.

For a second I thought I was hearing the title track, but instead it was cosmic eyes. This song reminds me a little of the title track, but it’s faster and a lot better. The drum beats and quick moving music sets it up for a sensational chorus. It’s fast, light, and refreshing surprisingly. Not to mention the fact that it’s pretty catchy too. What I loved even more was here English, it was so good, and the vocals were fantastic. And it played till the very end, an odd thing but it worked in this case.

On with the hip new track, this one entitled Dakishimeru. It’s one of the fastest paced songs on the album as well as one of the funnest. The quick beats and deep breathes at the beginning get you hooked on the song instantly, but if that’s not enough the English will. Now despite it not making that much sense it sounds good, and that’s what important. And the verses sound pretty nice, but no surprise that the chorus sounds even better. It’s definitely more powerful and more aggressive, and more infectious by far.

Well few of her new tracks on this album have been great and it seems that Love is just what you can’t see follows that trend. It’s a laid-back song that’s not all that great. The percussion was nice and all, but there was just no great instrumentals really, even though it had a little jazz flare. I can’t complain about the vocals at all, but I can say a few things about the music. I though that the music was way to slow to go with the vocals, and it was just too bland. The chorus wasn’t catchy either sadly, it was just so boring, with a capital B. Even with the English it didn’t sound that good, I actually think that it made the song worse.

And it seems that the final real new track on the album is upon us, this one entitled Stay My Gold. It’s one of the better new featured songs on this album. The lyrics are great as usual, but the vocals are even better, and you can hear the strength in her vocals too. I’m not to crazy about the background English vocals, but when BoA sings it’s pretty good. The verses sounded pretty, and the music went with it so well. But naturally the chorus was astounding, so dramatic and so beautiful. Only problem I had with the song was that it was a little too long for me, but it was good.

Mid-tempo and lax is the best way to describe soundscape. It was originally included on the Everlasting single, and it goes pretty well with the title track. The beats give it a little R&B feel, but it’s not full R&B. The ad-libbing was what I really loved, it sounded so cute and adorable. The vocals were fantastic, and at a few points they were incredible, especially when you could hear all the power in the vocals. I wasn’t too excited about the background vocals that much but I couldn’t complain. As for the chorus, well it was nice to say the least.

And yet another B-Side on the album, this time it was With U. It’s your basic average ballad but not as great. I still don’t understand why it was added to the album but the same goes with a few of the other songs. It has a magical feeling to it, but it’s not all that great. The strings were beautiful at a times, and others they didn’t fit that well. The instrumentals weren’t all that bland at all either, just not WOW enough. I think it’d be better if it was just left on the single.

Well I probably should have reviewed BoA’s digital single, but it just slipped my mind, and so did First snow. It’s definitely a winter ballad that features some amazing instrumentals that are truly magical, and not like With U either, more like LOVE LETTER magical. The point is is that this song is just plain beautiful and heavenly. The music was simply amazing and it was so wonderful. Another thing I loved about this song was the vocals, so great, and strong at a few times. This was the perfect way to end her fourth album.

Overall Review: OUTGROW was certainly one unique album. I felt that there was no true sense of unity, no one type of genre, but that didn’t bother me that much. The one thing that I didn’t like was the fact that there was only six new songs on the album. It’s one thing if all the songs were good, but about half were lackluster and just had no good melody and rhythm. And I honestly didn’t like where some of the songs were placed, but I really can’t control that. I just wish that some of the material on the album was high quality, is that too much to ask for. I think I actually liked her MADE IN TWENTY (20) album better, believe it or not.

Final Grade: 86B-

Everlasting was BoA’s 18th single. It was released on January 18, 2006 and reached number 4 on the charts. In all this single has sold over 74,744+ copies. The title track was used as the ending theme for the TV Asahi drama “Gate of Miracles.” On the same day BoA also released a Korean version of the single. This was the final single in the OUTGROW Era.

