I (Taeyeon EP)

In mid-2015, SM Entertainment announced that Taeyeon would release her first solo album later that year.{{Cite web |last=Kim |first=Won-gyeom |date=May 6, 2015 |title=소녀시대, 연말까지 달린다 |trans-title=SNSD runs until the end of the year |url=https://sports.donga.com/3/all/20150505/71081182/3 |access-date=2023-04-16 |website=Sports Donga |language=ko}} The album's title track, "I", features popular rapper Verbal Jint and includes lyrics written by Taeyeon. The album was released via digital music websites at midnight on October 7, the physical copies sold in the stores on same day.{{cite web|last1=Park|first1=Bo-ra|title=태연, 소녀시대 첫 솔로 데뷔 10월7일 음원 대공개|url=http://stoo.asiae.co.kr/news/naver_view.htm?idxno=2015093010333504753|website=Sports Today|publisher=stoo.com|access-date=October 7, 2015|archive-date=April 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415173337/http://stoo.asiae.co.kr/news/naver_view.htm?idxno=2015093010333504753|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last1=Kim|first1=Ji-ha|title=소녀시대 태연 솔로 앨범 '아이', 버벌진트 랩 피처링 참여|url=http://news.nate.com/view/20151001n12640?mid=n0107|website=Nate News|publisher=SK Communications|access-date=October 7, 2015}}

Due to her previous success recording ballads for Korean films and televisions, the public expected Taeyeon to promote the album with a ballad title track. The singer, however, chose a pop rock song and expressed that she wanted to "make [her] solo debut with good songs regardless of their genres." Discussing about her music styles for the album, Taeyeon noted that she purposely avoided "way over the top" songs, elaborating:{{cite web|title=Yu Huiyeol's Sketchbook 유희열의 스케치북: Taeyeon, Kim Johan, Winner (2016.03.04)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSOCsiLmQ3Y|website=Korean Broadcasting System on YouTube|publisher=Google Inc|access-date=May 1, 2016|format=Video upload|date=March 4, 2016}}

I tried not to be excessive. I tried to sing in more plain and light ways. I have to sing from the beginning to the end all by myself, so I should feel comfortable. So I didn't choose such reckless songs [flowery or high-pitched], and tried to avoid challenging, something too new.

Lee Su-ho from South Korean online magazine IZM described I as a pop rock album with a balladic production. Meanwhile, Chester Chin from Malaysian newspaper The Star noted elements of soft rock on the EP, a genre that is contrary to Girls' Generation's common bubblegum pop and electronic sound.

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = IZM{{cite web| url=http://www.izm.co.kr/contentRead.asp?idx=27186&bigcateidx=1&subcateidx=3&view_tp=1| title=Taeyeon – I: The 1st Mini Album Review| work=IZM| language=ko| date=October 2015| access-date=April 4, 2016}}

| rev1Score = {{rating|3.5|5}}

| rev2 = KpopStarz{{cite web| url=http://kpop.musictimes.com/articles/247394/20151009/taeyeon-i-girls-generation.htm| title=Album Review: Girls' Generation's TaeYeon Shows She Can Stand Alone On Impressive Debut Solo EP 'I' | first=Tamar| last=Herman| date=October 9, 2015| access-date=August 14, 2016}}

| rev2Score = Positive

| rev3 = The Star{{cite web| url=http://www.star2.com/entertainment/music/music-reviews/2015/10/26/review-i-by-taeyeon/| title=Review: 'I' by Taeyeon| work=The Star| location=Malaysia| publisher=Star Media Group| first=Chester| last=Chin| date=October 26, 2015| access-date=April 4, 2016| archive-date=June 23, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623165853/https://www.star2.com/entertainment/music/music-reviews/2015/10/26/review-i-by-taeyeon/| url-status=dead}}

| rev3Score = 7/10

}}

Upon its release, I received generally positive reviews from music critics. Lee Su-ho from South Korean online magazine IZM praised the EP's pop rock and balladic musical styles; they further hailed I for showcasing Taeyeon as a talented vocalist. Chester Chin from The Star labelled the album as "a collection of dynamic K-pop confections" with "refreshing" elements of soft rock as opposed to Girls' Generation's signature bubblegum and electronic sound. He further deemed it as "a reflection of Taeyeon’s strength as a vocalist."

