B.A.P.’s Vocal Analysis: Daehyun

Vocal Range

F#2 ~ C#6 (3 octaves, 3 notes and 1 semitone)

Supported Range

C#3/D3 ~ F4/F#4

Voice Type

Tenor

Strengths/Achievements

  • Strongest Vocalist in B.A.P.
  • Consistently capable of producing resonance and supporting his voice up until G#4 (Up until 2015)
  • Nasality is almost non existent, a big improvement from his debut
  • Falsetto is generally connected and relaxed up until F5 (Up until 2015)
  • Capable of producing a supported sound in his chest voice down to C#3/D3
  • Intonation has shown improvement from debut
  • Vibrato is consistently produced with a healthy tone and speed in his supported range
  • One of the widest vocal ranges amongst male vocalists in K-pop

Points for Improvement

  • Regression has happened after his hiatus, greatly affecting his vocal technique and delivery
  • Although greatly improved, nasality can still be present in his voice
  • Falsetto notes above F5 generally are pushed and screamed
  • Notes around C#3 and below become either airy or are done with a low larynx
  • Tendency to still become throaty in long belts within his supported range
  • Notes above F#4 become tight, throaty and strained with a high larynx
  • Vibrato becomes wobbly and overly fast when outside of his supported range
  • Intonation can at times be off, specially in his vocal runs
  • Generally sings too high for his voice, with too much frequency

Registers

  • Lower register: Capable of supporting and producing a forward, stable sound in his lower range on notes as low as C#3 and above. When singing below C#3, voice becomes either quite airy or is accompanied by a low larynx, pushed back tongue and excessive vocal fry.
  • Mixed register: Mixed voice shows consistent use of support up until G#4 and G4, with good tone production, no nasality and resonance often achieved. Notes above G#4 are generally throaty and squeezed with a high larynx. (Up until 2015). Recently, unable to maintain support higher than F#4.
  • Upper register: Generally able to switch well and transition into falsetto with a relaxed tone, cord connection and control. Notes above F5 become shouted, squeezed and pushed with an excessive amount of air.

Agility

Due to the lightness of his voice, Daehyun is generally capable of singing through very high passages with enough consistency and stamina. Having said that, he is also able to produce vocal runs and sing through his notes more efficiently in this range, even if accompanied by a high larynx and a lot of strain on his voice. An example of this would be the run at the end of the bridge of his cover of “Baby Baby“, a duet with fellow B.A.P. member, Youngjae. At other times, Daehyun will show a lack of accuracy and pitch separation when singing lower vocal runs, showing a lack of control and sounding unprepared, like his run in “하늘을 달리다” as well as the run at the of his performance of “Ordinary People“. However so, there has been great improvement in pitch and accuracy, compared to his pre-debut days, considering his performance of “Georgia On My Mind“, where his pitch is much less accurate and runs are sloppily done with no care for sense of key or accuracy.

Overall analysis

As B.A.P.’s main vocalist, Daehyun has been able to make a name for himself as a vocalist and idol singer throughout the years, ever since his debut. He possesses a very unique tone, very light and bright but still with a slight sharp quality to it, lying on a tenor range and most closely resembling a light lyric tenor quality. Due to how high his voice is, Daehyun is generally the one vocalist in B.A.P. who has to take on the highest notes and done so with poor technique can majorly injure his voice in the long run. Perhaps due to such bad habits, he isn’t able to shine and be recognized for how capable of a vocalist he really is, since his vocal skill lacks the recognition it deserves, given he follows the standard for main and strongest vocalists in K-pop idol groups.

Starting from the bottom of his range, Daehyun is able to go down as low as F#2, as he has shown in B.A.P.’s “low note battle“, but he does so by lowering his larynx, pushing his tongue into the back of his throat and adding a lot vocal fry to his chest voice to produce a very groggy low chest voice. Even as high as A2, in the same battle, he still uses a similar approach to sing that low and only truly starts showing support and an even column of sound when he reaches C#3. Even then, Daehyun still has a tendency to add too much stylistic airiness to his singing, which can compromise the delivery of his lower notes, even his C#3’s and D3’s, examples including “Coma” and “Coffee Shop“, where although tone and cord connection are present, there’s an excessive airiness present in his singing voice. As he ascends into Eb3’s and E3’s, though, Daehyun’s voice starts to become much more consistent and stable in tone, even with the stylistic airiness he may employ at times. He has, however, shown consistency down to D3/C#3 with support, even if he chooses to become breathy at times.

