Vocal Range

F#2 ~ D6 (3 octaves and 4 notes)

Supported Range

E3 ~ G#4/A4

E3 ~ F#5 (with head voice)

Voice Type

Tenor

Strengths/Achievements

• Strongest vocalist amongst JYJ/TVXQ! members
• Very consistent with his placement and resonance up until A4
• Well developed control of dynamics and breath support
• Able to support his chest down to E3 and Eb3 at times
• Consistent vocal ability from debut until present time in terms of range and resonance
• Shown improvement in his lower register from debut until now
• Good blending and harmony skills as a member of TVXQ! and JYJ
• Good tone production and intonation most of the time
• Able to keep an opened and well placed sound in his head voice up until F#5
• Smooth transitions and runs at times

Points for Improvement

• Notes below Eb3 generally turn into puffs of air
• At times within his supported his range, his throat may close during resonant notes
• May use a larynx vibrato and jaw vibrato, which create tension and minimize his resonance
• Narrow range overall in terms of support and projection
• Not able to control his mix very well in terms of balance between chest and head, keeping his voice from going much higher than B4, peaking at C#5 at most
• At times may be throaty on his belts and falsettos
• Notes above F#5 start to become overly breathy and lose true cord connection
• Connection and transitions between falsetto and mix are slightly sloppy
• Runs lack in terms of note separation
• Larynx raises above A4

Registers

• Lower register: very underdeveloped lower register overall. One of the weakest amongst male k-pop vocalists, he generally lets his voice turn into an airy tone below E3 and will lose placement, volume and cord connection easily.
• Mixed register: Resonant and consistent in terms of control and placement. Notes on A4 and below are generally supported and almost always resonant, only occasionally going off on certain vowel sounds like “Ee (이)” and “Eu (으)”. His mix isn’t very well balanced in terms of chest and head voice, keeping his voice from being able to fully extend much higher than A4.
• Upper register: quite developed register, not a very smooth register when switched into from the mix in its lowest parts, but decently connected and present up until F#5. Above F#5, however, cord connection is generally lost and throatiness may occur.

Agility

Junsu’s voice possesses a very light quality to it, it makes it very flexible and retains a youthful tone. He’s able to add occasional ornamentations to his song performances and transitioning well between phrases and runs, however so his runs tend to show more note separation and pitch accuracy in his falsetto than in his mix, where his runs tend to be less clean but still connected enough. He’s able to do mid to slow speed runs with decent connection and note separation most of the time, only occasionally showing a lack of precision or sounding sloppy.

Overall analysis

One of the most famous vocalists in Korea and in the idol industry, Junsu possesses one of the most likable tones in K-Pop according to fans and non-fans alike. His tone is one that’s generally very youthful and light in timbre, retaining a boyish quality however still due to his mix being more chest-dominant than head-dominant or balanced, he’s able to show more of a huskier fuller tone in his voice. He’s been recognized as one of the best vocalists amongst idols in Korea, although not having impeccable vocal technique, he’s quite skilled as a vocalist, actor and performer on stage and is able to engage with his audience well, truly performing songs.

His lowest range is very underdeveloped and under explored. Notes below E3 will lack complete vocal tone, will suddenly drop in volume and lose cord connection, becoming very airy and unsupported. Although he’s able to sing down to A2, as he’s done in his cover of “그남자”, and more recently F#2 in 2019, he’s incapable of truly projecting any note that low and generally stays in a slightly higher range. However so at times he may become too airy for effect and as most male songs do go down to at least D3 at times, he tends to lose volume too easily. He has nonetheless improved in this aspect, as he’s been able to show from debut an improvement in tone production from notes around F#3, F3 and E3.

His mixed register is one of the most consistent amongst male K-pop vocalists, where he shows resonance almost always within his supported range. His mix is generally more chest dominant and will almost always retain a chestier quality, unless he plays with dynamics to make it softer. He is able to control and consistently support his range up until A4, a note where ti seems his voice peeks in terms of where he can shine and project the best. He’s always been quite consistent with his placement even as early in their career, in performances such as “포옹 (Hug)” and “Tonight”, where he hits G#4’s, G4’s and A4’s consistently with support and resonance. His range improved from debut slightly from G#4 to A4 and has pretty much stayed that way.

