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As an avid SNSD fan (Sone) with a Taeyeon bias, you can expect that I might write something people may not entirely agree with. Please remember to preface my offending statement with “In my experience” or tag an “imo” at the end before responding.
People often ask me why, out of all attractive girls in the world, I pick Taeyeon. Or better yet, why I pick kpop when it’s clearly not the most complex or mainstream music available. Kpop isn’t the kind of music I can analyze, or the kind of music I can read a score for. Especially as a violin performance major, these questions come up a lot. Walking into my room, you are greeted with this
Jascha Heifetz, arguably the most perfect violinist to ever perform. Even his anti-fans admit, Heifetz’s influence was enormous. And yet, directly below this poster, you have
Nearby is general SNSD paraphernalia neatly enshrined above my desk. How do these two musicians even remotely compare? The logical conclusion most of my friends people come to is, of course, that of lust or some weird obession that is creepy at best, socially unacceptable at worst. But that’s simply not true.
It is true that Taeyeon is attractive. It’s basically a requirement in an industry (kpop) that emphasizes visuals just as, if not more than, vocal ability. However, when I first saw Taeyeon, I saw nothing amazing. “Eh” is what I said. On my scale, a 7/10 with 5/10 being the average girl I see in my life. Still quite high but many celebrities could easily top her. Tiffany is who actually caught my eye back then, along with Yoona and Yuri. As my SNSD fandom grew, I was surprised to learn that in Korea, Taeyeon is probably the most popular. On an episode of Strong Heart, a Korean talk show, Taeyeon expressed that she was asked out by no less than 14 male celebrities. Not to mention the number of fans who would do unspeakable things to have the opportunity to court her. + Show Spoiler +
It was only after I watched “Girls Go To School” (소녀 학교에 가다), a documentary about SNSD filmed before and during their debut, that I started to see why. It was this clip in particular
That night, Taeyeon, who has been missing all day, I met her on the bridge. “What are you doing here at this hour?” “Well... now that I move into the dorms tomorrow with the other SNSD members, I’m both nervous and worried. I can’t go to the ocean so I at least came to the river to sort out my thoughts… I can do it! I can do it! I can do it!”
that really made me think. This girl, in a few years, will become the leader of the most popular girl group in all of Korea. But right now, she’s just moving into the dorms with girls she’s hardly met; giving up her family, friends, and a normal life for a tiny chance at success. It’s no secret that the life of a kpop star is not to be envied. Ridiculous hours, almost a complete lack of social/private life, slave-labor contracts, and insane fans are just the tip of the iceberg. She doesn’t shy away though: her thoughts on her last night before “officially” becoming SNSD aren’t “I hope this was the right decision” or “I hope can succeed”, it’s “I can do it”. Originally, I was planning on majoring in Physics, maybe with a double major or minor in math. These were my two favorite subjects in school! However, half way through my senior year of high school, somehow I found myself thinking, “Is this the best? Am I certain? I love to play violin and perform on stage, do I want to give that up?” It was an uncertain time, and I can only admire the kind of resolve Taeyeon showed.
I see Taeyeon and I see passion. I see that she loves what she does and gives her best, regardless of what obstacles are thrown at her.
I see her passion for music in the way she enjoys other performers
sidenote: this is probably my absolute favorite video of Taeyeon
On a talk show, one of the hosts used the term 소덕, a derogatory term for snsd fans(sones). She responds by saying “that’s not a very nice word to use”. The sheepish host apologies for his thoughtlessness and promises to never use that term again
I see her emotion in the face that looks like it’s about to cry after finishing the song and needs a moment to regain composure before smiling.
Above all, I see her heart and determination in one of my favorite quotes of all time,
전 팬들에게 말할 때마다 말문이 막혀요. 무슨 말을 해야할지 모를 만큼 고마워서! 그래도 항상 생각하는 건 이거예요. “그대들이 소녀시대의 팬이라는게 부끄럽지 않도록 우리가 정말 더 열심히 노력하겠습니다.” Whenever I talk to fans, I just don’t know what to say. It’s because I’m so thankful! But there is one thing I always say to myself. “So that they will never be ashamed to call themselves SNSD fans, we must truly work harder.”
