15&’s Vocal Analysis: Baek YeRin [Newly updated]

0. MA Vocalists: Melismatic/Agile Vocalists, 0. MB Vocalists: Mid-range belters, 0. S vocalists: Stylistic vocalists, Companies: JYP Entertainment, Groups, Sopranos, Vocal Analyses, Vocal Ranges: 2 Octave Ranges, , , , , ,

Vocal Range

E3 ~ Bb5 (2 octaves and 3 notes)

Supported Range

B3 ~ D5/Eb5

Voice Type

Soprano

Strengths/Achievements

  • Resonance up to C5/C#5 frequently
  • Adequate support is carried up to D5/Eb5
  • Decent agility with runs being mostly accurate with decent separation in between pitches
  • Good intonation is kept within her supported range, rarely goes off
  • Though excessively airy, her falsetto is normally relaxed and not tight in the throat even on A5
  • Knows her voice well enough to know that her lower register is underdeveloped, so she rarely uses it
  • Has enough musicianship to make songs her own

Points for Improvement

  • Most underdeveloped lower register in KPOP, her lower register really is pure air. The melodic line of “I Dream” had to be used to identify her E3 because it was that airy
  • Though relaxed up to A5 her falsetto, like her lower register is extremely airy, though not as bad as her lower register.
  • Before she debuted her chest voice had less air
  • Follows JYP’s “Half Air Half Sound” technique which is probably why her lower register, falsetto, and chest voice are airy.
  • Only developed register she has is her middle register
  • Can be slightly nasal at times
  • Though her mix register is fairly developed, notes above Eb5 present a lot of tension and lack proper tonality
  • Wobbly vibrato at times causing her to sound unstable
  • Uneven breathing

Registers

  • Lower register: The most underdeveloped lower register in KPOP. Below B3 her voice is simply isn’t supported at all. The best way to describe her lower register really is ‘pure-air’ because that really is what it is. Her lower register lacks so much tone that the actual melodic line of the song she is singing has to be used to identify low notes.
  • Mixed register: Her most developed and solid register. Solid support up to Eb5 and resonance up to C5/C#. Though her mixed register is developed resonance is only carried up to C5/C#5, but not up D5/Eb5 this is mainly because her throat isn’t as opened or relaxed as it is in the C5/C#5 area. It is unknown how well she does on E5 as she has never done an E5 live nor in studio, but she has demonstrated notes in the F5-G#5 range. In the F5-G#5 range YeRin’s voice becomes small and pushed, in her cover of Ariana Grande’s “Problem” her G#5 is quite literally a squeak; it was very squeezed and pushed out of her throat.
  • Upper register: Though relaxed up to A5 it doesn’t change the fact that it is excessively airy. Her falsetto almost mirrors her lower register in terms of production; airy. However she has more control and vocal cord connection at least up to F#5, above that her falsetto really is airy and lacks vocal cord connection. Even though her falsetto is airy, transitions done into it aren’t bad, there aren’t any true breaks but the connection in the vocal cords in her falsetto still isn’t there. Surprisingly, she has enough control in her falsetto to actually be able to pull off decent vocal runs within it. Though obvious, she has not shown true head voice unlike JiMin.

Agility

Considering her age YeRin has surprisingly good agility especially compared to older idols. Her runs tend to be done with mostly accurate intonation, meaning she has good control over what she is doing and knows pretty much where every note is going and where it sits within her voice, which is key to a good vocal run. There is also good separation between the pitches in her runs, which means her runs have flow and they aren’t overly slow. She also maintains a good speed throughout her runs. For demonstration of her runs check her performance of “Love”.

