Music / Taeyeon

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Kim Tae-yeon (born March 9, 1989 in Jeonju, South Korea), known professionally as Taeyeon, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. She initially achieved fame as the leader of Girls' Generation in 2007, as well as a main vocalist in their sub-units Girls' Generation-TTS and Oh!GG. She is also one of two representatives of Girls' Generation in the supergroup GOT the Beat, along with Hyoyeon.

After several soundtrack appearances, Taeyeon officially debuted as a solo artist in 2015, which has been her main focus with Girls' Generation's group output slowing down. She starred on stage in a musical adaptation of Midnight Sun in 2010, but she has since stated that she has no interest in pursuing an acting career.

Taeyeon has an Instagram account as well as a YouTube channel, Taengoo TV (currently inactive as of 2022).

Music Association

• Girls' Generation (2007-present)
  • Girl's Generation-TTS (2012-2015)
  • Girl's Generation-Oh!GG (2018-present)
• S.M THE BALLAD (2014)
• GOT the beat (2022-2023)

Tropes related to Taeyeon:

• Album Closure: The final song on INVU is called "Ending Credits."
• Break-Up Song: Common theme in her music, including the singles "11:11," "Fine," and "Four Seasons."
• Concept Video: Has a few under her belt:
  • "I" has Taeyeon unhappily working as a waitress.
  • "Starlight" has guest singer DΞΔN fall for a Manic Pixie Dream Girl played by Taeyeon.
  • "Something New" has Taeyeon fighting off would-be assassins in a luxury hotel.
  • "What Do I Call You" takes inspiration from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as it has Taeyeon and her boyfriend break up. She subsequently decides to erase all her memories of the relationship.
  • "Can't Control Myself" stars Taeyeon as a star actress, trying to deal with her fading relationship with her co-star while still trying to put on a happy face. She finally succumbs to her feelings by the end, symbolized by the myriad of cuts on her body as she puts on a small smile.
  • "INVU" has Taeyeon become Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon and hunt. She wields a bow and arrow and even has a couple scenes where arrows are flying all around her.
• Darker and Edgier:
  • Downplayed. While Girls' Generation's stuff is considered to be fun and "poppy", Taeyeon's music is far moodier and biting. It should be noted that she does veer into "fun" territory every now and then, such as in her 2016 mini-album Why.
  • Taken to new heights with "Can't Control Myself," in which both the song and video portray her as the victim of an emotionally abusive relationship.
• Foreign Language Title: As is the standard in K-Pop, several of her songs have English titles, and those without are all given alternate English titles to accommodate international fans.
• Gaslighting: The subject matter of "Can't Control Myself."
• Genre Roulette: Her discography is incredibly varied, including genres such as R&B, soul, pop, ballad, jazz, blues, pop-rock, and alternative pop.
• Genre Shift: In general, Taeyeon's solo work is stylistically different than Girls' Generation. While her group goes for bubblegum and electronic pop, her solo work leans toward R&B, soul, ballad, and alternative pop with some pop, pop-rock, and jazz snuck in there.
• Gratuitous English: Many of her songs feature random English, though it sounds pretty natural.
• Hotter and Sexier:
  • "I Got Love" most certainly is, with much more seductive lyrics and vocals than what Taeyeon usually goes after.
  • "Shhh" has no business sounding so seductive, especially since it's a Christmas song. It's worth mentioning that the live performance has confetti being blasted right as the climax of the song hits. Taeyeon is audibly trying not to laugh in some points of the song.
• Idol Singer: Both as a solo artist and as a member of Girls' Generation. She tends to lean away from her "idol" image when she's promoting solo.
• Lighter and Softer:
  • Why is far more lighthearted than most of her work before and after the album was released, featuring some of the most poppy songs in her discography.
  • "Happy" is a lovely doo-wop song that talks about a love that the protagonist never wants to let go.
  • After a string of more somber-leaning tracks, "Weekend" is a synth-pop/city pop song that talks about the singer's desire to go somewhere else. As a bonus, she raps (well, more like sing-talk) in the middle of it.
• Lyrical Cold Open: "I"
• Melismatic Vocals: Some of her songs get to show off her amazingly skilled runs, such as "Fashion" and "Hands on Me".
• New Sound Album: Why and Something New both largely stray from the acoustic pop and ballads she's most famously known for. What Do I Call You and INVU are rather somber lyrically, but have a more experimental pop edge.
• Painting the Medium: Occurs frequently throughout the music video for "Fine." Faces get blurred out, text on street signs get jumbled, the picture gets crumpled like paper and literally drawn over.
• Pep-Talk Song: "Spark," Verbal Jint's guest verse in "I."
• Precision F-Strike: Taeyeon has replaced the line "no thanks, baby" with curse words during live performances of "I'm Okay" on more than one occasion.
• Silly Love Songs: Subverted. While Girls' Generation's singles (as well as pop music in general) are rife with these, these are usually relegated to album tracks in Taeyeon's solo work. This is however Played Straight with "Starlight".
• Solo Side Project: Taeyeon debuted as a solo artist in 2015. As of 2023, she is still a member of Girls' Generation and the subunit Oh!GG.
• Textless Album Cover: Purpose, the "Fine" edition of My Voice.
• Title Drop: The first lyrics of "11:11" are "It's 11:11".
• Took a Level in Cynic: Downplayed. Girls' Generation's songs are generally considered to be light fun, but Taeyeon's discography has quite a few break-up songs and a far moodier soundscape.
• A Wild Rapper Appears!: Common in her solo work.
  • Verbal Jint in "I"
  • Hyoyeon in "Up & Down"
  • Lucas of NCT in "All Night Long"
  • Chanmina in "#GirlsSpkOut"