I have always wondered about the term “idols”. In other countries, you have singers and actors but in Korea, you have idols. To me, it indicates that you need to go above and beyond your profession. To be a role model not just for your fans, but for people everywhere. Taeyeon isn’t perfect. She misses notes, she acts in ways not deemed acceptable by Korean culture, she’s not the most attractive girl, whatever. But maybe that’s why I look up to her. I can relate to her better than I relate to Heifetz. A paragon of perfection and an adorable, short Korean girl are framed above my desk to remind me that if I could inspire even just one person as they have inspired me, I would not regret my endless hours of violin practice every day for the rest of my life. Taeyeon isn’t up there with Heifetz because “Oh, he’s a college guy, she’s a pretty celebrity, makes sense why she’s up there”. Taeyeon is up there because she’s earned it. Kim Taeyeon has earned something more than my love, obsession, or attraction. She’s earned my respect.
~Happy Birthday, Kim Taeyeon~ I’ve been trying to buy your SPAO cap but they keep selling out -.-;;
the blind fandom in this thread never fails to cheer me up..
Still, im very curious about the demographics (gender/age/race) and interests (asian chicks are hot/omfg soooo cute/best music evaaaa)... anyone that knows more about that?
On March 09 2012 08:25 B.I.G. wrote: the blind fandom in this thread never fails to cheer me up..
Still, im very curious about the demographics (gender/age/race) and interests (asian chicks are hot/omfg soooo cute/best music evaaaa)... anyone that knows more about that?
I think we should do a poll on it, I'm interested in those statistics too.
On March 09 2012 07:43 Xenocide_Knight wrote: Since the pic/vid spam seems to be pretty well handled by others, I’ve decided to change my post to something with a bit more text:media ratio..
As an avid SNSD fan (Sone) with a Taeyeon bias, you can expect that I might write something people may not entirely agree with. Please remember to preface my offending statement with “In my experience” or tag an “imo” at the end before responding.
People often ask me why, out of all attractive girls in the world, I pick Taeyeon. Or better yet, why I pick kpop when it’s clearly not the most complex or mainstream music available. Kpop isn’t the kind of music I can analyze, or the kind of music I can read a score for. Especially as a violin performance major, these questions come up a lot. Walking into my room, you are greeted with this
Jascha Heifetz, arguably the most perfect violinist to ever perform. Even his anti-fans admit, Heifetz’s influence was enormous. And yet, directly below this poster, you have
Nearby is general SNSD paraphernalia neatly enshrined above my desk. How do these two musicians even remotely compare? The logical conclusion most of my friends people come to is, of course, that of lust or some weird obession that is creepy at best, socially unacceptable at worst. But that’s simply not true.
It is true that Taeyeon is attractive. It’s basically a requirement in an industry (kpop) that emphasizes visuals just as, if not more than, vocal ability. However, when I first saw Taeyeon, I saw nothing amazing. “Eh” is what I said. On my scale, a 7/10 with 5/10 being the average girl I see in my life. Still quite high but many celebrities could easily top her. Tiffany is who actually caught my eye back then, along with Yoona and Yuri. As my SNSD fandom grew, I was surprised to learn that in Korea, Taeyeon is probably the most popular. On an episode of Strong Heart, a Korean talk show, Taeyeon expressed that she was asked out by no less than 14 male celebrities. Not to mention the number of fans who would do unspeakable things to have the opportunity to court her. + Show Spoiler +
It was only after I watched “Girls Go To School” (소녀 학교에 가다), a documentary about SNSD filmed before and during their debut, that I started to see why. It was this clip in particular
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTuABLGrwdc hasty translations in spoiler + Show Spoiler +
That night, Taeyeon, who has been missing all day, I met her on the bridge. “What are you doing here at this hour?” “Well... now that I move into the dorms tomorrow with the other SNSD members, I’m both nervous and worried. I can’t go to the ocean so I at least came to the river to sort out my thoughts… I can do it! I can do it! I can do it!”
that really made me think. This girl, in a few years, will become the leader of the most popular girl group in all of Korea. But right now, she’s just moving into the dorms with girls she’s hardly met; giving up her family, friends, and a normal life for a tiny chance at success. It’s no secret that the life of a kpop star is not to be envied. Ridiculous hours, almost a complete lack of social/private life, slave-labor contracts, and insane fans are just the tip of the iceberg. She doesn’t shy away though: her thoughts on her last night before “officially” becoming SNSD aren’t “I hope this was the right decision” or “I hope can succeed”, it’s “I can do it”. Originally, I was planning on majoring in Physics, maybe with a double major in Math at Johns Hopkins University. Somehow, half way through my senior year of high school, I found myself thinking, “is this the best? Am I certain? I love to play violin and perform on stage, do I want to give that up?” It was an uncertain time, and I can only admire the kind of resolve Taeyeon showed.