As a tenor, his voice really shines quite well in the mid fourth octave and above, which is not only explored but slightly even abused when singing his parts in B.A.P. songs. As the main vocalists, he usually takes on the most challenging parts of songs and thus, the highest notes are given to him. Due to his lack of proper mixing technique and breathing technique, this can oftentimes damage his voice and cause a lot of vocal strain on his singing and voice. Daehyun has shown from the day of his debut, that he was capable of supporting his voice and producing resonance. Most notably back in the days of “I Remember” as well as “1st Baby Day“, he would show support and consistency up until F4 and some support up until G#4. From then on, he has now shown improvement and consistently been able to keep his voice opened and supported up until G#4, with resonance often being produced on F#4’s, G4’s and G#4’s, examples including “Let It Go“, “Mirotic“, “Goodbye” and “Baby Baby“.

The biggest issue with Daehyun’s mixed voice though, is his tendency to show a very consistent support up until G#4 only and then having a complete drop of support, having his throat tighten around his larynx, his swallowing muscles tense up, his tongue slide back and tense up, closing the back of his throat and creating a strained, scratchy, screechy and thin sound with a high larynx. He consistently is able to keep his throat opened and make a contrast happen when singing up above G#4 and then descending back down to his supported range. Examples would include the G4’s of “Baby Baby” against the D5’s, A4’s and B4’s in said performance, and the F#4’s in “천사” against the A4’s and B4’s. Anytime he is brought up higher above G#4’s, it’s clear to hear a complete change in tone, from full and opened, to strained and painful. Other examples would include the A4’s of “One Shot“.

Unfortunately after the hiatus B.A.P. went through and perhaps what could’ve been a stressful period with less singing and practice, his bad habits started catching on and happening much earlier on in his range. Whereas before he would suddenly become quite throaty, tight, heady and gritty as soon as he sang above G#4, now as early as G4 that already happens. This can be heard with the G#4’s and G4’s in “Calm Before The Storm,” “넌 어때?” and “너 그리고 밤.” Although support is still consistently present up to F4, with some instances of inconsistency around F#4 when sustained, such as in “너 그리고 밤,” he is still able to carry through songs with enough pitch and support. His main issues are the sudden headiness and lack of balance between his chest voice and head voice muscles when mixing, making him push a lot and tighten his throat to mix higher. On top of that, he seems to prefer writing and singing songs that constantly stay around G#4/A4 and higher, making him unable to sing in a range where support is actually present, as heard in “Honeymoon,” “Darklight,” or “Young, Wild and Free.” The lack of openness also has become part of his range throughout and so resonance has not been shown after this hiatus period. Currently by 2017, it is safe to say that Daehyun has unfortunately regressed in terms of vocal technique.

In general, he is able to consistently and smoothly transition into falsetto, by mostly staying in key, controlling his voice and showing a relaxed tone in his voice, with cord connection and brightness. He is able to consistently use a falsetto, shown in performances such as “Baby Baby“,”하늘을 달리다“, and “청혼“, although he may occasionally fall slightly under pitch and go flat in tone. He has been able to show a forward placement in tone and connection with a relaxed falsetto as high as F5, as shown in “전부 거짓말”. Whenever Daehyun is taken higher, however, the sound of his voice follows a similar pattern to his mixed voice, where he will use an excessive amount of air to further push his voice higher, creating a screechy and screamed quality to his falsetto, seen on the G5 of “청혼“, as well as the G#5 and Bb5 of “I Believe I Can Fly” and his C#6.