I was a commercial success in the singer's native country South Korea. It debuted at number two on the Gaon Album Chart for the week ending October 10, 2015.{{cite web|title=Gaon Albums Chart – Week 42 of 2015 |url=http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/album.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=&targetTime=42&hitYear=2015&termGbn=week|publisher=Gaon Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart|language=ko|access-date=October 16, 2015}} The following week, its position on the chart dropped one position to number three.{{cite web| url=http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/album.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=&targetTime=43&hitYear=2015&termGbn=week| title=Gaon Albums Chart – Week 43 of 2015| publisher=Gaon Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart| language=ko| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304210451/http://www.gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/album.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=&targetTime=43&hitYear=2015&termGbn=week| archive-date=March 4, 2016}} The EP remained on the third position for a further week before dropping to number five on the chart issue dated October 25–31, 2015.{{cite web| url=http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/album.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=&targetTime=44&hitYear=2015&termGbn=week| title=Gaon Albums Chart – Week 44 of 2015| publisher=Gaon Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart| language=ko| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304212122/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/album.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=&targetTime=44&hitYear=2015&termGbn=week| archive-date=March 4, 2016}}{{cite web| url=http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/album.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=&targetTime=45&hitYear=2015&termGbn=week| title=Gaon Albums Chart – Week 45 of 2015| publisher=Gaon Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart| language=ko| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304140053/http://www.gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/album.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=&targetTime=45&hitYear=2015&termGbn=week| archive-date=March 4, 2016}} Despite only charting at number two on the weekly chart, I was the best-selling album on the Gaon Album Chart of October with 100,923 physical units sold,{{cite web|title=Gaon Albums Chart – October 2015|url=http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/album.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=&targetTime=10&hitYear=2015&termGbn=month|publisher=Gaon Music Chart|access-date=November 12, 2015}} and the fourteenth highest-selling album of November with an additional 10,098 copies sold.{{cite web| url=http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/album.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=&targetTime=11&hitYear=2015&termGbn=month| title=Gaon Albums Chart – November 2015| publisher=Gaon Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart| language=ko| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072406/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/album.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=&targetTime=11&hitYear=2015&termGbn=month| archive-date=March 4, 2016}} It became the sixteenth best-selling album of 2015 in South Korea, with sales figures standing at 119,576 copies.{{cite web| url=http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/album.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=&termGbn=year| title=Gaon Albums Chart: 2015 (Year-End)| publisher=Gaon Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart| language=ko| access-date=April 4, 2016}} According to the Korea Music Contents Industry Association, I was the main contributor which helped SM Entertainment top digital music sales in South Korea during the fourth quarter of 2015.{{cite news|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160307000831|title=S.M. Entertainment tops music sales in Q4|work=The Korea Herald|publisher=Herald Corporation|date=March 7, 2016|access-date=May 1, 2016}}

The EP entered the Billboard World Albums and Heatseeker charts at number one and five, respectively, selling 2,000 copies in the first two days of its release in the United States.{{cite magazine| url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/6721940/girls-generation-taeyeon-solo-i-world-heatseeker-albums| title=Girls' Generation's Taeyeon Is Its First Member to Go Solo & First to Hit No. 1: Check Out the Stunning 'I'| magazine=Billboard| publisher=Prometheus Global Media| date=October 14, 2015| first=Jeff| last=Benjamin| access-date=April 6, 2016}} Additionally, I charted at number twenty-one on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart.

Credits are adapted from Naver.{{cite web | url=http://music.naver.com/album/index.nhn?albumId=588293| title=I – The 1st Mini Album: Music| publisher=Naver. Naver Corporation| language=ko| access-date=October 7, 2015}}

{{Track listing

| headline = I

| extra_column = Arrangement

| title_width = 22%

| lyrics_width = 23%

| music_width = 30%

| extra_width = 25%

| title1 = I

| note1 = featuring Verbal Jint

| lyrics1 = {{hlist|Taeyeon|Mafly (Joombas)|Verbal Jint}}

| music1 = {{hlist|Myah Marie Langston|Bennett Armstrong|Justin T. Armstrong|Cosmopolitan Douglas|David "DQ" Quiñones|Jon Asher|Ryan S. Jhun}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|Myah Marie Langston|Bennett Armstrong|Justin T. Armstrong|Cosmopolitan Douglas|David "DQ" Quiñones|Jon Asher|Ryan S. Jhun}}

| length1 = 3:26

| title2 = U R

| note2 =

| lyrics2 = {{hlist|Jo Yoon-kyung}}

| music2 = {{hlist|Matthew Tishler|Robyn Newman|Ben Charles}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|Matthew Tishler|Robyn Newman|Ben Charles}}

| length2 = 4:34

| title3 = Gemini

| note3 = {{Korean|labels=no|hangul=쌍둥이자리|rr=Ssangdung-ijari}}

| lyrics3 = {{hlist|Baek Geum-min (Song Carat)|Lee Soo-jung (Song Carat)|Mafly (Joombas)}}

| music3 = {{hlist|LDN Noise|Carolyn Jordan|Alice Sophie Penrose}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|LDN Noise}}

| length3 = 3:41

| title4 = Stress

| note4 = {{Korean|labels=no|스트레스|rr=Seuteureseu}}

| lyrics4 = {{hlist|Mafly (Joombas)}}

| music4 = {{hlist|Hyuk Shin (Joombas)|Tiffany Evans|Marco "MRey" Reyes (Joombas)|DK (Joombas)}}

| extra4 = {{hlist|Joombas}}

| length4 = 3:21

| title5 = Farewell

| note5 = {{Korean|labels=no|먼저 말해줘|rr=Meonjeo Malhaejwo|lit=Tell Me First}}

| lyrics5 = {{hlist|Lee Joo-hyoung (MonoTree)}}

| music5 = {{hlist|Lee Joo-hyoung (MonoTree)|Chu Dae-kwan (MonoTree)}}

| extra5 = {{hlist|MonoTree}}

| length5 = 3:43

| title6 = I

| note6 = Instrumental

| music6 = {{hlist|Myah Marie Langston|Bennett Armstrong|Justin T. Armstrong|Cosmopolitan Douglas|David "DQ" Quiñones|Jon Asher|Ryan S. Jhun}}

| extra6 = {{hlist|Myah Marie Langston|Bennett Armstrong|Justin T. Armstrong|Cosmopolitan Douglas|David "DQ" Quiñones|Jon Asher|Ryan S. Jhun}}

| length6 = 3:24

| total_length = 22:09

}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Kim Tae-yeon}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:SM Entertainment EPs

Category:Korean-language EPs

Category:2015 debut EPs

Category:Pop rock EPs

Category:Taeyeon EPs