I see Taeyeon and I see passion. I see that she loves what she does and gives her best, regardless of what obstacles are thrown at her.
I see her passion for music in the way she enjoys other performers
On a talk show, one of the hosts used the term 소덕, a derogatory term for snsd fans(sones). She responds by saying “that’s not a very nice word to use”. The sheepish host apologies for his thoughtlessness and promises to never use that term again
I see her emotion in the face that looks like it’s about to cry after finishing the song and needs a moment to regain composure before smiling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgVw_sVdsl0
Above all, I see her heart and determination in one of my favorite quotes of all time,
전 팬들에게 말할 때마다 말문이 막혀요. 무슨 말을 해야할지 모를 만큼 고마워서! 그래도 항상 생각하는 건 이거예요. “그대들이 소녀시대의 팬이라는게 부끄럽지 않도록 우리가 정말 더 열심히 노력하겠습니다.” Whenever I talk to fans, I just don’t know what to say. It’s because I’m so thankful! But there is one thing I always say to myself. “So that they will never be ashamed to call themselves SNSD fans, we must truly work harder.”
I have always wondered about the term “idols”. In other countries, you have singers and actors but in Korea, you have idols. To me, it indicates that you need to go above and beyond your profession. To be a role model not just for your fans, but for people everywhere. Taeyeon isn’t perfect. She misses notes, she acts in ways not deemed acceptable by Korean culture, she’s not the most attractive girl, whatever. But maybe that’s why I look up to her. I can relate to her better than I relate to Heifetz. A paragon of perfection and an adorable, short Korean girl are framed above my desk to remind me that if I could inspire even just one person as they have inspired me, I would not regret my endless hours of violin practice every day for the rest of my life. Taeyeon isn’t up there with Heifetz because “Oh, he’s a college guy, she’s a pretty celebrity, makes sense why she’s up there”. Taeyeon is up there because she’s earned it. Kim Taeyeon has earned something more than my love, obsession, or attraction. She’s earned my respect.
~Happy Birthday, Kim Taeyeon~ I’ve been trying to buy your SPAO cap but they keep selling out -.-;;
Has anyone else noticed the breaking down of Ailee's voice? She had some really great performances in the beginning but now she seems overworked and tired. I was wondering if this work schedule was normal and would they go easier on her if this keeps up or just run her down until there is nothing left?
On March 09 2012 09:49 UrASofty wrote: the amount of dedication for an idol makes me scared for all your future girlfriends
her tongue game is somethin ferocious you snoo dat
Following an idol isn't that bad, only in certain situations where I become worried for people (those crazy videos of people's worship shrines and such...). My gf is totally aware of my addiction to Taeyeon, shrugs!
Anyways...I am tempted to go find all the tongue gifs involving Taeyeon now...
Wow Xenocide one of the best (or favorite) post on KMD imo. I also liked the "I can do it" part. Looking back, she did it. She really did it. I think I only watched GGTS slightly before The Boys and I was already very impressed. Now it's just pointless to say they are not successful Good job.
Ofc we have to post some music! This may be a repost but whatever I didn't add it to my music list and it's by 10cm so probably not repost. I saw it on WGM.
On March 09 2012 02:52 Lokk wrote: Gogogo!! I'm a little, just a little 0.01%, curious to see why taeyeon is so popular, I see her everywhere on KMD!!! ~_~ show me the path you taeyeon fans took!!!
Damn, Xenocide got to use some of those viddyas before I could. Aww, whatever. Either way, similar to Xeno, I can't tell you why everyone else likes Taeyeon but I can tell you why I like Taeyeon. It'll again be a bit of a personal story which doesn't really represent the rest of the Taeyeon fans out there but it's my mentality at the very least.
Now to give a little bit of background on me and my experiences, when I was 14, one of my cousins died of Meningococcal, when I was 15 my grandfather died of Lung Cancer (granted he lived with it for about 10 years), and my father discovered that he has bladder cancer.
