Here are my credentials (again): I’ve been a fan of Girls’ Generation for a while now, as a lover of vintage inspiration in music and the 2nd gen of kpop in general. I’m also a fan of SHINee, especially Jonghyun, and so Taeyeon’s been on my list to cover for a while now, and I kind of can’t believe I haven’t done it yet. I’m coming at this from the opposite of my usual perspective, which is that I know far more about her as a person than I do about her music. The songs I have heard—more on those later—I really like and so I’m excited to hear more! Let’s get into it!

(Part One)

EP #3: Something New

With a name like Something New, I was prepared for just that. The beginning starts with this far-away, almost underwater sounding acapella, but the solid beat that comes in promises a melding of Taeyeon’s two sides: ballad and jazz, and the song doesn’t disappoint. The song is fairly restrained, but I really like the backing vocals in the chorus compared to the main thread. The MV really is different from her usual, with Taeyeon as some kind of rampaging secret agent taking revenge on her enemies, whether that’s by a very conveniently placed flower vase or just a hammer, and then stealing their suitcases full of gold and cash. It’s so over the top; I adore it. I don’t know how much I’d listen to it without the video, but as a full package, it’s a very convincing one.

From the EP, while I enjoyed the gentle build of One Day and the twinkling piano of Circus, my hidden gem was the lightly funky, easygoing Baram x3.

Single #3: Four Seasons

Four Seasons, like Something New, lives up to its name, with lyrics that compare the stages of a doomed relationship to—you guessed it—-the four seasons. “I gave you my winter and my summer, the hot and cold, but did I really love you?”, she asks, over an almost tropical beat that blends surprisingly seamlessly with the R & B influences and strings that creep in. Her vocals are as smooth as ever, and they settle comfortably in this song, like they would in a favorite old couch. I confess it’s not one of my favorites of hers, but I wouldn’t skip it if it came up on shuffle.

Album #2: Purpose

Spark has been another favorite Taeyeon track of mine for a long time, and I loved it so much that I actually learned the lyrics of it a few years back. I may have compared Taeyeon’s voice to Adele before, but in this song, she takes that comparison and jumps off a building with it. And even though her voice has always been strong, this song is another level. It’s so tense, like a volcano about to erupt. And it just keeps building and building, until there’s nowhere for the flames to go but out. The almost gospel-like choruses, complete with backing vocals and percussive hand-clapping are just great too.

As a side note, I often think Taeyeon doesn’t get enough credit for her dancing skills; while she’s not at the level of a Ten or Taemin, she holds her own against her backup dancers consistently, no mean feat for someone who’s mainly a singer. And the choreography in Spark is clearly quite technical but she still manages to be fluid and hit every note right on cue.

Dear Me is the second single from this album, and where Spark was seductive and very self-assured, this song is hesitant and melancholy. Its acoustic guitar base reminded me a lot of Fine, except it begins its build much sooner than Fine does, because though some things may be the same the song is not. Except this time it’s more encouraging, with its central hook not directed at who left but at herself as she begins to move on. I even became a bit emotional when I heard the “I love myself, I trust myself, look at me who endured the long darkness” line. I felt so genuinely happy for her.

Purpose is Taeyeon’s second full album, and on the heels of her last one, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have huge expectations. But again it exceeded them, from golden age musical worthy Love You Like Crazy to elegant, piano-led Gravity to power ballad opener Here I Am, which feels like it could blow the doors off of a theater. Again I found it near-impossible to pick a hidden gem, but I narrowed it down to Dear Me with its sturdy, rumbling percussion and pitch-perfect R & B, and My Tragedy, which pairs heartbreaking lyrics with an incredible instrumental and is one of Taeyeon’s best vocal triumphs.

Single #4: Happy

The opening of Happy feels a bit young for Taeyeon, who often tends towards more mature sounds. And that’s both in song and in MV; if you’d asked me to guess when this came out, I would’ve guessed back in 2015, judging by the very light makeup, the teenager’s bedroom setting, and the more simplistic lyrics. It’s warm, but gently, like a fireplace, not a hot burner, and Taeyeon’s voice is as nice as always, but it just doesn’t quite grab me. It’s not a bad song, not even close, but when you know what Taeyeon’s capable of it’s hard not to overlook a track like this.

Also, I’m sorry, but the whitewashing in this music video is so glaring; I don’t know if I’ve just been missing this far, but she’s kind of hard to look at here when it looks like she’s glowing white. Come on, SM, no human looks like that.

EP #4: What Do I Call You?

“Hello, non-stranger” may sound like an odd way to begin a song, but What Do I Call You makes it work. With a plucky, laid-back beat that’s markedly different from the other ways Taeyeon’s addressed heartbreak, it’s coffeeshop to the core, a sound I often call “slice-of-life” for the way it skips along like a Kdrama soundtrack song playing over a montage. Honestly, it isn’t a sound I’m normally drawn to but I find myself wanting to replay the song anyway. Its central hook of “My lover, my honey, my daisy, my only, so what do I call you now?” is so simple, but so affecting, and gets stuck in your head in the way only something some understated could.

From the EP, I enjoyed the mix between R & B and gentle hip-hop in To The Moon, but my hidden gem was the synthy, almost otherworldly Wildfire.

Next time, we’re onto Part 3. Tschüss!