Tracks:
1. Everlasting
2. soundscape
3. Everlasting classical ver.
4. Everlasting (TV MIX)
5. soundscape (TV MIX)

Review:
After a few lackluster singles and title tracks BoA has made somewhat of a comeback with Everlasting. It begins very beautifully with the piano playing followed by BoA’s lovely vocals. They sound somewhat deep at first but gradually build up, and as they do the beats in the music become a little stronger. And I love how her voice builds up to the chorus. The chorus was so amazing! You could call it epic almost with the climax and instrumentals. The verses even sounded nice in this song, so I really can’t complain at all. It’s about time that BoA’s had a good single.

Whereas Everlasting was a true ballad, soundscape is more mid-tempo. The music was very lax and mid-tempo, the description was a given. The ad-libbing in the song was a small but nice touch. The constant beats gave it a little R&B vibe, but not big enough to classify it as R&B. And one of the best parts of the song was BoA’s vocals, I loved how she sounded a little aggressive. The song overall was additive in a nice cutesy way. I even enjoyed the background vocals.

For a day I forgot to review Everlasting classical ver. This version just features different instrumentals that are orchestra or classical based. It sounds so beautiful and so amazing. This isn’t a bad track, it’s quite nice.

Overall Review: Everlasting was such a wonderful single. Very peaceful and relaxing. I’m not sure why it was released in the winter as it’d be a good summer single, just not as fun, but still it was good. Both songs were pleasant and a joy to listen to. And I was so thrilled that both songs were such high quality, compared to a single that shall not be named. An excellent and marvelous way to end the OUTGROW Era.

Final Grade: 100A+

Dakishimeru was BoA’s 17th single. It was released on November 23, 2005 and reached number 9 on the charts. In all this single has sold over 58,436+ copies. The title track was used in a CM for music.jp; and was also written Natsumi Watanabe and produced Kazuhiro Hara, the same duo of VALENTI. The PV cause a controversy as it showed a little of BoA’s undergarments. Oddly enough, unlike the previous singles, the B-Side to this single was not included on the album. This was also the third single in the OUTGROW Era.

Tracks:
1. Dakishimeru
2. Before you said goodbye to me
3. Dakishimeru (TV Mix)
4. Before you said goodbye to me (TV Mix)

Review:
Dakishimeru, lit. Hold Me, or Hug Me. Well after make a secret I was expecting a let down this time, but I was wrong. This song has revived my interest in BoA. It was a little more hip, more modern, and a lot more fun. Anyway this song begins with some very modern music, followed by a few beats and then BoA singing in some fast paced vocals. During the verses she uses English a few times, even though they’re grammatically incorrect, but they’re still good. As the climax builds the last few seconds become so intense waiting for the chorus. The chorus was very fast, like the verses, not that catchy but you could dance to it. There was a little English in the chorus, and it sounded nice for a second or two. I just really wished it was longer, but that’s wishful thinking. During the bridge BoA did a narration and said a few phrases which were surprisingly good. What a great song!

Before you said goodbye to me, the ballad with a modern spin. This lovely little ballad begins with BoA singing in English, and some soft music. As she finishes singing in English, the drums and percussion instruments pick up. Then the music begins to speed up, just a little, and BoA begins to sing the verses in Japanese, and a little in English. Then BoA sings the chorus, which is quite refreshing with all the English. It’s very catchy, even though it’s a little slower paced. The lyrics were very touching here, and they went were so perfect with the music. This song could’ve replaced make a secret with ease. Too bad it wasn’t featured on the album.

Overall Review: Dakishimeru was pure modernism. This single screamed modern and cool music. With all the beats in the first song and soft beats in the second this single really stood out. What I really loved was how it incorporated so much English in every song, a new twist that worked well for her. I really only wish that the B-Side would be featured on the album like the previous singles. Finally, an up-beat, hip, and spectacular single for the OUTGROW Era.

Final Grade: 100A+

make a secret was BoA’s 16th single. It was released on August 31, 2005 and reached number 5 on the charts. In all this single has sold over 54,000+ copies. The title track was used for a Kose Fasio commercial, and although the title track was promoted, the B-side won more acclaim and praise from fans. This is the second single in the OUTGROW Era.