One of his best assets is his consistent and healthy usage of a steady vibrato within his supported range, which generally follows his sustained notes and is created with proper breath support. The downside is that whenever he is taken outside of his supported range, the vibrato loses control and becomes overly fast, adding more tension to his upper belts. From late 2012 and early 2013, Daehyun would at times place his voice in his nose, as heard in B.A.P.’s cover of “Baby” and “Coffee Shop“, which has been greatly diminished and fixed over the years. Musically, Daehyun’s understanding and ear for music is generally explored only as far as dynamics go within a song, where he generally employs either a fuller tone or a breathier tone to add emotion and different characteristics to the music he sings, changing his volume and vocal approach depending on the intensity of the part he’s singing. He is also capable of harmonizing and properly softening his tone to match his duet partners, mostly fellow B.A.P. member Youngjae, as well as in the performance of “Love Cocktail” with labelmates, Secret’s Jieun and Hyosung.

Daehyun has, without a doubt, shown major improvement from his debut days until present days, which not only shows perseverance and dedication, but also a passion and seriousness about his singing career. He is a vocalist who is capable of doing a lot with his voice and possesses a lot of potential, however due to the lack of technique and training, he may seriously injure his voice in the long run due to the high range of songs he’s given to sing. Perhaps for the future, his first approach should be to further develop his mixed voice and his breathing technique so as to assist the higher part of his range and bring some ease into the challenging parts he’s given in songs, so he can have a lasting singing career. With the correct guidance and help, given his potential and dedication, Daehyun should be able to further improve into a much better vocalist and develop his singing career with the years he has ahead of him in the K-pop music industry, if he so wishes. Although it is true that he’s shown regression in his technique, it is never too late to re-learn better vocal habits to preserve his voice.

Musicianship

Daehyun is a vocalist who shows not only a lot of creativity, but also has shown an ear for music so as to change the musical aspects of songs, by playing with different melodies and notes. This trait has been greatly improved, compared to his pre-debut days, when in “Georgia On My Mind“, his overall control and notes would sound very strained, messy and pitchy, lacking any form of substantial thought-out process when considering what to add to the song to further enhance it musically. Although having improved in this aspect, he still has the tendency to sing with a strained high larynx on notes above G#4, so on his acoustic performance of “I Remember” with fellow B.A.P. member and rapper, Bang Yong Guk, he shows a different approach to the chorus melody of the song, although the overall delivery still was accompanied by faulty technique and a strained high larynx.

Label (Type of Vocalist)

M Vocalists: Mid-Range Vocalists

ML Vocalists: Mid-Low Range Vocalists

Vocal Range Video(s)

Video by: Edgar Cárdenas

Analyzed Ahmin (Kitsunemale)

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271 thoughts on “B.A.P.’s Vocal Analysis: Daehyun

  1. Could it be that he isn’t resonating because he’s choosing to sing in an unsupported range? So instead of being open and supported he’s singing with tension, so his tone isn’t as full?

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      1. Ah. Okay. Well hopefully it’s something he realizes and can work toward fixing. I would assume it’s something that he could fix anyway.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. I was wondering if you could give me your opinion of like his technique on his song Dark Light. Daehyun said he wasn’t that proud of the end result, but he had been working on it for a long time so he decided to release it. (I personally think its great) I know you don’t like vague comments/questions like these sorry xD I love reading your vocal analysis btw because I play alot of instruments and love music theory and it’s cool learning about the voice.

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    1. The thing is aside from this being a studio track, him not being satisfied with it might have little to do with his technique. If this is his own original composition, many times artists are highly unsatisfied with their own songs. They always feel like it’s not as good as what they had hoped for, so I’m not sure what his personal expectations of the song were but the choruses is very high and it’s almost like a song written for a female voice. He is singing from D4 ~ D5 in the chorus I believe, which is very high for a tenor and so he is singing in a range where not just him, but many many tenors would strain throughout. So I just personally don’t think this is the right key for his voice, he sounds really scratchy, tight and thin throughout the chorus cause it’s just too high for him. I like the song though, subjectively speaking, it’s a pretty cool vibe throughout. Awww I’m so glad, thank you for being understanding! I love instrument players, since I can’t play many. haha

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  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp3Nbqk2tx8 I was wondering what your opinions of this clip are. He starts singing at 0:18. It’s really short, but I believe this is a little snippet from his song in the musical he;s going to be in. It’s really rare that Daehyun gets to sing in a lower range like this, so it makes me excited to hear what he’ll sound like in the musical.

