In 2008, she released two singles, "If" for the KBS 2TV drama "Hong Gil Dong" and "Can You Hear Me" for "Beethoven Virus" of MBC. The song "If" became popular in various charts online, with Hankyung describing Taeyeon as having "an exceptional voice and a sad tone". While "Can You Hear Me" received a popularity award at the 2008 Golden Disk Awards. In 2014 in an interview, Taeyeon described the latter's song as one more difficult to sing, she explains that the introduction had to be delivered as if someone is talking, instead of singing. In the same year, she also had a duet with an artist from S.M. Entertainment, Kangta, in the song "7989". It was featured on the "Girls' Generation" album by Girls' Generation.