Overall analysis

Even though YeRin is only 17,  she has a great understanding of music and of her own voice. She also has a better mix and more agility than many of her seniors and the so called “Vocal Goddesses and Gods” of K-POP. That being said I am greatly sad that she and JiMin were exposed to the ‘Half air, Half sound’ technique. Whereas JiMin has thoroughly ignored the bogus technique, YeRin has actually applied the technique to her singing, because of this YeRin, in the chest voice, falsetto, and lower register, is excessively airy. Fortunately though, her middle register has been left untouched by this bogus technique. The reason why the ‘Half air, Half sound’ technique is bogus is because it teaches the vocalist that airy and breathy vocals are OK when it is not. Airy and Breathy vocals prevent true desirable tonality to be achieved because the vocal cords are not fully coming into contact with each other, as well as it can also leading to vocal damage, which may result in vocal nodules.

In the past, YeRin’s chest voice had much more solidity and weight to it, meaning more vocal cord connection in that area, however after being taught JYP’s ‘Half air, half sound’ the fullness and connection of the vocal cords in her chest voice disappeared and was replaced with an airy tone. Even as a child YeRin had pretty solid technique in the middle register resonating B4s at the age of 10 in her performance of Beyonce’s ‘Listen’ for her JYP audition and on Star King. Comparing her lower register from when she was younger and now, it hasn’t improved much, if at all. It is just as airy and unsupported as it was 7-8 years ago but she was more confident in using it hitting F#3s in her “Listen” cover.

YeRin’s greatest strength lies within her middle voice which is fairly well trained and developed. YeRin supports herself up to Eb5 and up to resonates C5/C#5 often.  Though she is resonant up to C5/C#5, her resonance is not very large because she does not manipulate her vocal tract to its fullest potential or isn’t 100% relaxed. She isn’t resonant up to her highest supported note because she isn’t 100% relaxed in her throat. Outside of her supported range in the middle she becomes very weak with notes outside of it, being very pushed, squeaked and strained, making her voice sound extremely small. This has been demonstrated especially in her cover of “Problem” by Ariana Grande where she pretty much squeaked the F#5 and G#5. It has been stated that her supported range goes up to Eb5, but it is unknown how she does on E5 because she has yet to do one live or in studio. There are also times that her vibrato is wobbly making her sound unstable.

Another strength of YeRin’s would be a generally relaxed falsetto even a semitone away from her highest note. Though airy, she is still able to keep a fairly relaxed falsetto up to A5. She has demonstrated this many times while preforming “Sugar”. She’s also able to do pitch accurate and decently spaced out runs in her falsetto. Switching into falsetto seems to not be a problem for her as no noticeable breaks are apparent when she does so.

Her lower register needs the most care into further development. Her voice only has true tonality down to B3/C4 which, for a Soprano voice, is nothing since those aren’t even really classified as low notes for them. Her cord connection in the lower register is pretty much nonexistent, there is almost no sound down there at all. The only time she has any type of sound in the lower register is when she lower larynx to create an artificial “big” sound and a lowered larynx low note is just as bad as an airy one; both are unsupported. Judging from some of the songs she has sung, YeRin knows she has a bad lower register or at least knows she is uncomfortable down there. It is a good thing that she knows that she isn’t very skilled down there, but she doesn’t try to improve on her fault, which defeats the point of you knowing you have a fault. She would easily be a Competent or a Competent to Good vocalist if her lower register were to improve to at least an average level or her falsetto were to get more cord connection.

Musicianship

Very good musicianship. One of her influences is Whitney Houston, who was known for a immense amount musicianship, so it was almost a given she would have musicianship. Her style is heavily set in R&B; she loves doing fast runs and quick triplets majority of them being very well executed with proper tonality, separation and accuracy. She tends to change the keys and melodies of songs to suit her voice and style. While preforming Beyonce’s “Halo” she changed the C#3 to an A3. She also changed the low notes of other songs on various occasions. She also ha a very great ear for harmony as she frequently harmonizes with JiMin.

Label (Type of Vocalist)

MB Vocalists: Mid-Range Belters

MA Vocalists: Melismatic/Agile Vocalists

S vocalists: Stylistic Vocalists

Vocal Range Video(s)

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Analysis done by: pandayeu

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85 thoughts on “15&’s Vocal Analysis: Baek YeRin [Newly updated]”

  1. gosh finally a new updated analysis ><
    and finally another Above Average to Competent Vocalist in this website yeay! thank you for this 😉 btw, I think Jimin is better than her overall right? but in what area is Yerin better than Jimin?

