Taeyeon’s “I Got Love” shows she can go mature & sensual, but is undermined by production

SNSD‘s Taeyeon has dropped “I Got Love,” which is her pre-release track for her upcoming first full solo album. In it, she drops the airy, poppy act and gets mature and sensual.

There was a lot to like in “I Got Love,” as Taeyeon sets the mood appropriately with her vocals. Despite the change to an edgier concept, sonically it’s still somewhat light with a dreamy feel to it despite the R&B influences. If nothing else, the way the verses were executed proved that she can handle this type of concept if she wants to revisit it in the future.

That said, the chorus almost lacks a melody and there’s no payoff for the sultry, slow-burning verses. I was actually digging this until the drop came, and from there I just ended up confused as to when I missed the chorus (thought the chorus was a pre-chorus) or if there ever was one. For me, this kind of song structure has to have a payoff, and the random horn section noises (yeah yeah, jazz and trap, I get it) weren’t exactly what I was looking for.

All in all, it was nice to see that Taeyeon could go this direction with her solo release if she wanted, but the production and structure let “I Got Love” down, and that was only confirmed to me on repeated listens.

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The music video is quite standard issue, but the production value is high, so it’s hard to complain.

I do wish they would lay off the blue contact lenses at times, because it just look unnatural in some of these shots.

As somebody who actually liked Taeyeon’s previous solo concepts and songs, I didn’t necessarily need the switch shown on “I Got Love,” but it was an interesting side to see nevertheless. The production seemed a bit experimental, and a pre-release effort seems like an ideal time to go for it. Unfortunately, it ended up being to the detriment of the overall effort put forth here, and I doubt I’ll be listening to this much after today.