Taeyeon
김태연- Name
- Kim Tae-yeon
- Born
- 9 March 1989
Leader of Girls' Generation, who went from drama ballads to rock, R&B and electronic pop as a soloist.
Their story
The voice of the dramas
Kim Tae-yeon grew up in Jeonju and debuted as the leader of Girls' Generation in 2007. Long before she had a solo record, she was the singer producers called for drama themes. "If" and "Can You Hear Me" both went to the top of the charts in 2008, and the unit TaeTiSeo later gave her a smaller stage with Tiffany and Seohyun.
Not the ballad they expected
When she finally went solo in October 2015, most people expected a quiet ballad record. I opened instead with a song full of electric guitars and drums, with a rap verse from Verbal Jint in the middle. It went to No. 1. A year later she was playing full solo concerts while still in an active girl group, and in 2017 her first studio album, My Voice, followed with "Fine".
Range over formula
No two eras sound alike. "Why" leans on tropical house, Something New on neo-soul, "INVU" on ethereal pop. In between she still turns out ballads like "Four Seasons" and the Hotel del Luna theme "All About You". Her Seoul shows tell the same story in another way: what started in a small cinema hall grew, over ten years, into three nights at KSPO Dome.
Where she is now
Her tenth solo year was a long celebration. The Tense toured Asia through 2025, and in December the compilation Panorama collected her career on one record, with a new pop rock song she wrote as a note to her past and future selves. In January 2026 she signed with SM again, stretching their partnership to 19 years. Between those dates she joined the judges of Sing Again 4. SM has since said a new studio album is part of its plans.