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  4. Thank you for Daehyun’s vocal analysis! 🙏🏻
    I’ve been wondering something for quite a while now… I have the feeling that after B.A.P’s hiatus and comeback with Young, Wild and Free in 2015 something has changed in Daehyun’s vocals. His notes sound more strained, pushed and screamed than ever before. I especially noticed it when I heard him singing high notes from older songs that he also performed before the hiatus. (I think he sounded better before..) https://youtu.be/H8PWjmXaup8
    This makes me very worried about his voice. Do you have any idea how this can happen? Could it be that he trained so hard on hitting high notes (in the wrong way) that he damaged his voice that much? 😦

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    1. The thing is he’s always strained those high notes, so this new comeback hasn’t really affected the upper part of his range but the thing is he is not as opened as he used to be even within the range in which he used to support and produce resonance. Support is still present, but I haven’t heard him producing resonance in a while. It could be that he just has focused too hard on singing high, that he developed habits of squeezing his throat to sing higher and has kind of carried that over even onto a range where he’d generally support.

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      1. I know nothing about vocal technique, but I don’t think he sounds anymore strained than before. I can hear that he doesn’t sound as open though, now that it’s been pointed out. Though just as a listener I still enjoy the way he sounds? Though obv I hope he improves since I’d like him to be able to sing for a long time. Going back to matrix era and sounding strained though. During the recording of that album he mentioned that he went to the hospital for a sore throat. He might have still been getting over that during promos. Cause I noticed that he’d belt the note, but then he started singing it I think in his head voice? Maybe to not hurt his throat? And I comparing the present to when they just came back, he seemed less confident. Though coming back and suddenly being in the spotlight again after a lawsuit wouldn’t be easy. But he seems happier now at least and his lives sound better to me(no clue about the technical side of course). I wonder though. Daehyun mentioned during duet song festival that he deals with a stage phobia? Or did? Obv he overcomes it enough to perform, but could him tightening his throat more even on supported notes be due to anxiety? Anyway! Sorry for rambling! I love your analysis!

        Liked by 1 person

  5. First of all I love everything you do on this website, I find it very helpful on my journey to become a better vocalist. Second of all, do you think Daehyun having smoked/currently smoking(I don’t know if he quit) could have something to do with his straining or any of his vocal issues?

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  6. Hi I noticed you commented before on the short clip of Daehyun’s musical saying he’s “lowering his larynx a bit too much”. He gave us more of a preview at the Japan concert & I’ve actually been to his musical. The thing is he sings that low for the whole thing. Is he still not singing correctly & is it bad for his voice? He seemed okay for the musical but now they’re also doing concerts where he has all his high notes & I’m concerned that doing both nonstop would hurt his voice.

    His Musical line from the Japan concert

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    1. Lowering his larynx does not mean singing in a low range. I would rather him sing with a slightly lowered larynx than him shouting around Bb4 ~ D5 constantly like he’s been doing for years.

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      1. Oh sorry, I say singing low since in the musical he sang lower then I’ve ever heard at any concert so I keep commenting on it. I don’t know anything about singing but I do remember during a low-note battle he was obviously lowering his larynx. At the musical I don’t really notice him doing the same thing, but then again I’m no expert so I was wondering with this little clip is he still singing incorrectly or is he has he got it right? His schedule is concert, musical, musical, concert… for the next few months, my big concern is back to back with the musical he’s constantly doing things that are hurting his voice.

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      2. He didn’t sing lower than he’s sung before during his musicals, but perhaps he stayed more within a lower range than he would in the usual repertoire he sings, since he loves singing in his mixed range. Throughout this clip that you showed, he is doing this thing where he thinks he has to sound half-classical to sing musicals and he doesn’t really have to do that. He is singing with a low larynx throughout, and it sounds more forced when he dips down to like C#3 at 0:07 and A2 at 0:13. Otherwise he was singing with a less lowered larynx in the higher parts but he was not singing above B3, so it was all in his chest voice…with a bit of tongue tension because he is doing this thing where he thinks he has to lower his larynx to sound musical-like and I’m not sure why he is doing it. It’s not too much tension, but it’s just not necessary.

