Greatest Hits:: Taeyeon (Girls' Generation): INVU

 Last of the girl group submissions for the moment, then I get to move on to some of the boy groups, but it's not just boy groups. There's a co-ed submission in there, which is such a yay from me. I'm excited for that. But! I'm also very excited for this, because she is a second gen heavy weight, reigning champion of an artist. Award-winning. Best-selling. Chart topping. And that's just her as a soloist, that's not even counting the years before that as the leader of Girls' Generation, which is one of the most well-known groups to come out of K-Pop. I admire her a lot, as you can tell, and I also think she's really cool. And funny. I don't know if she's generally known for her humor, but I think she's hilarious. She's also fairly out-spoken which is something else that I admire about her, but the group turns eighteen this year. If anyone has earned the right to pass judgement on the industry, someone who has been as active as she has the last eighteen years would. 

I think, going forward and I'm going to retroactively do this for the other soloist that I did a Greatest Hits post for, that for the debut date, I'm going to put the soloist debut date, not the group debut date, for the following data bit. That feels more orderly and authentic since I'm not necessarily talking about the soloists in regards to the group and that way if I get submissions for soloists who are not part of groups, there's a consistency, but I will indicate in some way their group debut as well.

So. INVU. Album and song title. Starting with the album specifically, it was nominated for Album of the Year by Genie Music Awards, MAMA Awards, and Melon Music Awards, as well as being nominated for Best K-pop Album by Korean Music Awards. The song itself is in the key of B Minor with a BPM of 107, and for the record, I love songs in minor keys. INVU has the distinction of being her first triple-kill song, is certified platinum, and it got a total of eight music show wins (including a triple crown on Inkigayo). Like, this song is a certified beast. I am so excited this got submitted, even without any why (it's fine, that's optional for a reason, don't worry.) Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!

• Group: Girls' Generation
• Debut Date: 2015 October 07
• Company: SM Entertainment
• Status: Active
• Album: INVU
• Song: INVU
• Release Date: 2022 February 14

So, fun fact for anyone who cares, of the thirteen songs on this album, nine of them are in at least one of my playlists on Spotify. I didn't realize this until I was looking at the album and seeing all the green checks. 

So the song itself? Goodness, I vibe with it. I threw this thing into so many playlists. Remember how I mentioned how much I love minor keys? Insert keyboard smash here. It would be unprofessional to actually have a keyboard smash here, but know that there is one in spirit. INVU has a solidness to it that  makes me so happy, but there's such a depth and melancholy to the song that I get mixed feelings for it.

It's so satisfying. 

The quiet strength in the instrumentals that effortless flow and ebb like the tides, but it's nothing on her voice. There's a very good reason why she's got the street cred she has. Her low notes are just gorgeous, and they provide such a strong foundation and contrast for those siren-esque high notes she's got going on. I just want to bask in her voice. Cue the next keyboard smash. It's a hard-won voice she's got with that innate talent, but the razor sharp precision she's got with those notes is literally nothing short of awe-inspiring. This is the platinum standard.

And her visuals? Especially in this music video. Y'all. Like, obviously this is Greek mythology inspired, which would have been obvious even if that wasn't one of the things that the Powers That Be were talking about, but I'd hazard a guess that it's specifically Artemis and Orion inspired. The moon and archery are both symbols of Artemis, and both of them are strongly featured in the music video. Also, the pants and the boots are exactly what I'd imagine Artemis wearing. And the half-moon glasses are a nice touch, as are the absolute talons she's got going on. Goddess of the Hunt, indeed.

Genuinely half in love with the costuming, and not just for Taeyeon. The back-up dancers? Gorgeous. Fierce. Artemis's handmaidens reborn. Shout-out to them because they do an incredible job. There isn't a single outfit that any of them wear that is not absolutely perfect.

Masterpiece.

This is why she got the praise she did, pre-debut. No notes. No comments. She's incredible.

I think she only did the two comeback stages, this one and the one following. So, with the live vocals clip above this one, we got the strength of her vocals, that I would absolutely love to hear live and in person, and now we get the choreography. But first, that's an incredibly iconic intro. My word. Also, the "I envy you" move? Also iconic. It's so cool. As a side note, you know what this specific outfit looks like? Do you guys remember the Eragon movie? Arya's outfit? Tell me this isn't similar to the white version of that.

Taeyeon is so cool.

This one has a little bit of a different flavor. This is more like the modern incarnation of Artemis, but we've still got the moon to remind us of this and tie it all together. Her makeup is so on point, though. So fierce. So gorgeous. Genuinely don't know how you can watch this and not fall in love a little. Like, yowza.

And just because I can, here's the dance practice to finish this amazing song off. 

Thank you once again for whoever suggested this song!