This is actually why I hate breast cancer awareness days and refuse to donate/buy anything they're selling or wear a ribbon. Bladder cancer is possibly one of the very least researched cancers in existance and when all the money goes to breast and lung cancer research, it started to make me despise the medicine industry, which is why I no longer wanted to move into medicine but into design instead. Now my grandmother also died on breast cancer so it still has had an affect on me but I still find it somewhat disgusting.
He was to have his bladder removed, and they were to take a section of his bowel and re-create a new bladder out of it for him. He had the surgery when I was 15 just a couple of weeks before Christmas. The surgery was successful. He was better, walking and learning to use his new bladder. We were celebrating. We were enjoying ourselves. We were hopeful. That hope was almost immediately snatched away from us. The Ongologist later told us that the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes which meant that his chances were slim that it hadn't spread further. We kept telling ourselves that he survived so far. He can keep going. Hope wasn't lost. Not yet at least.
The months went by. He steadily grew weaker and thinner. Struggling to stay awake, struggle to stand up and walk around on his own, struggling to be the father he wanted to be for us. It was heartbreaking. We kept hoping and wishing and praying that it wasn't happening. He kept reassuring us that it was just a speed bump and that he could still get better. I didn't believe him but I hoped.
He died on Christmas Eve 2006 at the age of 48. I was 16 at the time. It was a bit of a dark period in my life. I'd felt incredibly weak, incredibly vulnerable. Add to this the fact that my curriculum co-ordinator in high school wouldn't allow me to change my subjects from physics/chemisty/biology into visual art/design and I was feeling really terrible. Like I had no control over my own life. By this point he couldn't talk anymore. Each breath was long, heavy, and strained. As though all his effort was going into keeping his heart beating. Not for himself, but for us.Sitting there in the hospital on Christmas eve, as I listened to his last breath slip away from him; as I stood up and hugged him and had to tell him to stop fighting if he was only fighting for us. To only fight if he was fighting for himself.
This left me as a bitter husk of a person. I had some issues with depression, constantly wondering 'Why?'. Why are we living. Why do such horrible things exist and why do they happen. Why did it happen to us? etc. the usually manic depressive scenarios. I stopped caring about myself and anyone around me. It was easier to not care than to care and have what I care about ripped out of my grasp. Insert minor period of drinking and drug problems (just weed, no injecting or pills. Fuck that shit). I just didn't care anymore. I couldn't. I just floated by; going through the motions. My mum tried to get me counselling to get me to break though but if I just didn't talk to the counsellor there wasn't anything they could do. Eventually she gave up on me too and let me just deal with my problems myself.
Eventually this lead to me going from one of the top 5 students of my classes to the absolute bottom of the barrel. I was a failure. Of a person, of a student, of a son. Granted I ended up getting into a business course at a really really crappy uni. I live in New South Wales, Australia and there's only a few really good unis here. So the one I ended up in was full of dropkicks that didn't give a shit either. Being in close proximity to pubs didn't help me either. Drinking when I could afford it. Smoking when I couldn't. Live was a joke by then.
Then; enter my cousin. By now it was the start of 2009. He had just come back from a trip to the Philippines, where my mum's side of the family is from. He was telling me that there are heaps and heaps of Korean students there to study and the kpop was spreading like wildfire. He started showing me videos. Lots of them. For the most part I thought he was just crazy, like all my friends did with me when I started listening to predominantly k-pop. He left a pile of videos loaded on my computer when he left my house that day. All of SNSD songs. I gave them a listen because hey, why not? Not like I'm doing anything with myself.
I watched them and was mildly amused by them. Like many others, I wasn't INSTANTLY drawn to Taeyeon, but rather Tiffany. It was just a simple "well she's pretty cute" experience. It was a fresh experience listening to music that wasn't so dreary and depressing sounding (compared to most of my English music at the time). And I kept listening to it. I had never thought of it very deeply, thinking of what they were singing about, why they were singing about it or whatever. I just simply listened to it. It cheered me up a bit. Made me happier. Whether you like SNSD or not, you've gotta admit that the first album is pretty bubblegum happy clappy. At the time I didn't know whether I really enjoyed the music itself, or just enjoyed how happy it felt. Like all the darkness was receding and I could pretend that nothing had happened. It was unhealthy, I admit. But it was what I was doing. It helped me cope.