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  7. After the lawsuit he seems to have lost a bit of confidence in his vocal ability and even said last year that he was struggling with his voice. There is also the fact that he started smoking and has mentioned that he would drink a lot due to stress + other “rebellious behaviors” (unknown if he still smokes or drinks) which can also play a big role. I hope he’s taking care of himself, I’d like to see Daehyun’s confidence again.

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  8. I think he is back with ressonance, he took some lessons to perform at the musical and he sounds better (to my unexperienced ear) Although he strains high notes a little I think I can hear he is trying to include this “new” technique (New in “” because he used to sing this way before and Idk why he changed to only use his throat, I mean I like shadow but his voice sounds weak to me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N_UKfr4i4A ) [Also Honeymoon is very low at the beggining]

    What do you think? Am I wrong? Honeymoon, Daehyun parts at: 0:41-0:49 / 1:33-1:40 | High parts: 2:55-3:02 / 3:11-3:18

    I also think Youngjae did well because he is singing in low notes ❤ and I also think Jongup improved a lot his singing and high notes (still strained though)

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    1. For Honeymoon, I don’t necessarily hear anything change since he’s mostly singing g3’s and A3’s for the verses. 2:55 ~ 3:02 A4’s ~ D5’s, notes he hasn’t really shown support around before anyway. 3:11 ~ 3:18 C5’s, D5’s, and A4’s. Yeah this song doesn’t do much to show his supported range in the fourth octave.

      For the solo performance, I hear support as I’ve heard throughout. Lots of E4’s in the verses. Perhaps what you’re hearing is him not singing in as high of a range as he had been singing in lately. 0:54 A4 ~ D5. 0:58 F#4’s, very quick passing A4’s and many E4’s throughout. I hear support, but I don’t hear openness. There’s no moment in the performance that I would say “Yes this is definitely resonant.” Again this isn’t exactly the best performance to talk about his technique. I really have to take some time out to look into Daehyun and Taemin.

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  9. I can’t stop thinking he has nodules or even worse, polyps, on his vocal chords, lately his voice has lost a lot of strenght and when he is singing, breath would come out and he is not able to control it, therefore he sounds as if he can’t breathe properly (2:51)

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  10. Hello! Daehyun had a solo stage during their encore concert that happened during the weekend.
    Please take a look at his solo stage: https://youtu.be/4KEFtoXcGkk
    Do you have any thoughts about his performance?? I’m just worried with his usuage of vocal techniques in overall, afterall I do want to hear him sing for a very very long time.
    Thank you in advance :))

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    1. Finally a performance within a relatively more comfortable range and where we can actually him sing without being too high or having him dance at the same time. 1:00 1:02 F#4’s 1:05 Those are A4’s about they were flat, kind of around A4. 1:19 glottal throaty tension around A4 and G4. 1:24 Even the F#4’s can be quite pushed, he is not nearly as opened or as well placed as he used to be, I hear no resonance from him. The verse is also just full of aspirated low notes. 1:49 ~ 1:52 flat throughout this part. 2:00 the phrased F#4’s carry some support. 2:04 A4 is where he usually always strains anyway, so I was looking forward to hearing him more around G4 and G#4 to make sure of where his support ends now, but considering the throaty glottal tension that’s present even on sustained 2:35 F#4’s like this and the fact that he does not produce resonance anymore, it’s clear to hear a drastic change in his technique. 3:00 D5 to C#5 in mixed voice, again he insists on mixing higher than he supports. 3:11 Eb5. 3:28 G5, I’m not entirely sure if it was mixed.

      Wasn’t he going to be part of a new musical or smth? I was hoping to hear more of him through that too.

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      1. Did he show any possible regression that might have him moved down a grade/rate in your rankings? Thank you for the analysis! Yes, he was cast as the lead for All Shook Up. The musical starts on the 24th next month! Not sure any clips of him during the musical will be recorded but I’ll be sure to post it in the comments if i happen to come across any of it on the internet!