Tracks:
1. make a secret
2. LONG TIME NO SEE
3. make a secret (Instrumental)
4. LONG TIME NO SEE (Instrumental)

Review:
make a secret, the slow paced R&B tune. Well after DO THE MOTION, I was expecting somewhat of a followup. This song however was somewhat of a step back. It begins all slow and laid-back, like an R&B song, but there’s just no power in BoA’s vocals. The verses were very dull to say the least, and not very enjoyable. The chorus was dreadful and it was not catchy at all, I almost wanted to cry at how bad it was. There was hardly a climax and it was just so so dull. The English here did nothing for the song either, it might have actually backfired on BoA. This song is just so bad to say the least.

LONG TIME NO SEE, sweet simplicity. This song begins with some very light music, almost similar to that of the opening of the anime Fruits Basket. Then BoA begins to sing in some very nice and soft vocals. Then some drops start to hear in the background, followed by the acoustic guitar. From there the song becomes more enjoyable and more happy. Although the chorus is very short, and not that catchy, it’s still quite lovely and cute in a way. It’s a big improvement from the previous song. It’s definitely on the softer and on the cuter side.

Overall Review: make a secret was a dreadful single to say the least. The only thing that made this single worthwhile was the B-Side. Honestly after I heard DO THE MOTION, I was expecting a little a step up, or something like a predecessor, but this single was such a step down. BoA has got to come out with some better singles. I can see how this single sold so little, especially with the horrible A-Side. From the cover I expected a little something more, but all I got was disappointed. A lackluster single for the OUTGROW Era.

Final Grade: 78C-

DO THE MOTION was BoA’s 15th single. It was released on March 30, 2005 and reached number 1 on the charts. In all this single has sold over 169,542+ copies. This became BoA’s first number 1 single and made her the fifth non-Japanese singer to have a #1 single. This was also the first single in the OUTGROW Era.

Tracks:
1. DO THE MOTION
2. With U
3. Kimi no Tonari de
4. DO THE MOTION (TV MIX)
5. With U (TV MIX)
6. Kimi no Tonari de (TV MIX)

Review:
DO THE MOTION, smooth jazz with a hint of pop. Well one word that come to mind when i think of this song is “Damn.” This song was so different compared to songs that BoA had did and it worked for her so well. It has a jazz vibe with the music yet still keeps its pop roots. I love how BoA ad-libs in the beginning of the song and just how well she sounds throughout the song. The verses were amazingly catchy and with those impressive vocals she mastered it. The chorus was infectiously addicting as the instrumentals take you back to a different time, and her English was so good, a first it seems. This song is just so mind blowing and fantastic.

With U, the magical song. Magical in the music sense, the song…not so much. With a lovely orchestra of violins, playing some old Disney feeling music, later replaced by some R&B like beats, the song begins. BoA then begins to sing in that lovely voice of hers. From there the vibe of the music is very laid-back and those drums in the background really add to it. The verses were so-so but thankfully the chorus was very good. The chorus here was rather nice, a little goody goody with the music and background vocals, and rather catchy in a way. The bridge was a playful flute or reed playing followed by some ad-libbing and pianos. It’s an okay song, but pure B-Side material despite being on her album OUTGROW.

Kimi no Tonari de lit. Next To You. Here again we have another B-Side that was added to OUTGROW. But instead of a little pop song, we have a beautiful and classical ballad. The song begins with BoA singing with an array of violins. The verses again weren’t that memorable, but since when are they memorable? The chorus was the real treat here. BoA’s vocals were at the height of perfection along with the music. The ballad was very soft-spoken in a way, and yet powerful in others. However, despite this being a ballad, it wasn’t that good and awing, especially when compared to be with you. and LOVE LETTER. But it was still nice.

Overall Review: DO THE MOTION was a sensational single filled with smooth jazz. I have got to give it to BoA for releasing a single of this magnitude. She’s released many singles, and most aren’t that good unless they were featured in a show or two, but this single was so amazing. She really outdid herself in this single. The title track was pure jazz style with some pop, and even the B-Sides were tolerable. What a thrilling and exuberant way to begin to OUTGROW Era.

Final Grade: 97A