After School’s Vocal Analysis: Raina

0. MB Vocalists: Mid-range belters, 0. MH Vocalists: Mid-range head voice vocalists, 0. ML Vocalists: Mid-low range vocalists, 0. WR vocalists: Well rounded vocalists, Companies: Pledis Entertainment, Groups, Sopranos, Vocal Analyses, Vocal Ranges: 3 Octave Ranges, , , , , , , , , , ,

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Vocal Range

C3 ~ F#6 (3 octaves and 3 notes)

Supported Range

G3 ~ C#5

G3 ~ G5 (with head voice)

Voice Type

Soprano

Strengths/Achievements

  • Strongest vocalist in After School
  • One of the widest vocal ranges amongst K-pop female vocalists
  • Able to keep consistency in support and resonance up until C5/C#5
  • Able to use falsetto and head voice at will with ease up until G5
  • Lower range is supported and well projected down to G3
  • Healthy vibrato is produced with good support
  • Dynamic control is used well and consistently
  • Considerable improvement in stability, consistency, resonance and support
  • Intonation is generally good and stable
  • Notes down to F3 can keep decent support
  • Knows her voice well and where it sits most comfortably

Points for Improvement

  • Notes below G3 lose support and below F3 lose tone considerably
  • Notes above C#5 become inconsistent, shouted, strained and with a high larynx
  • Nasality may be present as she ascends outside of her supported range, becoming whiny in quality
  • Vibrato isn’t as present in her higher resonant notes
  • Falsetto becomes more apparent and weaker as she ascends above G5
  • Pushes head voice up in the upper fifth octave and sixth octave
  • Voice lacks flexibility, agility and precision

Registers

  • Lower register: low notes are produced with relative ease, notes as low as G3 are generally forward, full and present in the voice. Notes below G3 are able to stay connected and have tone, even though as she descends, the tone is gradually lost.
  • Mixed register: Voice finds its peak of consistency in resonance around C5, where it’s most powerful and retains the most color. Support is still present on C#5’s and is somewhat present on D5’s, only lost as she ascends, where her voice loses the openness and support.
  • Upper register: Head voice is present and consistently produced as high as G5, with a more relaxed falsetto as she ascends up above G5. Head voice becomes pushed and strained as she ascends into the higher fifth octave, however. Falsetto and head voice can used at will, some nasality may be present in the head voice.

Agility

Raina’s voice and style don’t lend themselves as well to R&B, as they do for pop and ballads. When it comes to singing songs with a little more agility and which require more flexibility, her voice loses a bit of the precision in tone and pitch, becoming slightly sloppy and a bit slow. The faster and more complex the runs gets, the more out of control they become for her, like in “Stand Up For Love” or the run leading to the F5 in “Bang!“. She may at times show better precision in simpler runs and shows potential to improve in this area of her voice, like in “아프고 아픈 이름” and “Run It“. In her attempt to sing “Queen Of The Night”, Raina shows that her voice isn’t quite so flexible at attempting repeated notes in succession with such speed, yet.

Overall analysis

Perhaps a more underrated vocalist in the K-pop industry, Raina, is After School’s and Orange Caramel’s main vocalist and rightly so. With a light voice, she employs a very nasal and girly style to her singing when singing Orange Caramel’s material, but is also able to control her voice at will to create a more mature sound that would best be suited for her ballad performances. She is a light lyric soprano with a wide vocal range, amongst her female K-pop vocalist peers.

Her lower range is one that has not only shown improvement but also has been consistently showcased with good presence, stability, support and control. In “너를위해“, Raina would show a breathier approach to her singing a bit of a lack of consistency in keeping her sound presently forward in her mask, but throughout the years, from her G#3’s in “Run It” to more recently her G3’s in “Ugly“, Raina has been able to improve how consistently she supports her voice and how the connection of her vocal cords has become more grounded in her muscle memory. Her voice is well supported and quite well placed in her lower range down to G3, but also is still present and connected even when she descends to F#3’s, such as in “행복한 나를” to her F3’s in “아프고 아픈 이름” and “나어떡해“. As she descends below F3, however, the tone starts to become gradually airier and less clear, such as in “말리꽃“. Even then, one of the better supported lower ranges amongst female vocalists, Raina has learned to properly place and support her voice consistently down to G3.

One of Raina’s best traits and improvements is the work she’s done with her mixed voice. Although she may be known for her high notes, such as her F5’s in “Bang!“, her voice was also highly strained and pushed back in her debut days with After School. She would often push her voice and did not have the stable muscle memory for her high notes to stay consistently stable and supported, such as her B4’s and C5’s in “알고 싶어요” and “뒷모습“. As she’d ascend, such as in her D5’s and C#5’s in “Love Love Love“, her voice would become whiny and almost yelled, with a very high larynx. When comparing her now, to what she used to sound become, her voice has found much more stability, resonance and control with consistent support up to C#5, like in “장난인거 알아” and consistent resonance up to C5, where her voice peaks at its best and sits most comfortably. In almost every performance, she uses her resonance to further embellish the music and generally stays in a comfortable range that only extends as high as C5, such as in “자기야” and “울릉드 투위스트“. Her voice still becomes more strained as she ascends, but the stability of her mix is better and the quality becomes less yelled and more heady and thin, as opposed to pushed and squeezed, such as her E5’s in “첫사랑“. Contrast can be made by comparing her D5 from “Because Of You” to her D5’s in “아프고 아픈 이름“, where her support isn’t completely lost anymore and there’s just a slightly tightness in sound.

