Kim Tae-yeon (born March 9, 1989), better known by the mononym Taeyeon, is a South Korean singer. She debuted in 2007 as a member of South Korean girl group Girls' Generation under S.M. Entertainment, and has further participated in its subgroup TTS and SM the Ballad. She has also recorded singles for various television dramas and movies as well as participated in a number of variety shows which garnered several notable awards and nominations. Both her songs "If" and "Can You Hear Me?" have remained in MelOn's Top 100 OSTs since their releases in 2008.[1]
Taeyeon made a digital and physical chart-topping debut as a solo artist on October 8, 2015 with her first extended play, I, heralding Billboard to deem her "the year's best solo debut".[2] Following her debut, she was awarded Best Female Artist at the Mnet Asian Music Awards, Gallup Korea ranked her as the third most popular artist of 2015 and Forbes Korea listed her among their Top 40 Power Celebrities of 2016.[3][4] In October 2015, she was voted by a survey of 40 music industry officials as the best k-pop vocalist,[5][6] and in April 2016 was chosen as the best female vocalist in their twenties by music companies.[7][8]
Taeyeon released the well-received follow-up digital single, "Rain", on February 3, 2016.