[IZE Magazine] Taeyeon | This Powerful Solo Artist

 

There was certainly a time when I was waiting for Taeyeon's proper solo, but now I am already listening to her 2 mini albums and her one full-length album. And in the past 1 and a half years, it’s difficult to talk about Taeyeon’s displayed sincerity in terms of only quantitative richness or qualitative firmness. Above all, there is a continuity that exceeds the results of some sort of well-operated system represented by SM Entertainment. It’s not because the company is completing the individual solo work, but it’s because the results are a reflection of the value and personality of Taeyeon.

 

Prior to her solo, I've had a thirst for Taeyeon's singing from beginning to end. Although she had OST work, there is a limit to the functional use of being bound to the nature of ballads. Her first solo album <I> was impressive because that expectation was followed by enough evidence. The way the first half leading to ‘I’, ‘U R’, and ‘Gemini’ awakens joy with a sense of exquisite techniques and sensations cannot be said simply. ‘A tone you’re immersed in from the first to the last bar’ or ‘the electrifying peak of high notes’ stereotypical phrases like that cannot be put into words, and I cannot prepare for it because I cannot predict it. Those past albums seemed like an effort to look for ways to showcase this vocalist properly. For example, the preference between fans for ‘good compatibility with a guitar’ is intended to intentionally capture the charm that is maximized by traditional pop/rock numbers.

 

If you express this process roughly, it tests: ‘I’ as Taylor swift and ‘Why’ as Katy Perry. And ‘My Voice’ is the finished product after all those trials and errors. It is no coincidence that the album title does not relate to any specific song (on the album). Over here, there is no attitude that sees an ‘album’ just as a tool for a ‘title song’ or an ‘activity’. Instead, there is an overflowing desire to want to do something with the ‘Voice of Taeyeon’. It’s different from a ‘muse’ or an ‘inspiration’, it’s not too much to say that ‘deoksim*’ is felt. So it is noticeable in Taeyeon’s solo video work that it is made in a way that has a realistic situation or Taeyeon’s contact with reality stands out rather than a specific world view or an artificial background. The ‘I’ music video may be enough to shine on Taeyeon and New Zealand’s scenery, but at the same time the theme of the lyrics follow the repetition of the cliché“the dream of a waitress”, it mirrors the working Taeyeon in a realistic background. And in ‘Fine’ too, the sudden stop in the music calls out Taeyeon’s reality. Finally, Taeyeon’s appearance in a dark outfit in ‘I’ and her strong image in ‘I Got Love’ is left as a concept, the ‘Taenggu’ that the public knows does not disappear. As a result, she’s able to maintain the spectacle of a combination of impressive vocals and a young appearance, an important aspect of Taeyeon’s personal charm is her ability to not lose strength. That ‘variety of charms that could not be shown in a team’ does not need to be shown. This is why Taeyeon is currently one of the most powerful female soloists, and the first reason isn't that she is part of Girls' Generation.

 

If you do not obsess over the origin of the word ‘singer’, a good vocalist is a good artist. A star that attracts the viewer is an important value to popular art. Taeyeon built both of these branches to their limits, which lets her define the process and outcome of her own creation. If you look at the results so far, Taeyeon's solo waited for the time to happen, it seems it was a situation that was inevitable. Also, it is very interesting to note that currently, in every regard, the final results of ‘My Voice’ has acquired a global ‘American-British mainstream pop’. It is needless to mention that ‘My Voice’ is a pop album that is ‘not incompatible’. It’s not that foreign composers make the songs; it’s not about singing the songs in English. We are looking at something very fundamental in making popular music. K-Pop sometimes creates scenes that I have not thought of before, Taeyeon is one of them.

 

 

*Deoksim = hardcore fan of something/mind of an otaku.

 

 

2017.03.14

Written by: Seo Seongdeok

Photo Design: Jeon Yurim

Translated by: Bee (@taengab)

Source: IZE Magazine