Another strength of Raina’s is her ability to control her mix and lighten up well enough to produce a more connected and purer head voice at will. Her control of head voice and falsetto has also improved considerably well, whereas she used to have issues switching and would lose the accuracy of pitch, such as in “아직” and “사랑을 미룰 순 없나요“, where although sometimes a head voice would be created, the control of transitioning would show flaws. Her voice is now more controlled and more consistently able to stay clean in her head voice, such as in “장난인거 알아“, although there may be a hint of nasality present in her singing. Her voice is still able to produce a head voice even as high as G5, but she may lack control of her voice that high, as she’s shown when attempting to sing “Queen Of The Night”, hitting a couple of Bb5’s and even an F#6, where her voice lost connection and was quite pushed with a high larynx. She may be able to produce head voice, but due to her lack of control over her instrument, she can’t sing such complex lines just yet.

Raina’s technique has improved such that she also has a very good control of her vibrato, which is steady and stable, with a nice speed in her resonance sustained notes and she has the will and control to use it whenever she wants or if she doesn’t want to. Her vibrato becomes absent as she ascends higher above her supported range, however, but that is caused due to the tension created in her voice and the lack of freedom and support. Her voice also has improved considerably with pitch and is most often right on point and well controlled.

Her flaws are only limited to the lack of control and her strain on notes outside of her comfort range, which although quite nice, is still a bit low for a Soprano whose highest showcased note may only be as high as F5, showing a need to improve her mixing technique and allow for better control of dynamics. Her dynamic control is, at this point, quite good, where she is able to control her falsetto, head voice and her resonance is very consistent, allowing for support and control when singing slow tempo and uptempo music. Her voice uses a number of different onsets, such as hard attack, airy, balanced and at times even nasality is employed and done at will.

Although Raina’s vocals may be fairly recognized in the K-pop industry, due to her lack of material as a soloist, as well as a lack of promotion, her passion for singing and improvement she’s shown isn’t so acknowledged due to the image and music she sings as a member of “Orange Caramel”. She is a vocalist who is young and yet has years of experience in the K-pop industry, leaving only room for improvement for the future, which seems very promising considering her already showcased improvement over the years. She knows her voice well and uses what she’s worked on quite effectively in her vocal delivery. Any improvement would be welcomed and would mostly be done in the higher and lower extremes of the voice, where control and technique still seem to lack.

Musicianship

Due to the lack of opportunities, Raina doesn’t generally show much creativity in changing her own songs or cover songs in performances. In certain cases, she may stick to the melody of the song or add some occasional embellishments, but does not deviate too far from the original melody. She is able to show some variations in more acoustic covers of songs, with her overall delivery, but no big changes are done, such as in “첫사랑” and “너때문에“.

Label (Type of Vocalist)

MH Vocalists: Mid-Range Head Voice Vocalists

MB Vocalists: Mid-Range Belters

ML Vocalists: Mid-Low Range Vocalists

WR vocalists: Well Rounded Vocalists

Best Vocal Performance

Vocal Range Video(s)

Video by: Hawaiipups and kpopvocalists

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Analyzed by Ahmin (Kitsunemale)

185 thoughts on “After School’s Vocal Analysis: Raina”

  1. RAINAAAA!!!! Again i thought she was competent to good lol. I loved reading her analysis! I really like her voice and i hope she keeps improving and having more solos.

    Thanks!!!

    Btw, how big is the gap between her and Lizzy?

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      4. That is a complete mistranslation. She said she 4단고음 which is a whole mistranslation from that IU thing…. IU can sing 3 high notes, 3 semitones, E5 F5 F#5. What Raina did was 4 semitones, 4 high notes. All she did was C#5, D5, Eb5, E5 and F5. This whole bs that it means “3 octaves” or “4 Octaves” is people who don’t know how to speak Korean well enough and can’t translate that. 3 octaves or 4 octaves means…well an octave means 8 notes, that’s why octave, oct meaning eight in latin/Italian. She sang 5 semitones, not even full notes. She’d need 12 semitones for an octave, 36 for 3 octaves and 48 notes for 4 octaves. She sang 5. Raina’s range is C#3 ~ F#6, that is 42 semitones.

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    1. I don’t believe she’s regressing and honestly just a bit more range and connection, plus control of head voice. Taeyeon seems to be just tired if anything.

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  3. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! I DID NOT GET THE FIRST COMMENT!!!THIS IS SO TERRIBLE! WHATEVER YOUR NAME IS WHO COMMENTED FIRST!!! YOU ARE SO LUCKY!!! YOU BITCH WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO POST THIS???? I’m so sorry I get so mean when I’m mad I just had to get my feelings out. That felt really good. Sorry you are all pretty angels and thanks for linking my video. Btw I know you don’t know my name but it’s Ava. My middle name is Noelle so people on YouTube call me that so you can call me that too. Nice analysis too, my favorite one. I’m working on Changmin and thanks for suggesting him. HE IS SO SEXY!!!!

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      1. I was talking to Ahmin. I apologize for this comment. I really shouldn’t of said the things I said. The vocal range video he put in best peformance was by me. I really don’t know how to delete the comment so I really hope Ahmin does not get mad at me and if he does I understand…

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    2. Sorry I just went crazy!!! You have to see me in real life. I’m glad you’re not mad and you know the song you said that would be good for me? I realky like it! It really relates to me and makes me cry. Are you a mind reader or something. I don’t know why but do you know me??? No one ever picked a song that relates to me that much. You are a gift! Maybe I just reaveled to many personal things on the internet….