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    2. JiMin in actually just about everywhere really. Her lower register isn’t completely air and actually has tone down to Eb3, though she is quite..and she also has a head voice. Now, the middle is tricky YeRin and JiMin BOTH resonate the same notes the Bb4-C#5 range, YeRin supports higher BUT at the same time JiMin’s resonance is much larger than YeRin’s. So, in the middle they are tied to me, but everywhere else JiMin is better. Overall JiMin is better. JiMin is pretty much a competent vocalist.

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  2. What is with this technique : “Half air, half sound” ? I mean, it is really annoying to my ears and I don’t understand why JYP makes his idols do that…
    I always wanted to ask if JYP was a good vocalist, because to me, he always seems to talk big like he knew everything about vocal technique (like in Kpop star, when he said to a girl she had a good support while she was obviously straining) but he’s just average to above average.

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    1. I don’t believe he is good at all, but I’m not too familiar with him. He strains from what I know and has a pretty small voice, without much projection or generally just not really impressive.

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    1. The highest note is E5. Her vocal range from what I know is C#3 ~ F#5, her highest belt/mixed note is E5. I may do her in a more distant future, I have other people I’m going to analyze first, sorry >_<

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  6. I like discussion and whatnot..but seriously why are there questions not about YeRin or JiMin on this analysis. If you guys want to recommend future analysis PLEASE go to that page. I updated/made this analysis so that it would encourage discussion about YeRin and 15&. Please keep it that way.

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  7. I always thought JYP artists were the ones with the most developped musicianship abilities in the BIG 3. Am I right ?

    However, It’s so irritating that “Half air, Half sound” technique that they are all taught… It fucks up their voice and vocal level

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    1. Idk bout most musicianship, I mean it’s not the impression I got from listening to Wonder Girls or 2PM, but these girls do have a lot of it.

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  9. I love her! I was just listening to her Run to you cover and it’s one of the best covers of that song I seen! So anyway can you take a listen at me here, http://www.smule.com/p/276838499_91534759. I have my doubts, I don’t think I’m good at all. I just want to know the truth to my voice! I think I might be a full soprano because I kind of sounded full there. I don’t care what you say just tell me how I did. Thank you!

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    1. Sorry, I messed up in the beginning and a little at the end. I’m not a trained singer and I’m so embarrassed about sharing this but I’m facing my fear!

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      1. Haha don’t worry, I commend you for your bravery and please keep working and showing confidence! ^ ^ The two problems I hear are 1. The low notes that sound a bit cloudy and with a questionable larynx position and 2. Pitch. Pitch is something you must work on, majorly. You, for the most part, barely sang the correct key and notes for the song, so when trying to sing this song or any other song, make sure you have the melody down and that you can hear the correct notes, intervals and overall musicality of the song. ^ ^

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  10. Thanks Ahmin! Yes those things I need to work on… I feel like I try to sing the right key for me instead of the actual key which is bad. Yeah, I’m trying to learn my low notes but I’m still young I have a lot more years to go.

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    1. I’m not familiar enough with him yet and he has just debuted, so there isn’t much to say about him due to the lack of material.

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    1. She NEEDS to stop teasing us and give us some full covers LOOL. These Insta videos contain a lot more high belts and lower notes…I really should have paid more attention to this LOL when making her range video. She has such a beautiful voice ugh. An opinion on her problem cover? Her F#5 and G#5 were VERY strained. She pulls up WAYY too much chest when going higher. She thinks heavier instead of lighter and brighter.