The disadvantage of his mix however is that he is unable to truly find a balance in terms of where he adds more or less chest voice, not allowing for his range to truly extend  much above A4 and letting his larynx raise. On notes such as Bb4’s and B4’s, his voice loses color, support and shows a clear sign of strain. He has occasionally produced more well placed notes above A4 on a couple of Bb4’s, such as the ones in “Butterfly.” However so, Junsu is not one to try and sing in a range he isn’t comfortable in, showing a better understanding of his instrument than most. He also may at times close his throat even in resonant notes or in notes within his supported range due to certain vowels or excessive tension in his throat. Vowels such as “Ee (이)” and “Eu (으)” generally show a lack of consistency in keeping the throat opened and relaxed, causing occasional strains even within his supported range.

His falsetto register isn’t exactly the most supported, however so he is able to at times keep a very clean and relaxed sound in his falsetto, also consistently being able to produce a true head voice, although not always due to excessive air and lack of connection between his vocal cords. He’s been able to stay relaxed and shown enough cord connection, with control and agility in his head voice up until F5, like in “W”, however not being able to sing much higher than that with a connected sound. Notes such as his G5 in “Tarantallegra” a show a lack of true placement and connection in his vocal cords, with a slight push of air and strain caused by the air irritating the vocal cords. He is also unable to switch smoothly into his falsetto consistently within a low range but can feel more at ease in his upper extension. The highest extreme for Junsu was his D6 during a high note battle amongst TVXQ! members, even though he was able to squeak out a few notes higher, the last really sung note he was able to produce, even if straining, was a D6.

Overall Junsu is a vocalist who’s able to show a clear understanding of dynamics within his supported range, that although limited, is enough to deliver the music he chooses and is given to sing. He has the tendency to at times use a throaty or jaw vibrato, creating tension in his voice. Another weakness is the fact that his mix is so chesty, that due to that, it may tire out his vocal cords in the long run. Due to the excessive pressure done by using a chest-dominant mix, Junsu’s vocal performances show a limited amount of dynamic and textures.

Musically he’s able to show a good understanding of how to delivery music through different onsets and dynamics, however so due to how limited his mixing is and his range is, there’s only really so much he’s able to show with his vocal ability. The areas where Junsu would need to work on as a vocalist would be developing his unexplored lower register and creating a fuller sound down to his lowest extremes, and easing more head into his mix to create a fuller, cleaner and more balanced sound.

Junsu is one of Korea’s most loved vocalists. As a vocalist, his vocal technique may not be as advanced yet, but as a singer he’s able to perform well with good interpretation skills due to his acting and comfortability on stage. He may not have perfect technique, but he’s still an all around entertainer who exceeds in dancing, compositional and vocal skills. If he were to further develop his instrument, due to his ability to engage the audience with his singing, he would certainly become one of the best idol vocalists. However so at this point, there are quite a few areas where his voice falls short in vocal skill and needs considerable amounts of work for him to really be able to control everything his voice has the potential to do.

Musicianship

Junsu does not show a great deal of musical changes in his covers or song deliveries, generally sticking to the original script/score and retaining more of a dynamic change if anything. He occasionally will slightly change the rhythm or melody of a song, but won’t be too much of a significant difference, making him a safe vocalist, not trying to over-sing or do what he isn’t capable of vocally.

Label (Type of Vocalist)

HV Vocalists: High Head Voice Vocalists

MB Vocalists: Mid-Range Belters

Vocal Range Video(s)

Video by: amir goutal

video by: Suji Mun

video by: Edgar Cárdenas

Not a vocal range video, but A4’s compilation.

video by: Suji Mun

Best Vocal Performance(s)

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Re-Analyzed by Ahmin (Kitsunemale)
(Originally analyzed by Chung)