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      1. Haha I picked it because I love it and it’s in a low range lol Ik I’ve seen you in videos, so I understood your comment just fine lol

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    1. Sadly, so. Many overrated too, I saw a soompi article where most people voted for Changmin as the best vocalist out of Raina, Changmin and Jokwon. Really underrated Jokwon and Raina are.

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      2. ^ I’m a great fan of Daesung, though. LOL. But, yeah, I agree that Daesung is not the best vocalist (but he is also underrated over Taeyang -_-). I’m not sure about Luna since I don’t really listen to F(x) (or any other SM talents except SHINee. LOL)

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      3. Daesung is greatly underrated, regardless that in his analysis, he’s not that great overall, the fact that he is outshined by Taeyang, or how Minzy is outshined by Bom, is sad. Actually, I personally find Minzy’s voice just as unique and beautiful as Park Bom’s.

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  7. Wow, never knew she was gonna be AA to competent coz she was always said to be AA only XD u’re welcome for me suggesting some videos though xP It’s great how she improved so much coz when she debuted in After School with ‘Because of You’ she was SOOOOO nasal LOL now who’s next for your analysis? is Yoseob’s done? or SNSD’s? and Yoseob + Seohyun’s vocal range too (probably not in the meantime)!

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      1. Yeahhh, there is already a vocal range video for SoYou so that’s why I’m not doing her. I’m exited for them.

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      3. Oh sorry about that, I thought there was one! I would make a vocal range video but I just really wanna get Changmin out of the way. Everyone wants me to do Solji! I wanna do Solji too..
        Well at least there is this:

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      6. After a couple more analyses, Im not sure since I have to make his video first and when that’s done, then so will his analysis.

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    1. She hits a F5 in studio version but she might of went sharp making it a F#5 live. That’s why you always gotta check live peformances!

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      2. A5 in Darling is the highest I know of. You’re going to find out their highest notes if you want for their analyses ^ ^ lol

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    1. If that’s all you want to know, you can please then put the time stamp on the video so I can know where the high note is. I don’t have to be looking at videos just looking for high notes, sorry. It was an A5 in falsetto. Minah’s highest note is a G5 somewhere, Idk where.

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  12. Ahmin I’m really sorry, I accidently deleted the vocal range video so I uploaded it again.
    Here it is:

    So sorry about it! I was deleting videos then accidentley deleted this:(

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      1. Glad you understand. Hey, I don’t really know for sure if Jessica’s back in SNSD but a website put my video on there(not this one, the video is called “Jessica is back in SNSD”). My views increased by 200 in one hour. Then I got a lot of hate for it and people said that I was really wrong. I was only proving the things I read and saw. So I deleted the video. I’m now known for Jessica rumors. I don’t know what to do. I know you been on YouTube for a long time so what should I do?

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      3. Ok but I feel like I should make an apology video because I don’t want people to think it’s true and blame it on me. I just read some comments on the website and all of them are like”really, misleading and I hope it’s true.” I feel really guilty I mean people saying that I just made a rumour up. I think I will do an apology video but is that a good idea?

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      4. You could if you feel you should, if it makes you feel better. If it’s not too many people, don’t worry too much!

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      6. I think you did a great job, don’t be so worried. You didn’t do anything bad ^ ^ good decision in making a video and don’t worry so much, okay?

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      8. Ahmin I just want to say I’m sorry because I have not been working on the Changmin vocal range. I have a big school project and I actually did it on iMovie so it took a really long time to make. I can’t believe I just finished! I definitely am going back to the vocal range. Oh thank you for showing iMovie, I now use it all the time. I did the best project on Japanese music throughout history.
        Check it out:

        I sound kind of weird because I was making up words as I go.
        P.S- I know that 2ne1 is not a japanese group but my teacher will never know lol. Also, CL did say they are the biggest group in Japan!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh my god, I didn’t know Jessica sang Ann’s song too! Cool. Let me take a listen. Her F3’s are not bad at all! I was quite pleasantly surprised with them, they had tone and were connected for the most part. Her G3’s were also nice for the most part, Jessica’s lower range is quite nice, it just lacks consistency and can be slightly shaky, even though it’s connected well. She went flat a couple of times in this performance, it was quite pitchy at times. Her choruses and mixed notes sounded kind of throat-based and tight. That C5 was …pretty …bad actually. I usually don’t call things bad, but that was really bad. She sounded like she was singing in the morning and hadn’t warmed up well enough yet so her mixed notes sounded pretty shaky. This was good for low notes only, sadly.

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      1. Hahaha i do agree with your ‘she was singing in the morning and hadn’t warmed up well enough yet’ xD
        Happy to hear she did well, tho it was only the low notes, i think she can do it better nowadays, because back then she just…. yaaaa yknow. Hope she covers many songs. Thank you anyway!

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    2. Wow you can really tell the difference when Jessica and Raina sing this. It’s actually a very big difference, Raina’s C5 was very good and Jessica’s……(I don’t really want to say it but that was really bad). I always thought of Raina being average because when you listen to Orange Caramel she sounds so different. When I did the vocal range I was like she is actually pretty decent. I really started to like her voice a lot more. Same with Changmin! Does that ever happen to you when you do vocal range vids?

