Members > Taeyeon
Taeyeon (born March 9, 1989), real name Kim Tae-yeon, is a South Korean singer, known for being the leader of nine-member girl group Girls' Generation, formed by SM Entertainment in 2007. Taeyeon and the other eight members of her group debuted on August 5, 2007.
She has since ventured out into DJ-ing and reality-variety shows, along with various solo singles. She is known as Taiyan in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Profile
| Birth Name | Kim Tae-yeon (김태연) |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | Taeng, Taengoo (Taeng9), Tete, Kid Leader, ByunTaeng |
| Date of Birth | March 9, 1989 |
| Bloodtype | O |
| Position | Leader & Main Vocalist |
| Language | Korean (Fluent), English, Chinese (Basic), Japanese (Basic) |
| Specialty | Trot |
| Casted | 2004 SM 8th Annual Best Contest (Best Singer 1st Place Grand Award) |
| Training | 3 Years 3 Months |
| School | Jeonju Art High School (전주예술고고등학교) [graduated] |
Biography
Taeyeon was born in the city of Jeonju, North Jeolla on March 9, 1989. Like the rest of her group, she was trained in singing and dancing. Taeyeon was discovered in the 2004 SM Entertainment's 8th Annual Best Contest winning Best Singer 1st Place & Grand Award in the contest. Then, she was trained at SM for 5 years and 3 months. In 2004, she was featured in The One's song "You Bring Me Joy" before debuting as Girls' Generation leader. She is a 2008 graduate of Jeonju Art High School and was decorated by the Lifetime Achievement Award of the high school.
Career
Taeyeon became a DJ on Good Friend Radio, which she co-hosted with Super Junior's Kangin until he left on April 19, 2009. From then on, she hosted the radio show single-handed. Taeyeon ceased her DJ duties from April 26, 2010 onwards. She was replaced by IU. Taeyeon's last radio session was on April 25, 2010.
She also contributed to a couple of soundtrack as a solo artist, singing the theme song "Manyage" ("만약에", "If") for the KBS2 drama Hong Gil Dong and "Deullinayo" ("들리나요", "Can You Hear Me") from the Beethoven Virus soundtrack. "If" became popular on various online charts, around the same time "Baby Baby" was released, while "Deullinayo" received the YEPP Popularity award at the 2008 Golden Disk Awards.
She was featured on MBC reality-variety show We Got Married as part of the third rotation of couples; she was featured with comedian Jeong Hyeong-don. When this news was announced on January 7, 2009, it caused an uproar among South Korean netizens due to the 11-year age difference between the two.
She also sang "SaRangInGulYo" with Sunny for the drama Heading to the Ground, additionally the "S.e.o.u.l." song with members of Super Junior and Girls' Generation.
Taeyeon is also a sub MC for Kim Seungwoo's talk show, 'SeungSeungJangKu' on KBS. This show is the replacement for 'SangSangPlus' which has been running for six years. She is MCing alongside 2PM's Wooyoung, Choi Hwajung, Kim Shinyoung, and Kim Seungwoo.
On May 7, 2010, she had her musical debut as the main female role in "Midnight Sun", which is based on the Japanese novel "Taiyō no uta" by Aya Denkawa. The musical is about Kaoru Amane, a 17-year-old girl, who suffers from Xeroderma pigmentosum, keeping her from going outside during the day. She keeps her hopes up by writing songs and singing every night at a train station. Taeyeon gained a lot of support by fans and she received good press for her performance. Furthermore, she learned to play guitar for her musical performance.
In May 2010, it was revealed that Taeyeon and her band mate Seohyun were cast as voice actors for the Korean dub of the 3D animation Despicable Me. Taeyeon will dub the character Margo, while Seohyun's role is Margo's younger sister Edith.
She also sang the song for Caribbean Bay with her fellow members Jessica, Seohyun, Tiffany and Yuri and with 2PM.