Here are my credentials (one last time): 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) (Part Two)

Single #5: Weekend

I don’t know what it is about Weekend, but it just…doesn’t feel like Taeyeon to me? Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing to get out of your comfort zone—-she’s done it well with several songs before—-but not only is this a departure but I feel like it doesn’t make use of her talents and is just kind of…there. It’s a very light song, bopping along with some wispy synths, and reminds me of Mamamoo’s mumumuch or Oh My Girl’s Oh My. And like those songs, I think it would make a good b-side, but as a single, it doesn’t stand up to tracks like Spark or even 11:11; it doesn’t have to be a statement, but it should be something…more.

Album #3: INVU

Can’t Control Myself feels like a spiritual successor to Something New, in the way that it blends a wild music video with an incredibly relaxed track. Its acoustic sound is combined with a harsher electric guitar that’s used sparingly but effectively as the speaker starts to lose her grip during the choruses and her real life and life on the stage combine. The desperation bleeds out of the vocals so effectively, and you’re just bracing for a catastrophe to occur, but unable to look away. It’s a very good escalation of her sound and style, in my opinion; it keeps the tenets of who she is, but grow with her.

It’s been a few years since INVU came out, and in that time, everyone and their mother has praised to the moon and back, and I kind of…don’t get it. That’s not to say it’s not a good song, that’s not to say it’s not very vocally challenging—-which it is, trust me on this one—-and that’s not to say its music video isn’t stunning. There are things I like about it, sure; I like the way each chorus builds on the one that came before, and I especially like the influences from the Greek myth of Artemis and Orion. I had no idea I needed to see Taeyeon dressed in a silver gown with a matching bow and arrow, but I did. But next to a lot of her other work, I find that it falls a bit flat. It’s missing that something that puts songs like Spark or Can’t Control Myself a cut above the rest, and I don’t know what it is.

INVU marks Taeyeon’s third LP, and with how much I loved the last two, I was excited for it. There’s the slow burning melancholy of Set Myself On Fire, the nostalgic lyrics of Toddler, the longing vocals of Heart, and the sighing acceptance of Ending Credits. My hidden gem was the sprawling, crying-on-the-dancefloor Siren with its layered vocals and explosive final chorus. Overall, though it was still a strong album, I didn’t enjoy it as much as Spark and My Voice.

EP #5: To.X

To.X is more on the acoustic, coffee-shop side of Taeyeon’s ballads, and despite being about the breakup of a relationship, it’s surprisingly chipper-sounding; you can practically hear her shrugging through the screen. She doesn’t go the expecting route, instead focusing on the little items: her partner’s new t-shirt, the lipstick she threw away to please them, the diary she’s writing in, so on and so forth. The MV has such little color that it creates a vintage feel, though I’m not entirely sure about what the storyline’s trying to convey. The song stays fairly flat, and not in a way that feels intentional or engaging like 11:11, so I think it’s fair to say I like the idea of it more than I like it in practice.

From the EP, though I enjoyed the minimalistic, percussive sound of Burn It Down, my hidden gem was the unrepentant, Bossa Nova inspired Melt Away, with its impressive vocal runs and backing trumpets. For such a relaxed sounding mini-album, there’s a lot of fire imagery throughout, lending it an air of crafted nonchalance that’s sad at times but at others tends towards the disconcerting.

Single #6: Heaven

Heaven is a strange little song, that’s for sure, and its MV is full-on Red Velvet wacky, from the spell books in the woods to Taeyeon wielding an ax against a dinner table to creating a witch’s brew with burned pumpkins. The song itself is synthy and far-removed, and seems to revel in its own strangeness in a way that’s kind of endearing. It tricks you; you think it’s headed for an anti-drop (or at least I did), and then it builds on top of itself and expands during the chorus instead. I wish it went a bit further in places, honestly, perhaps with a more robust bridge, but I still really liked it. It’s not a style I’d associate with Taeyeon, but it works.

EP #6: Letter To Myself

Letter To Myself wastes no time getting right to the crux of things. It’s moody and introspective, while still being inspiring and clinging on to hope in such a moving way, not directed at a past partner but just for her. And even better, the chorus is just the expansive sound I’ve been craving. The build is something special too, making the most of her vocals as it reaches for the stars with a distinctively rock edge. The lyrics are great too: “Now I see the forgotten me, the me that was hidden, the voices in my head” or my own favorite, “Facing myself properly, I’ll never lose myself again”. It’s the most “Taeyeon” Taeyeon has sounded (or looked) in a while, and so it’s probably no surprise that it’s also my favorite title track of hers in a long time. And I’m happy to say that it’s one of my favorite tracks of hers in general.

From the EP, I enjoyed the impressive falsetto vocals in Hot Mess and the synthiness of Disaster, but my hidden gem was Blur, with its spiraling slow-burn of a build and its fade-out.

Album #4: PANORAMA

Few artists make it to their tenth anniversary. Fewer still stay active the entire time. Even fewer do it like Taeyeon. It’s a lovely look back on her career. With such a light start, I was expecting this to be more in line with your typical ballad sound, but Taeyeon lives to prove people wrong. Ostensibly a love song, Panorama’s lyrics reflect back on Taeyeon’s career, her love for her fans, and her debut itself, retracing her steps in “I” with a younger version of herself, guitar and flowing white dress and all. The build too is one of a kind, returning to the feel good indie rock of “I” with gusto. It’s impossible to watch it and not feel like you’re watching her grow up all over again.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this! Like I said at the beginning, Taeyeon’s an artist I’ve always admired from afar and heard so much about, but getting to experience all her work and learn more about her was such a fun experience. As per usual, while I was editing, I watched some interviews / B-T-S content; from that I’d recommend her appearance on bandmate Hyoyeon’s HYO’s Level Up and her Fashion Timeline with Harper’s Bazaar Korea, both of which were great. I’ve put the links right here if you’d like to check them out. I can honestly, delightedly say that I’ve become a real fan of Taeyeon through this deep dive, not only for her obvious talents but for her as a person too.

It’s so hard to pick a Top 5 from such a huge discography, but my favorite songs were Fine, Letter To Myself, Here I Am, Stress, and Find Me, with Spark and My Tragedy as honorable mentions. Taeyeon gets a 9.25 out of 10 from me, which is probably not much of a surprise if you’ve read any of this review. Besides the obvious—-her fantastic voice and her genre-hopping abilities—-something I really respect about her is the introspection and authenticity of her work, from the coffeeshop songs like 11:11 to the more outwardly emotional like Letter To Myself. As mentioned ad nauseam, I’m not much of a ballad enjoyer, but she really changed my mind, managing to bring variety to a genre with songs that can often feel similar. And that’s not even mentioning her forays into jazz or R & B, which are always a nice surprise. She truly is one-of-a-kind.

Next time, we’re onto another soloist ranking. Tschüss!