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      2. Really? Maybe that’s because you thought they were better. I think if I did SNSD’s vocal ranges like you I would start to like them less same with Jea. It’s just says that they are really good when most of them are average or just little above. I always had a feeling that Taeyeon was on the level she’s on but everyone was like no she’s the best, she’s amazing. I was like not amazing but maybe good. Then I came across this website and at first I was like “no way.” Then I was like this actually makes sense.

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    1. Let’s check these..
      I have Nothing: Oh my, listen to the lack of nasality, it’s quite pleasant. Her low notes weren’t so clear, her pitch was just pretty good! I hear actual resonance in her fourth octave notes, her resonance is quite pleasant. She sounded shy, her upper belts still were a bit pushed/squeezed, but not nearly as much as nowadays. This was so nice to hear really.
      Suddenly Seymore/Frankie: 1:34 is that a resonant Eb5 I hear after the resonant B4? Oh damn, not to say her voice just sounds so rich and well placed/supported. 1:49 I don’t really like that Eb5 much, but this was much better than anything recent I’ve heard from her? Ariana ❤ I miss this Ariana.

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      1. The first video was when she was only 15 or 16 and she had so much potential.. Don’t know what happened to her. She used to sound much healthier.. Nowadays she uses a really nasal tone, a poor diction, heady belts and breathy falsetto.. In addition, she used to project better and didn’t strain.. It’s annoying to see how she always moves the jaw to sing her vocal runs. She didn’t have a brilliant lower register but at least is better than now..

        I’m not professional but I can hear that she is struggling…

        Her belt was more balanced right?

        I miss her too ❤ ! I hate to say it but I really think that she is trying to imitate Mariah to have that R&B sound and in order to do that she is sacrificing her technique.. She didn't have that nasality and it wasn't that high-pitched.. 😦 I think that she is a great singer but chooses to sing in a way she is not comfortable with.

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      2. Oh my god, the jaw movement thing REALLY annoys me, she’s ALWAYS done that and I’ve hated it since ever lol it’s so annoying. Her lower range actually right now is not bad, it’s pretty nice from G3/G#3, it’s just her belts are not nearly as good, the decline in her belts is quite considerable.

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    2. Thank you so much!! In my opinion, she was much better before. More resonant, less nasal and had a more natural and pleasant tone. I hope that she changes it back in the future. Thanks for your replies! I don’t know why people post hateful when all are you doing is telling the truth! 🙂

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    1. None of them were good, they weren’t terrible, they were heady, with high larynxed and a bit whiny, not bad, not really yelled but not good.

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    1. Please, stop asking random questions just about high notes. Singing is more than just about bad and strained high notes. If you really want to ask, go on either The Voice, Criteria or Future Projects, don’t go to specific articles with unrelated questions. This is a Raina analysis article, so let’s not go talking about other random people here, thank you.

      1:15 C5, it sounded nice. 1:36 Eb5, the sound was a bit swallowed and it was a tense note. 2:04 F#5 strained 2:07 A5 ~ C#6 in falsetto, not bad.

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  19. If Raina had the same low and high register that Taeyeon she was in Above Average to Competent vocalist?
    The question is, your mixed register is good as Taeyeon or she evolved bcuz developing the low and high register? If the answer is the second, why Onew didn’t evolve too? Thank u! ^_^

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      2. OHHHH So if Raina had the same supported range as Taeyeon? Like A3 ~ C#5? Would she still be an Above Average to Competent vocalist? Considering Raina has never done well above C#5 and her C#5’s lack resonance, if she had no consistency with head voice and a not as good lower range, she’d probably be just Above Average…

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    1. Wendy’s pre-debut singing was actually very nice. She had nice support and connection even then. Back then though I would say she was more of an Above Average vocalist. Now she’s more Above Average to Competent or Competent. She has a head voice C6 there.

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  23. Noelle thank you for leading me here,it does seem taeyeon and Raina has something in common .Anyway no one can be perfect in vocals not even eunji or hyorin…BTW I thought many people would comment about Raina but instead asking for others,Raina is still the best for me.

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  24. Raina (After school) – Gayoon (4munite)- Seungyeon (Kara) – Gyuri (Kara) – Soyeon (T-ara) – Eunjung (t-ara) – Hyomin (t-ara) – Jieun (secret) – Minzy (2ne1) – Hyunyoung (rainbow)
    can y rank them by their vocal technique from greatest to least? (in ur opinion?)

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    1. I can’t rank all of them. Raina is AA to Competent, Minzy and Jieun are average, Gayoon might be average. Seungyeon and Gyuri might be weak to average or just average. Soyeon is average. Hyunyoung no idea. Hyomin and Eunjung are weak to average at most. I haven’t analyzed all of them so I don’t know who’s better than who, all I know is Minzy > Jieun for sure.

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  25. It’s unbelieveable how what material is given to Reina influences her “image” as a vocalist overall. After hearing her cover of 아프고 아픈 이름, my concept about her ability just shifted. I mean, the material Pledis gives her to sing does no justice for her, specially in Orange Caramel. I swear, I thought she was whiny/nasally almost every time.
    Thanks for opening my eyes lol I really enjoy reading these analyses.