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  11. Hello, i’m back again! Daehyun sang another two of his solo tracks on the first night of the encore concert and I was thinking if you have any opinion about the performance. The studio version of the second song he sang was posted here few months ago.
    Here’s the link: https://youtu.be/qQrqPJXyiBk

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    1. Hi there! Sorry for the late response. Someone already sent in a video from this performance so I am glad there is more to see. So I’m hearing tension above F#4, even on the phrased G4’s 0:59 these, and any note above that there’s definite tension. 2:08 up to F4, I still hear very clear support. He just keeps his throat very narrow now and his mix lost the balance and becomes really heady and shouty really quickly above F#4. Thank you, this will help for updating his analysis!

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  12. Hi! I found a clip from his musical, any thoughts about it? Also, do you think he has any chances of going back to his previous level or is the damage permanent? He’s one of my favourite idol vocalists, and his recent performances, especially his solo songs, sound really strained.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. 0:32 Oh that is much better than lately, this openness and placement throughout is better support. It’s not ideal because he is forcing it out a bit, 0:55 like here it’s the same note as before, E4, but it still lacks fulness because his throat isn’t fully opened. 1:25 F#4 1:28 G4’s 1:33 1:57 he is getting throatier than ever used to before, he used to get slightly throaty in the past but it’s become much more apparent even there which is just G4 for him.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Could some of the throatiness possibly be caused by him trying to add emotion? I believe in this song his character is supposed to be crying…so maybe? I’m glad to hear that he showed some signs of more openess though, even if he wasn’t fully opened.

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      2. I think it’s more of a habit, he does sound like he’s crying but the throatiness wasn’t present lower. He wouldn’t need throatiness to emote lower so why need it higher?

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      3. Oh okay! That makes sense. Hopefully in the future he can work toward kicking that bad habit. Still good to see he showed some signs of being more open, even if not completely. I’m excited to see how he fairs in his lead role coming up.

        Liked by 1 person

  13. I honestly feel like while Daehyun has regressed, he does have a chance to turn it around. That’s all up to him though. Honestly I still really love his voice, I know it’s not technically perfect but I love his vocal color and the emotions he puts into his singing. Obviously, damage can become permanent, but I think he’s at a point where he could still turn it around. From what I’ve read in the comments above, it seems like his main problem is with lack of openness(not producing resonance) and tension, these seem like things that he could fix with the proper training, practice, etc. I’m not a vocal expert of course.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. slight edit. By “main problems” I’m referring to newer ones. Obviously him straining on notes outside of his supporting range, mixing higher than he supports etc are problems too, but they seem to be problems that have existed prior to the regression. Not producing resonance is more of a new thing since he used to be able to, but is now fallen into a bad habit and is not as open.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. I see he’s still the strongest vocalist in B.A.P, but how big is the gap between him and Youngjae? Based on the analyses for some of the other average male vocalists, I’m guessing Daehyun is on the mid-to high end (like around GOT7 Youngjae) while Youngjae (B.A.P) is still on the lower end? Anyway, I hope he’s able to regain some of his previous technique with enough rest and focus on the way he’s currently singing.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. I was reading some of your comments the other day about his tension on F#4/G4, so I figured he’d be moved down to Average if anything, but it’s still a little disheartening. It’d be nice to see him get back to where he was in the future.

    Chart-related question: Where do you think he’d be now? Lower than Baekho?

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Hello! I’m here again!! Videos of Daehyun performing in the musical came out!!

    Do you have any thoughts about his performance??
    Thank you!!! :))

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    1. He didn’t really go above D4. His like really slow runs were kind of flat, the diction was a bit in his tongue and nose but mostly he was comfortably supporting. Some lower notes like the A2’s lacked support, cause it was mostly fry, but he projected relatively well.

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  17. His currebt problem with singing can be casted because he was smoking? I Just wanna ask which problem with singing can be casted by smoking a lot?

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    1. That was like D5 and C5, which are notes he was never capable of hitting without a lot of tension. So no they are not good high notes, but that’s not due to a change in his technique. Those notes have always been approached like that.

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    1. This isn’t new. What he’s doing, the cry like quality in his singing comes from a very screechy uneven head dominant approach in his mixed voice that when sung above his supported range, becomes very throaty and thin. The chorus ranges from G4 ~ C5, which is the range in which he strains. So this isn’t worse than what he’s done before.

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