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      1. ohh,, thank you for you reply. I agree with you, Yerin must stop teasing us. her cover is really need full version. btw i really thinks you’re analysis is great and accurate. I’m yerin stan and i love your analysis 😀

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  14. I like what you said about Yerin’s musicianship. She’s very aware of her shortcomings (Jimin too actually) Yerin’s actually said on a radio show that she knows she doesn’t have the lower notes down. That’s what I like about her 🙂

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  15. Her voice is so beautiful and I was surprised when I first watched her “Run to You” cover! She looks so mature and, actually, she’s been growing up so fast! However, I think she lost something when she was 10… if you notice on videos from her debut with 15&, she’s more restrained. I think this restrain can have an affect on her performances like during “Problem”. Well, I’m just supposing because you can see she has a lot more to offer from her Instagram videos! But, at the same time, I think she’s working on it as you can see when she hosts a show, like Music Access as she looks more comfortable. The sad thing is that, as you said, she’s using that technique and I think JYP artists won’t stop doing this, will they? Is it possible to an artist who’s been using this technique for years stop this gradually? Anyway, thank you for the post!

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  17. admin have you see this video.. it’s 2014 videos of her singing on opening of baseball match(?) i think. what do you think about this videos? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhs_mTX807M
    and i want to know your opinion about this too, cause i think yerin vocal is improving. the way she singing now and what she doing before is a little bit different, it’s new videos of her, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c1JC7EwWqM , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF8cJOw89VY , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dExjyEY5kc0 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwRgwDNj_-g , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbxBx1liqkg&feature=youtu.be , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjcIJM5vdAA&feature=youtu.be , what do you think?

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  20. Who do you think did better singing ‘love’ 15&’s yerin or lee hi ? How do you think they differ from one another , what was their strengths when singing the song ? Hope you”ll understand my question ^^ I love both of their voices but personally i think yerin did better !
    leehi singing

    yerin singing

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    1. Yerin from a technical stand point Yerin did better than Lee Hi they both took very different approaches to song. Yerin decided to be more RnB with it and did many runs whereas Lee Hi took a more ballad-esque approach.

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  22. my biggest kpop wish is for yerin to develop a head voice or any semblance of a lower register tbh. i feel like those two things hold her back so much

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  23. I’ve spent an afternoon reading this website, and it’s been very informative. I do want to say something though. Vocal techniques in the overall context of a song, really isn’t nearly as important as some “vocal purists” think. There is so much more to why a song is good or not. The musicality, the style, the production, the lyrics, are all extremely important. In fact, I would pick a song that has great composition, arrangement, and production, but with just average vocals, over any song that has impeccable vocal technique but really uninteresting and predictable songwriting and production.

    When I read the vocal analysis of all the highly rated vocalists, I noticed that just about all of them were singers whose songs I never cared for, and all that vocal technique couldn’t persuade me to listen to their songs. In contrast, the vocalists who aren’t as accomplished actually have far more interesting and appealing songs (such as IU, for example). YeRin is another great example. Her EP “Frank” was absolutely stunning. Her songwriting and singing had such a soulful musicality and style, and those qualities are far, far, more important to me. In comparison, the most accomplished classical opera singers bore me to tears because there’s almost nothing relatable in their singing. Perfection is perhaps the most boring sound there is, because it has no relatable characteristics. Some of the most beloved singers in history barely have any vocal range or technique, yet their singing voices are so distinct, expressive, and appealing.

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    1. Well of course I would not disagree because if we’re talking about music, song preferences and music we listen to, nobody truly listens to music because the vocalist is great. I don’t personally listen to music by great vocalists just because they’re great, I listen to a song because I like the song, regardless of how well the vocalist sings. If the vocalist can deliver vocally, then I’ll most likely enjoy the song a lot more though.

      The thing is that none of these vocalists are truly perfect and I don’t believe “perfection” is reason for boredom, because all these vocalists can “dirt up” their vocals if they want to and need to and sing with more musicality and style, perhaps it’s not your cup of tea but that’s the beauty of it all. It’s just taste, we’re here to educate, create awareness of vocal health and compliment vocalists who have worked hard to improve their singing throughout the years and give them the credit they deserve but a high rating doesn’t mean that you should listen to the vocalist and like their music, that’s up to you. Just give them the recognition they deserve and worry for the vocal health of those who use damaging technique, that’s all. Also Yerin’s rating isn’t low at all either, she’s quite a skilled vocalist.