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    1. Isn’t it nice to see how she has the complete control to switch her voice from the cutesy nasal sound to a strong resonant sound at will? Shows even more skill. ^ 6 don’t worry, it was my pleasure~

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      1. Yes, I have a very different view of her rn. I might take a deeper look at her other performances. Also, you Future Projects list is huge. I’m really looking forward

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  27. I have a important question. i notice that in your analysis when you do range it’s a semitone off. Or maybe I’m wrong which is probably the case. Because she has the range C3-F#6 so I would think that 3 octaves, 3 notes and a semitone. Am I wrong? It says here just 3 octaves and 3 notes. Also when you say someone’s range is E3-F6 you say it’s 3 octaves and a semitone. I say its 3 octaves and a note. So I’m that video about the top widest vocal ranges so I need to know these ranges. I think of them a semitone higher than you.

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    1. Well because C3 to C6 is 3 octaves. The distance between E and F is a semitone, there’s no note in western music in between E and F. That’s a semitone, F and F#, same, one semitone. C3 ~ C6 3 octaves, then C# D Eb E F F#, 6 semitones, so three full notes. You get what I mean?

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      1. I KNEW IT! There is nothing between E and F so I was like it must be a semitone. Thank you! Btw I wanted to ask(because I’m almost done) should I put the highest and lowest note for them when I say their range or should I just rank them? I really don’t know what I should do.

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      3. Then I need Narsha’s E3 and Jieun’s E3. Can you send them to me and tell me what time? I would really appreciate it! I found Dia’s F#6!

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    2. Thanks so much! Well I had to add idols because if I didn’t then it would be kind of confusing because many people have 3 octaves. My list is: 1.Wendy 2.Riaa 3.Cha Soo Kyung 4.Hyorin and Eunji 5. Gain 6. Raina 7. Lena Park 8. Ailee and Sunny 9. Dia 10. Jieun and Narsha

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      1. Who’s Riaa? Oh so only females and main vocalists right? You should check the other analyses to be sure… I’m not sure if maybe we are missing someone

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      2. Riaa is a very unpopular Korean Idol singer that does many whistle notes. She’s pretty underrated if you ask me. Yeah I only did females and males are coming next! Well, the lowest I went is lead vocalists. I only have one which is Sunny and Narsha is either a main or a lead so… No we are not missing anyone. I thought there were more females in kpop who have more than 3 octaves but that’s fine.
        Here it is:

        Please tell me if I got the notes and semitones wrong. I think I didn’t

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      3. You didn’t use Jieun’s F6, u used a D6. 1:07 was her F6, but that’s okay. 4:03 wasn’t that a song by Jungin called 미워요? It sounded like it ._. Not Riaa. I heard G3, but that’s not a big deal, I’m sure she can sing lower than G3. Also you put #3 in front of Riaa’s name instead of #2 lol

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      4. Ohhh I’ll fix that! OMG! So do you know how many requests I got for people today(vocal range) I went to none to 5! Ok, so I’m doing it in the order people told me. So I always wanted to do U.Ji and you know I’m working on her. Then I have Minah, then Wendy, then Taeyang, then Daesung, and finally Sandeul! Woah, so all these people will be done in like 4 months? If I can do 2 a month that would be great! U.Ji will be ready in March and i’ll try to fit Minah in too. Then Wendy and whoever I can do in April and May. Oh yes U.Ji has a song called love letter. Can you find some notes?

        0:07 0:18-20 2:45(chorus) She has great lower register, her belts are decent but her falsetto are so airy!

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      5. 0:20 there’s a C#3 there. 0:07 B4, not falsetto though. and 2:45 C#5 Oh yes you should definitely do Daesung and Minah! Taeyang, a friend of mine was going and IS going to do a video for him, if she hasn’t yet finished. Sandeul mhmm maybe I’ll let you do him lol

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      6. Yes, I will get to them eventually. I got this video done! I think I didn’t make any mistakes. I put the right F6 for Jieun and I found a F3 for Riaa. Well I’m pretty sure it was a F3. Take a listen

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  28. wow. i didn’t know Raina was this good. lol thanks for the analysis! 🙂
    how about Jungah? she’s supposed to be the 2nd best vocalist in After School. how big the gap between her and Raina?

    her duet songs with Raina

    her solo on AS Japan tour (2014)

    her singing on Beatles Code (2012)

    duet with kahi (2009)

    (she’s the one with the white shirt)

    (the blue one)

    is she at least around SNSD Tiffany/Sunny level?

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    1. I had not seen any lives or solos of her before, well I didn’t find any because I looked once lol so I didn’t know how good or bad she was, so thank you for these videos! ^ ^ I’m watching “I Love You” her support is actually really weak, her voice is heavily placed in her nose and her throat muscles sound tight most of the time. Let move on to other videos. Omg Resignation 3:55 that was SO painful. Kahi’s pitch, support and breathing are much better than Jungah’s throughout. Omg Jungah was really straining really bad, barely supporting her voice and singing without any signs of good placement at all..
      I don’t have enough to watch to be sure of her consistency and supported range in general, I mean she barely supports her voice at all and her placement is nasal and throaty, she has barely any stability in vibrato, pitch and her overall column of sound is very unstable. Her voice has no power at all..I’d like to analyze her because she might actually be another weak vocalist, so Park Bom won’t have to be the only lonely weak vocalist anymore. I want to, but it’s hard to analyze her with the little material there is for her.

