Taeyeon Talks About Rookie Days, Music Shows, GOT the Beat, SVT’s Seungkwan, and More

Taeyeon was the first guest of Donghae and Eunhyuk’s brand new YouTube show ‘Wanna Come Here?’.

They started the show by catching up and speaking about their earlier days in SM Entertainment as trainees and eventually members of two of the agency’s most successful groups, Super Junior and Girls’ Generation.

D&E asked Taeyeon about the people she currently hangs out with. The singer shared that she didn’t have many friends, although she sees SHINee’s Key once every two weeks. She also shared that, if given the chance, she would like to be friends with 4th generation girl group NewJeans.

While further discussing their friendships spanning 19 years for Super Junior and 17 years for Girls Generation members, Taeyeon mentioned that things are different for idols today. She confessed that she hasn’t even met SM Entertainment’s rookie idol group RIIZE, not even once, but she would love to have a chance to have a conversation with them.

The hosts took the chance to ask Taeyeon about her most recent album, ‘To.X’. She shared that while many people gave her positive reactions, she didn’t perform the song on music shows. “The system of music programs… I don’t like it,” she said.

She continued, “It’s not like I don’t understand it. The fact that I should sing at midnight. It’s a bit… I think there’s no consideration."

Eunhyuk mentioned that these are things that can’t be helped. Other considerations such as budget, environment, and having to record many artists’ performances leave them with little to no choice.

“The fact that I can’t show a better performance, I thought that’s a shame. I wanted to make other content and show better performances,” Taeyeon explains.

D&E and Taeyeon spoke further about their younger days and how they had to follow everything that SM Entertainment wanted them to do. They even joked about SM gaslighting them but were still grateful to the agency for making decisions that eventually turned out great for their careers.

They also spoke about how Girls’ Generation was the first group to add a photocard to their album.

“Now, it’s a photocard hell,” Eunhyuk said.

“There are so many various photocards these days,” Taeyeon added. “I opened an album, and things were falling.”

Taeyeon shared her process for coming up with good photocards, “I try to take selfies often. When I’m taking photos for the album cover or when (I’m shooting) music videos.” She said she saves them in a photocard album and sends it to the company.

Donghae joked about looking up ‘idol selfie’ on Google when it gets too tough, “There’s a wide range of selfies. We are lacking ideas!”

The second-generation idols also looked back at how they promoted their songs in the past and how their stylists would have to come up with 60 outfits weekly for their public appearances.

Taeyeon shared that the Girls’ Generation group chat remains active to this day and members constantly keep in touch with each other.

She was asked if GOT the beat also has a group chat, and she said yes, but they do not actively chat with each other.

When asked about the supergroup’s upcoming plans, Taeyeon said, “I’m not optimistic about that.”

She said that she doubts the group would be coming back, but she had so much fun with GOT the Beat members, “I’ve never imagined I would be working with BoA. I couldn’t imagine being in the same room with BoA.”

Earlier in the interview, Taeyeon said that BoA is one of the reasons she joined SM Entertainment. She admired the singer since she was very young.

“It was a mind-blowing experience. It was my first time working with other people beside Girls’ Generation members. I had so much fun,” she added.

Taeyeon further shared her experience working with other GOT the beat members, “If I were aespa, I would have been very shy surrounded by seniors. But rather, they were the ones who lighten the mood! They are so outgoing and personable.” she said.

Although Taeyeon earlier said she is not optimistic about a GOT the beat comeback soon, she clarified that the plans are just “frozen.” There’s a possibility that they will be “defrosted” at any time.

Further down the interview, Taeyeon how she feels about those who cover her songs. “My songs are not easy to cover. I am impressed by their efforts, she said. “I also struggle with my own songs. I’m impressed when they master the song in their own unique ways.”

She mentioned that it was SEVENTEEN’s Seungkwan whose cover impressed her the most. “He covered the song ‘Drawing Our Moments,’ which is bombarded with high notes. It’s brutal,” she said. “Despite all the challenges, he covered that song. He tagged me and sent it over to me. It seared into my memory, and I am very grateful for it.”

The show ended with a short preview of the show’s next guest, NCT’s Ten. Fans can watch out for a new episode every Friday at 6:15 PM KST on the DNE comment “Hey, Come here” YouTube channel.