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  24. Was the lowest note in this a G3? I was trying really hard to hear any improvement because this cover made me happy lol. But her lower register sounds pretty much the same.

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  25. Here I am again on the Yerin analysis lol.
    So, I stumbled on a video of Yerin on Star King when she was a kid, and she performed Listen.

    I’m not wondering how she did, because I know you guys don’t analyze children (and rightfully so), but I was wondering if attempting a song like that at such a young age could be vocally damaging? Or is it necessary for vocal technique development?

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  27. Hello, this is a rather odd question but do you know how to explain “vocal colours”? Ah, how to explain what I mean.. For example Yerin and also Jungkook (despite his weak technical skills) have voices which I love to listen to because they sound unique and soothing to me. I also like how they capture the right emotions but that’s beside the point haha

    Now I was wondering how it comes to be that we all have different singing tones/”colours” even when hitting the same note?

    Does it have something to do with the way our vocal cords work, similar to how we all have different speaking voices although I must admit that I don’t understand that either? Sorry if this is confusing ^^

    (It also interests me how it can be that some people may find a voice beautiful while another may dislike that particular voice a lot but I guess that’s something I should research in depth myself ~ I wonder if it’s a similar mechanism to just plainly being attracted to somebody else but e.g liking another person’s smell has to do with both biological and psychological factors hmm but again I can’t expect you to answer this >-<)

    Well, besides that I wanted to say thank you for your hard work because I may be an untrained listener who pays more attention to the style, "colour" and emotion/delivery but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate the technical sides to the art of singing and your in depth analyses do help to educate me quite a lot + these must take quite some time 🙂

    I'm also apologising for rambling this much but I really am curious ~ please have a great day!

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    1. It is all about preference. We all sound different because we are in fact different. Someone’s vocal tone/other is the product of their own physiology and it is unique to every person.

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  28. i read your analysis and realize that you use “glottal tension ” so much which drives me curious. What does it exactly mean? for example : signal, expression,reason, etc

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    1. Glottal tension usually just means there’s probably some sort of tension in the back of the throat, around the epiglottis, the back of the tongue and the upper part of the throat, where they close with the swallowing muscles, as if you were actually swallowing something while singing.

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  29. sorry for commenting so much lately, but i had a question about yerin. i think you guys have said before that yerin is one of the best idols in terms of vocal runs (along with kyungsoo) and that her cover of love is a good demonstration of her use of melisma, but when i listened to that cover, i feel like i didn’t hear anything that spectacular? she wasn’t really doing anything hyorin or ailee can’t do (her runs there were maybe a bit cleaner than hyorin’s in her cover, but it wasn’t like a massive difference i feel like?), so i was wondering if you guys can think of any other examples? i like her voice a lot, and i just wanna hear what she’s really capable of in terms of melisma (this isn’t supposed to be an anti-yerin comment at all haha)

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    1. I mean what we mean is that her separation and rhythmic bounce is so much more articulate and accurate than the rest. Hyorin does not have the precision she has, nor the separation. Ailee has the separation, but not the flexibility. Ailee’s runs are relatively accurate, but she lacks smoothness because she’s so heavy in her approach, so she can be a bit laggy run wise. Yerin just has the smoothest runs. I didn’t analyze her myself, so I can’t give you a very intricate example of her doing runs like Tori Kelly, she never seemed to me to have the same level of agility as Tori Kelly either. I’m sorry I don’t know.

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  30. Hello I was wondering if yerins technique got breathier or is it just about the same as it used to be when she was still in 15&

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    1. A bit of a late answer and I’m also not too sure, but I believe her technique is pretty much the same as it has always been.
      She sings with that indie-like diction which is why her new english songs are hard to understand, but her breathiness and stylistic approach are about the same, I would say.