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      1. lolol i love her voice and i know she’s not good but i thought she’s not THAT bad. omg.. i thought she’s like sunny, because sunny also can be sounds nasal and not that stable at times. oh well.. 😦
        thanks for the quick analysis 🙂

        how about the solo tho? it’s the most recent one i can find. is it better than other videos? tho she’s already past 30 y/o now so i guess she can’t do much for any improvement..

        you could dig videos from her debut days or look for AH! or Diva live performance for more material. that’s before raina joined the group so she had more parts, adlibs, and stuff.

        she has high notes at 5.20 (its in 2011, i think)

        high notes at 2.40

        another duets with kahi

        and ofc we can always count on 1000 Song Challenge show. lol

        (she start singing at 0.36)

        some more short clips

        thanks again, ahmin 🙂

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      2. Is this post giving me material as a request for an analysis on her? Tbh I still question Sunny. Lol that solo showed the same problems, there’s basically no support whatsoever when she’s singing ..

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      3. Hi again so I decided to listen to some of these, the videos from 2009, like the Password 486 aren’t bad tbh. She wasn’t that bad then, but after that she suddenly got worse, much worse. You don’t have to link me her high notes, I actually expect nothing good of her high notes. Sunny can sometimes get nasal and unstable, Jungah is constantly throaty, unstable, with tension and off pitch. I listened to “Do Not Forget” and that was pretty bad even on G#4, I need to hear her at least show any signs of support. Her voice just shows almost not signs of support, her throat closes easily, her registers have almost no connection between them. Sunny has a pretty good head voice, just her pitch and connection between registers isn’t good, but her head voice keeps her where she is. Jungah really seems to have even worse technique than Jiyoon and Bom. I’m sorry to say that, I know you must love her as a fan and all ㅠㅜ But I’m glad because it makes it less lonely for Bom lol

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      4. omg.. worse than bom.. ;A; lmao it’s okay.. as i said i knew she’s not good so i’ve prepared my heart for the worst. lol thank you for the reply tho ^^
        yeah.. seems like she always sing with bad technique which eventually destroy her vocal. and she’s old. so.. ㅠㅠ

        here’s she with her former group if you’re interested. lol nothing spectacular tho.

        she’s at 1.33, 2.09, 2.34, 2.46.

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    1. She sang it higher than before, before I think she was hitting like B5s and then peaked at F#6, this time she tried to hit E6’s straight up from the beginning lol then she cracked on F6, her voice didn’t hit the higher notes.

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  31. Is this C#5 better than the one in Love Love Love. Ok I guess I did not see everything. Only that baby face Raina santa claus angel F#6 girl knows everything.

    2:39

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    1. Oh I forgot to say that I know your secrets! Only a freemason would put a 666 sign in a vocal analysis. You guys sicken me. Here I got proof
      Kpop Vocal Analysis=3 words Ahmin3=5 letters+ 1 number=6
      Ok 6 three times=666 (the mark of the beast)
      Wait it even gets worse!
      There are 56 vocal analysis+31 sopranos+7 soloists+1 excellent vocalist (=95)× 7 categories =666!!! Also they have 3 pictures of kpop singers doing the 666 sign. Not to mention Ahmin is a 1000000000 degree freemason
      Kpop Vocal Analysis = ILLUMINATI CONFIRMED

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      2. Girl I’m just kidding. I wanted to see your reaction lol. It’s so stupid when people do that and I’m making fun of those people. Delete the comment if you want. I DID NOT mean anything I said in there. I was joking around lol. Hope you understand

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  32. I would even promote her to competent vocalist (but maybe I am biased). Her voice last year stabilized and improved a lot., I think and performed immensely better than a couple of years ago.

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  33. So Raina is the best from the 3 ladies in AA-C right? Consistent resonance til C5, sometimes C#5 and support sometime til D5, has a connected headvoice that improved compared to the past, and her lower range shows support til G3 which is decent for a soprano. Yerin has the better mix but no true head voice and a weaker lower range. Lee Hi has a better lower range, her resonance and support are til like Bb4/B4, but im not sure how to compare that since she is a mezzo. Her falsetto aint too good and no HV shown. Is this pretty much an accurate comparison?

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  34. How did Raina do on mask king?

    And how did she do on this radio show singing her badly promoted solo track? (pledis kills me sometimes… or most of the time)

    thanks!

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    1. The second one has been answered, in the first video there was nothing too impressive. She had a few really nice resonant B4’s in Forgotten Season, it didn’t go any higher than that. There’s nothing really new, she did well regardless. 2:48 that head voice could’ve been more relaxed, her head voice can fail her sometimes in terms of openness and being relaxed, in the last video I mean. Otherwise it was fine. I didn’t hear about this song.

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      1. By second video did you mean forgotten season or the duet? Do you remember where it was originally posted? I checked the comment section of Raina and Jungah’s analysis and couldn’t find it. If you don’t remember that’s okay. They announced it once, and then that was it. I assumed it was pushed back until I saw it as recommended videos watching her mask king performances. Out of curiosity, who has a better head voice Raina or Taeyeon? I know they’re close in terms of skill. Also, can you resonant and strain at the same time? Thanks again!

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      2. I think Taeyeon has better connection and Raina has higher connection… I’m not sure who’s better, maybe Raina. Nope, you can have good placement and strain at the same time but true resonance can’t be produced with vocal strain. I think I meant the I Don’t Know video you showed me.

