Maps of Music

My Voice (2017)

Where the lyrics of My Voice take you, and where it was really made.

Taeyeon's debut full-length album sold 109,275 physical copies in its first week in Korea, and Fuse named it the only Korean release on its mid-2017 best-of list.

Key places

Recorded at SM Big Shot Studio, Seoul (2017)

Recording site Big Hit Studios, Seoul — My Voice was recorded at SM Big Shot Studio in Seoul. The pin uses city-center coordinates, so it marks Seoul rather than the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Private company studio, not open to visitors.

Album story

Overview

• My Voice: debut studio album by South Korean singer Taeyeon
• Released 28 February 2017 by SM Entertainment, distributed by KT Music
• Two physical editions with similar tracklists but separate covers and booklets
• Songs are based on Taeyeon's vocals and mix pop, pop rock, and PBR&B
• Title track and lead single "Fine" released the same day as the album

Background

• Taeyeon debuted as a soloist in October 2015 with the EPs I and Why
• Rose to prominence and established herself as the country's most popular individual celebrity of 2016
• On 14 February 2017 SM Entertainment announced the first full-length album for late February
• Promotional photos and a trailer for the "I Got Love" music video were released the next day
• Title My Voice and title track "Fine" revealed on 20 February 2017
• Music video for "I Got Love" released on 18 February 2017 as a promotional tool

Recording

• Recording location listed as SM Big Shot Studio, Seoul
• Digital edition contains 12 songs
• Physical release adds a 13th track, a cover of Nell's "Time Spent Walking Through Memories"
• Taeyeon performed "Fine" on Music Bank, Show! Music Core, and Inkigayo from 3 to 5 March 2017

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Kim Tae-yeon, known as Taeyeon, was born March 9, 1989 in Jeonju, South Korea.
• She won first place at the SM Youth Best Competition in 2004 and signed with SM Entertainment.
• She debuted as a member of Girls' Generation in August 2007.

Members

• Taeyeon has been a member of Girls' Generation, Girls' Generation-TTS, SM the Ballad, Girls' Generation-Oh!GG, and the supergroup Got the Beat.

Career

• Her solo debut EP I (2015) peaked at number two on the Gaon Album Chart, and its title track reached number one on the Gaon Digital Chart.
• She released her debut studio album My Voice in 2017 and her second studio album Purpose in 2019.
• Her third studio album INVU (2022) included the number-one title single.
• She debuted in Japan with the digital single Stay in 2018.
• Her soundtrack work includes If for Hong Gil-dong and All About You for Hotel del Luna.
• She has sold over one million physical albums and twenty million digital singles as of 2021.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The Star's Chester Chin praised Taeyeon's "impressive" vocal performance and called her the star of the show
• Chin saw the mixed genres as a lack of cohesiveness but still argued My Voice was a "monumental record"
• IZM critic Hyun Min-young admired the Westernized, experimental styles and the vocals
• Hyun Min-young criticized the songwriting, saying the overseas producers' music did not fit the lyrics

Reappraisal

• Billboard ranked My Voice at number 15 on its 20 Best K-pop Albums of 2017 list
• Billboard praised the reflective, nostalgia-tinged pop album that explores the singer's voice across genres
• Fuse listed it at number 17 on its 20 Best Albums of 2017 So Far, published on 27 June

Records

• Debuted atop the Gaon Album Chart in South Korea
• First-week sales of 109,275 physical copies
• Third best-selling album of February 2017 in South Korea
• Pre-order sales exceeded 114,000 physical copies
• Over 142,894 units sold in South Korea as of April 2017
• Debuted at number 39 on the Oricon Albums Chart in Japan, with over 5,000 copies sold by April 2017
• Debuted at number two on Billboard World Albums
• Charted at number 19 on the Top Heatseekers

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Fuse's list of the 20 best albums of 2017 so far put My Voice at number 17, and it was the only Korean release on the list.
• Billboard ranked My Voice at number 15 on its 20 Best K-pop Albums of 2017 list.
• The digital edition has 12 songs, while the physical release has 13 tracks.
• The album debuted at number two on Billboard World Albums, Taeyeon's second number-two entry on that chart after Why.
• Pre-order sales exceeded 114,000 physical copies, a record for a female soloist's highest pre-order album sales.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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