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  31. Ahmin would you say YeRin’s Eb5s in her song “Loveless” are supported? (sustained one at 3:02 and phrased one at 3:17)

    Someone asked in the OH vocals thread and someone else answered no but I think they are

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    2. tbh I think they’re far from supported. Yes, the placement is not bad, but there’s still considerable tension and they sound kinda tight in general. It also lacks the groundedness supported notes have, or in other words maybe, it sounds like she’s thinking of the note to be “dragged” and “from below” instead of “light”, “free” and “from above”, if that makes sense.

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      1. ah i see. yes what you say makes sense. maybe she needs to get her practice up or maybe she’s trying different things
        at least the placement is still there

        thanks for answering btw 🙂

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      2. I’d actually argue that the second one sounded quite relaxed and open in terms of vowel shaping. The one at 3:02 is tighter, but that might also be because it was sustained for longer whereas the next one is phrased.

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      3. uhh what? As for the first one, there is some “tightness” compared to the second, but its mostly due to the vowel that she is singing with. I wouldn’t say they are “far from supported”, as there necessarily is not much strain at all in her singing. Although this is literally the only clip I have heard her sing, I would say that it is quite adequate for the style that she is going after.

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      4. Yeah, thinking again, “far from supported” was maybe not the best wording for what I wanted to say. I do agree, for this specific song the approach fits, very well in fact. It just lacks the freeness her supported Eb5 in “Oh My God” has, for example, but with the musical context these Loveless Eb5s have that is difficult to achieve considering how Yerin intended them to sound like.

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      5. Technically there’re much any other Eb5s of Yerin was as good as Oh my god’s one that why it was spammed, even her C#5/D5 was not perfect sometimes

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      6. i think she has always been a bit inconsistent with Eb5…

        anyway thx all for your help interesting to know that the approach she chose for it was more than adequate 🙂

        i should keep up with her more
        the song i linked is cute

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    3. I would yes except for the seeeeelf one because the vowel is constricting her throat and creating tension with how wide she is singing it. The rest are very nice and smooth supported Eb5’s, I don’t know who’s saying otherwise.

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      1. Ty Ahmin! Yes, those were my thoughts but I saw someone say that they weren’t so I wanted to check. The replies here were a bit all over the place too lol.

        Most singers have trouble with belting the “Eh” vowel so I’m not too concerned about that first Eb5. Glad to know the other 2 were supported 🙂

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      2. Oh so I was wrong then! I was thinking the short phrased ones were also not supported because I kinda heard a similar quality as from the slided one but I can hear what you mean by “very nice and smooth supported Eb5s”. I learnt something new today~

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  33. D5 at 3:40. Nice and open Aah vowel!
    This song is from 2020 but I only just found it, glad to see she’s still giving us some challenging notes despite her indie endeavours!

    Yerin once again proving she’s one of the best belters in kpop and I’m here for it.

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    1. As someone who has been following her for years, I’d say it hasn’t changed much at all. Obviously voices develop over time but her technique and style sound pretty much identical.

      From the songs that I’ve linked here and the notes I’ve time stamped, you see she can still support cleanly up to Eb5 (at least in studio) and live she’s shown that her sense of support, her placement and openness remain as good as always.
      I’ve actually noticed some improvement in her upper register too.

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  36. Okay so I found some more 2021 covers by Miss Baek and thought I’d post them here with some noteworthy notes and stuff.

    Homegirl was overdoing it with the runs here lmaooo but some of them were quite clean, come through agility!!!

    Now there’s several C#5’s in this song (all beautifully supported, we love to see!!)

    2:20 3:21 3:26 4:09

    She’s not even fluent in English and she still ate.

    She’s insane!!!! Sustained C#5 at 0:04, hell yes! Then she goes from C#5 to Eb5 at 0:08 and then dips to a solid ass run we LOVE! Another sustained C#5 at 0:25. Another brief phrased one at 0:48.

    This passage was sung mostly between Bb4 and C5, she did great here too.

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