Eventually I figured that I would look into the actual band itself. I looked up the singers, learned which was which, and watched some videos of their shows and appearances outside of performances. They were all amusing but Taeyeon was the one that resonated the most with me. Reading about her training experiences was what got me. Reading about her and her father's constant treks to Seoul for training, reading about her running away from Seoul when she was struggling. Yet she came back. She kept persevering. Struggling, fighting against the long hours, the immense pressure that goes into a band, the dedication and the passion she put forward. And to see the rewards when she'd later become part of one of the most successful current bands in Korea. I'm not gonna re-link the things that Xenocide already linked but some of them were relevant.
I spent this time thinking to myself. She wasn't what I considered the prettiest girl in k-pop. nor was she the best singer, or the best dancer. But she still made it. She knew what she wanted, what she loved, and she fought for it with everything she had. It hit me. Hard. She can fight for what she loves, she can give it her all. She can put everything on the line, everything at risk in an attempt to chase her dream of becoming a singer. So what was I so depressed and whiny about? Sure, I'd lost a father, but I still had the brain I was born with, the skills I had worked up, and things I loved. Why was I wasting away and not fighting for them too? It was a wake-up call. The wake-up call that I needed. Everything my dad had given me was going to waste if I had kept letting myself wither away into nothingness like I was doing. So after some effort on my behalf, I dropped the drinking, dropped the weed, and dropped the largely negative attitude. I wasn't going to let myself become a waste. I couldn't. It wasn't too late to start again, turn over a new leaf and get my life back on track. Which is what I did. Eventually I transferred to a better uni, got into Design which is what I truly loved, and am on the way to getting my life back together.
All that aside though, she also felt very human. From her somewhat sheltered and quiet variety show appearances, to her mic dropping, accidental racist remarks etc. to her goofy acts, lip syncing etc. She made mistakes like any other idol would, any other singer would. She was still just a normal person after all that. I don't know how much of it is all a farce but she always seemed happy. That was the icing on the cake. She always seemed genuinely grateful for the support her fans give her, for the opportunities she's received, for the chances she was given. It stuck with me.
Now you could say that a lot of this is largely irrelevant when it comes to Taeyeon itself as every idol takes those risks, and trains those hours etc. But she was just the person that I noticed in my time of darkness. The most conveniently lined up one as I was struggling while she was reaping her rewards for her struggle. She was also just a year older than me so it helped me to connect. She is my postergirl for Never give up, Never surrender, the shining light in my life that helped guide me through a dark period, and one of my favourite idols.
Nowadays, SNSD are far from my favourite band (though my last.fm would be misleading). I only really listen to them to support Taeyeon as I've moved on to other artists and other idols. But you never forget your first celebrity obsession, nor the one that made the most impact on you. She isn't just the posters on my wall or the background on my computer. She is my comfort in dark times and probably always will be. She is a normal person. Just like me.
I wouldn't have bothered to write this up normally as I don't normally give up much personal information on the Internet or spam annoying posts about my favourite idols/songs going EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE etc. but because you asked, Lokk. This is why Taeyeon is my favourite.
Now I'll leave some of my more memorable Taeyeon moments/videos/pictures below.
Also: Not Taeyeon related but Standing Egg are rad as hell yo. They just linked this on their facebook. Old video but I haven't gotten through all of the videos on their youtube so w/e
Xenocide you summed up a lot of what I admire about Taeyeon. I adore her voice, her looks, and her personality.
This performance was one of the first things I saw when I first started listening to K-pop, and I was immediately drawn to Taeyeon, and through her, SNSD.
For me, Taeyeon has one of the purest voices I've heard. She does not have the crazy range and runs that others do, but the way she puts herself completely into her music is second to none, and the tone of her voice is pristine.
Her quirky personality is endearing. She says she has no cuteness, but we all know that is a lie, because her silliness is downright adorable.
Taeyeon's ahjumma laugh is legend. It is without a doubt one of the greatest sounds you can hear. Watching her laugh in person, right in front of me, was awesome. I can't help but laugh along with her.
Taeyeon loves her fans. It's something that SONEs just know, without any way to sufficiently explain it. Taeyeon crying at the New York fan meet when she was listening to stories of international SONEs staying up all night to watch SNSD is all the proof we need.
Basically, Taeyeon can do everything. She is an amazing singer, awesome radio DJ, incredible stage performer, and a one of a kind person. There is a reason why she is the most popular.
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/9uTJ68I.jpg)
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Let it rain!![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/d7Eb2.jpg)
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