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  37. I’m actually very shocked she is this good? I’m not a expert but her technique never got my attention (she was so messy in some Bang! performances that I thought she was just a ok vocalist with some high notes here and there).

    at same time sad that all this talent being wasted by Pledis.

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  38. Hi Ahmin,

    It’s me again. Lately I have been listening to AS a lot and this analysis just happens to show up at the right time 🙂 I guess Raina’s range is what impresses me the most, not the texture of her voice sadly. But she is a serious and passionate vocalist who actually tries to be better and better everytime she makes a comeback so I respect her for that.

    By the way, there’s Nana who is far from being a good vocalist but I want to hear your opinions regarding her performance in these two videos. Geez, I think she totally has the voice for trot music. Thank you 🙂
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDznWCTi2G8 (1:32 – this performance dates back to the time when she debuted)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMZNme1cx8o (0:43 – this is her latest performance)

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    1. I’m glad you enjoyed the analysis! The thing with Nana is she has absolutely no sense of support and has a very underdeveloped instrument but musically she’s able to add very good inflections that suit trot. She is completely in control of the stylistic approach for trot so even if her technique is very underdeveloped, her delivery suits the genre very well.

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      1. Then, I guess choosing the right song and genre is just as important as having a good technique since in the end, how well you deliver is all that counts. So I wonder between her and Lizzy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxoIdmB5iCc at 1:21), who is better overall? Oh and there’s Sunmi from Wonder Girls, how good of a vocalist do you think she is? What is her voice type? That’s basically all I have in mind these days. Kamsahamnida 🙂

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      2. They’re all Sopranos I believe. Sunmi may be weak to average or average and Lizzy has better technique than Nana but it’s not a considerable gap.

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  39. Can I ask what makes her aa to competent? she seems just aa with her supported range or does her head voice strong enough to give her an extra boost

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    1. Yes, her head voice gives her that extra boost. Also she’s fairly consistent with resonance. Truthfully, her analysis explains why she is AA to C.

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  40. dear ahmin3

    we know that my QueenTaeyeon in competent and Raina in AA to Comptnt, but what makes my queen better than Raina? i mean what’s big difference? considering Raina has more developing low register even decent until F3, higher supported head voice with good connection, and the both have same top supported mixed in C#5 although my queen can support some D5s but it just a bit better. Raina also can explore her head register extremely until F#6 live while my queen F#5 ~ Bb5 live.

    what’s makes my queen better? resonance? agility? or her popularity? ( just kidding ^ ^ )

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    1. Raina has supported F3’s but she isn’t consistent below G3, also Raina can support C#5 but she loses resonance up there, whereas Taeyeon can keep resonance much higher than Raina on C#5’s VERY consistently and her D5’s are much better than any D5’s I’ve heard from Raina. The difference in chest voice is not huge, and head voice is just a matter of one semitone support since neither can produce resonance in their head voices. I mean being able to strain F#6 in head voice doesn’t make anyone better than anybody else really. Agility, Taeyeon does have better agility but overall her instrument is more evened out than Raina’s, her head voice is relaxed and supported but it lacks the projection that Taeyeon’s has, her mix is considerably better and the lower range, Raina does have a better lower range but it’s not a huge difference.

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      1. hmm i see.

        btw i still waiting Yuju & Wendy analysis. so many people comparing them, but i pretty sure that Wendy is more skilled and she deserved to be competent level or above ( maybe). so where is Yuju? is she in AA to C or just AA?

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    1. I’m glad to hear these songs because I know them all, they’re very popular songs and it’s good to hear Raina singing them, so I know what to expect. Thank you for posting these videos, since we transferred the blog, nobody has really commented on her analysis so although there are comments on it, it was showing them as 0 until a new comment would be posted. lol 13:31 yes that C5! Good job Raina! The range for the first song is E3 ~ C5 or so in range, so even though the lower range was too low, Sojung was at a disadvantage with the mixed voice portion. I am glad Raina won, but wow Sojung fell? LOL 17:38 her throat is closed right now? She literally always sings like that…lol

      24:25 Go Yujin isn’t good at vocal runs…or well supporting in general. Raina is only singing up to B4, where she is very comfortable. 25:07 oh no…and he got a vote for that, people are hopeless. These songs aren’t really going high at all.

      Yoo Sungeun… Her singing kind of frustrates me. Raina lowered her larynx on a few E3’s. Oh Sungeun can support B4’s, I didn’t know that. Cause from what I had heard in Chandelier, her fifth octave wasn’t very good. Her B4’s aren’t as opened as Raina’s, but she’s not bad. She pushes with her tongue and throat a bit too much, Raina is a lot more opened. She has that tongue tension that makes people perceive her singing as “soulful” which isn’t necessarily true but it pleases the ear. I would say she is 35:21 yeah average seems like a safe bet, considering her C5’s. Or Average to Above Average.

      How does this show work exactly? Like who are these people voting and what’s their position to be able to vote other than personal taste? Cause I am kind of mad that 11 vs 2 was the result. lol

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      1. I check this page religiously because I love Raina so much and just in case she improves. I believe she’s on the cusp on proficient right?

        Yea, when I first watched that. I was like “WTF? Sojung’s throat is not closed, she always sings like that.” No one really impressed me from this show to be honest besides Raina and the Mamamoo members.

        Based on the intros that they played I think that they’re voting based on taste because there are many questionable moments such as that random thing Yujin did getting a vote. I was so mad when I saw that 11-2 result. Sungeun’s coach was also Sojung’s coach and he said that Sungeun’s throat was closed/wasn’t properly warmed up, I called BS on that too because it just sounded like strain to me. All the hype that she has made me had higher expectations. Even Sungeun’s coach said that Raina wouldn’t pick her to sing against because Sungeun would be a harder matchup than Solar… but I guess that day stylistic singing won today.

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      2. Cusp is one way to put it yes. lol Oh I know it was the same coach and I saw what he said and I was like mhmm hmm k then. lol I mean well these kids are voting based on taste, so it’s..fairer I suppose. Yes you are right, Raina lacks confidence but it’s like one of them said…They said “When it comes to After School, I don’t think of anybody who can sing well..” It’s sad because yeah people don’t know Raina can sing well.

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  43. Another thing that I don’t like is that sometimes Raina doesn’t have enough confidence in herself because after the “When Spring Comes” performance, she said the reason why she lost because unlike BMK her voice isn’t explosive/powerful enough to properly sing it. I don’t really understand that because she produces decent resonance with an open throat. I guess being underestimated all the time does that to you.

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  44. Have you listened to Raina’s new song Loop? In her new album (and in Sugar and Me last year) I felt like her voice changed a little from before (I Don’t Know and before that). I’m not sure exactly why she sounds different to me, can you explain what changed (or if I’m just imagining things)?

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      1. It might be just me, but I felt like her voice got kind of sweeter and kind of like it has less power behind it.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdq2HOman3g I think this is the most recent time she performed A Midsummer Night’s Sweetness live (it starts at 2:22)
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Q1k_Jh33M This is from when they were promoting back AMNS in 2014
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqQg9gpZ1SY This one of her performances of Loop from recently

        I’m not totally sure why, but when I first listened to Sugar and Me and Loop I was really taken aback by her voice and thought it changed a lot. I always felt like her voice was pretty powerful when I first listened to her but it’s been a few years and I’m not sure if my perception has just changed or what.

        Thanks for helping me out!

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      2. She is not really like lacking in power or anything, it’s just the style of the songs. These are smooth songs, she is supposed to be singing softly and lightly without belting or anything. I am glad she’s been performing though.

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  45. Hi, I want to ask you some question. First, Raina is my bias and I know her voice is really good. But, what makes her stand in AA to C? and if I’m not wrong you said that she’s like the strongest female vocalist in AA to C? can you please compare her to Solar/Solji? is there a big gap between them? because Solar and Solji sounds really well and they stand in AA tier. Thanks in advance

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    1. It’s very simple. She actually has a head voice and a better developed lower range. The only thing that Solji or Solar would have against her is that they’re louder, but loud is not good singing. They’re loud because they push. Raina doesn’t push, at least not as low as they do. Solji has a lot more obstruction and tension in her singing and even when she does produce resonance, it lacks freedom. Her lower range is better than Solar’s, but Solar is a lot freer throughout her range and her resonance more pure, although pushed. Raina has freer resonance, a more opened sound, a more developed lower range than both and a much more connected and supported head voice. All in all, Raina is a lot more well rounded as a vocalist than any AA vocalist is. Have you seen the chart? Because you can see how far the gap between them is from our chart.

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  46. wow, thanks for your explanation. I don’t really understand much about technique, but I can understand what you want to explain. I wish I can understand much about vocal technique. I think I have seen the chart before, but I’ll check it again later. Thanks a lot!

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      2. I don’t want to annoy you… I’m just not sure if you haven’t seen this or if you still can’t watch it but I’m really curious about the note… if I’m bothering you, feel free to ignore me 🙂

        P.s. I was so confused by the terms “mid-range vocalist” and “mid-range belter” until i read your new criteria yesterday, I thought it was the same and was like “how can gayoon be in the same category as taeyeon and raina” 😀 now I get it, though I still struggle with “commercial” and “stylistic”, aren’t vocalists usually stylistic to be commercial? I get that commercial does not automatically mean one’s stylistic but the other way around? maybe I’m just overthinking ^^

        Anyways I’m so happy that you decided to change it, it’s unfortunate that you probably lost a lot of readers but they most likely were just there for the ratings (and/or to use that (semi-)knowledge against other fandoms). Fanwars in kpop are a mess, they’re the reason I sometimes feel way too old for this xD

        Liked by 1 person

  50. Hi, can you re-evaluate Raina’s vocal analysis from her latest songs (even though they’re cover songs)? I need an update version from her analysis since it’s been a years to hear her voice again 😭

    Here they’re (by the way, she opened up her youtube channel. Let’s support her by clicking the subscribe button! 👌) :
    -Love, Ing (Ben cover) – https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3DqFtEcsZQI
    -All of my life (Park Won cover) – https://youtu.be/dC1u553jAtk

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    1. Oh! If there’s anything different in these videos, then surely that should be enough to add information to this analysis. So let me take a listen. Oh I like her camera, this is good. I’m hearing tension on her C#5’s, some tightness. But mostly the Aye vowel anywhere, even C5, can be tense. But her phrasing has support, then she strains on Eb5’s. She’s less full and open than she used to be from what I’m hearing around C5 actually, but the support is still there. She is supporting well throughout All of My Life, lack of openness still a thing but overalls support up to C#5 is still present. I don’t hear improvement, but I hear that she’s more or less maintained her technique to a certain degree. I’m glad to hear her again.

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