Davichi Vocal Analysis: Lee HaeRi [Newly Updated]

0. HB Vocalists: High range belters, Companies: CJ E&M, Groups, Sopranos, Vocal Analyses, Vocal Ranges: 2 Octave Ranges, , , , , , , , ,

Vocal Range

C#3 ~ B5 (2 octaves and 5 notes)

Supported Range

A3/Bb3 ~ F5/F#5

Voice Type

Soprano

Strengths

  • Very well trained middle voice, support up to F#5
  • Almost never strains
  • Optimally resonant in the A4-Eb5 range very often
  • Great pitch, rarely goes flat or sharp
  • Proper tonality is present at almost all times
  • No “weak” registers
  • Very round and full resonance especially in the A4-Eb5 range
  • Decent vocal stamina, can phrase mid mix notes(C5-Eb5) without sounding tired

Points for Improvement

  • Sometimes tension in either the jaw or the tongue can arise cutting resonance
  • Resonance in the E5-F#5 is not as large as in the A4-Eb5 range
  • Vibrato can sound uncontrolled and fast on sustained notes
  • Lower register loses much of it’s tonality below A3
  • Head voice approaching the G#5/A5 area is strained
  • True head voice is not used
  • Underestimates the amount of breath needed to sustain notes/phrases at times leaving her sounding out of breath at times.
  • Vibrato can be lost on sustained notes
  • When she does runs they come out messy

Registers

Lower Register: Her lower register is very average, her voice below A3 loses pretty much all of its color and just becomes airy, cloudy, and shallow sounding. Above A3 her voice still lacks a full resonant sound though she is supported.  The sound is more on the comfortable, neutral larynx side than it is full on the support, full sound side. Unlike some artists she doesn’t lower her larynx too much in the lower register to create an artificial fuller sound.

Middle Register: Most well-trained part of her voice and probably one of the best in Kpop. Very resonant, full, and rounded sound in the A4-Eb5 range. In the E5-F5 range she is still resonant, but the sound isn’t as full or as round as it is on the upper fourth and lower fifth octave notes. Resonance on F#5 is rare, normally is just supported. Decent vocal stamina in this register as she is able to phrase mid fifth octave notes without sounding tired. She also is pretty good at doing jumps between notes without loosing pitch. Pitch in this register is normally spot on, but sustained notes can become a bit under pitch; mainly because she is running out of air.

Head Register: Up to F#5/F5 her falsetto is fairly relaxed, but the higher she goes the more she pushes with her throat causing her falsetto to be strained. This register has fairly average production, so in other words it is not resonant, but also isn’t very airy.

Agility

Because HaeRi is a Ballad singer and focuses more on phrasing and the deliverance of emotions and she rarely ever plays with fast or elaborate runs. The ballad singer’s main focus is that their song has emotion and that a message in conveyed. HaeRi does this by using different kinds of phrasing. Watching performances by HaeRi one can tell she puts a considerable amount of effort in the way she phrases her verses and expression. By using different kinds of volumes and with the assistance of the instruments HaeRi can create an array of different atmospheres within one song.

Overall Technique

HaeRi is one of the best and most consistent vocalists in K-Pop when it comes to resonance and support in the mixed voice. Her mixed voice is definitely the register she has taken the most time to develop and train. Her other registers relative to her mixed register are quite underdeveloped and need some TLC, however she uses all three of her registers effectively in her singing.

Out of the Davichi Duo HaeRi is definitely the more skilled one. In Davichi songs she normally takes the more demanding lines, adlibs, and harmonies while MinKyung stays in more comfortable and unchallenging area which in turn does not help MinKyung improve at all. Some examples of this would be Davichi’s performance of “Maze of Love”, where during harmonies HaeRi is singing the higher harmony and during the bridge HaeRi belts a resonant E5 while MinKyung carries on with the chorus. Very similar to this would be their performance of “Do You Know”, where HaeRi belts a resonant F5 and MinKyung again carries on with the chorus. However, this is just how Davichi works and they have been doing this kind of arrangement since debut so obviously it works for them.

HaeRi has fairly good stamina in the middle register, therefore she is quite capable of phrasing mid to higher 5th octave notes without sounding tired or losing resonance. She demonstrates her vocal stamina very well in her performance “빗속을 거늘며” . In that performance during the ending she stays well within the C#5-F#5 range producing many resonant and supported notes. She’s able to stay in that area without sounding tired because she is using her diaphragm for support and power instead of her throat like many idols and singers in general do. Her lighter mix also attributes to her being able to stay in that range with little effort.

Though her mix is very well trained, it is not perfect. Certain vowels prove to be a bit of challenge mainly the Oo vowel or “으”(eu) and “우”(oo) in Korean. This vowel normally poses difficulty for singers because even though the back of the throat is in a more desirable position, the way the lips are contorted make it awkward. In her performance “보이지 않는 사랑” she switches from “나”(Na) which is an open Ah vowel to “우는”(Ooneun) which is an oo sound. She was resonant on both sounds, but there is less resonance and a little bit more difficulty on the oo vowel sound. Not only does a singer need to be resonant, but he or she also needs to make sure all of their vowels are uniform.

HaeRi rarely to never strains in the mix register because her supported range goes up to F#5. Only way HaeRi would strain, aside from just having off days, would be if were to tackle the G5 and above range, but as of right now how HaeRi does on notes above F#5 is unknown because she has yet to do anything above that. Because of her not going above F#5 it’s pretty safe to assume that HaeRi knows her limits and her voice. She probably knows she cannot support G5/G#5 so she doesn’t even attempt it.

Her lower and head register compared to her mixed voice are quite lacking in development. Her lower register below A3 lacks projection and solidity, however she has done comfortable G3’s. Her lack in development in the lower register might also be due to her style. When HaeRi does lower notes instead of trying to support and place them well in the chest she makes the quiet and airy to create a sense of sadness or breathlessness. There are definite signs of discomfort when she phrases low notes especially below A3. Her head register is also lacking development, as she rarely uses this register as well. She has a pretty relaxed falsetto up to G5 but above that she pushes her head voice creating a very tense and strained sound. Though her falsetto is not airy, it isn’t resonant which means she has a lack of connection. Despite its production, she accesses her head voice quite easily.

Musicianship/Musicality

HaeRi’s musicianship does not center around elaborate and fun runs, but more on the beauty and deliverance of phrasing. She plays with many different kinds of phrasing styles to deliver a variety of moods and atmosphere. She normally phrases softly and breathy and then gradually builds it up towards the end of the song. As a ballad singer, how she delivers and how people interpret their singing is extremely important. Not only does she play with different ways of phrasing but also different kinds of dynamics. She goes back and forth between piano, mezzo forte and forte sounds a lot in her performances. She demonstrates many different dynamic plays and phrasing in her performance “I love you”.

Label (Type of Vocalist)

HB Vocalists: High Range Belters

Best Vocal Performance

Forgotten Flower(Best Performance)

Vocal Range Video(s)

video by: Chung2F

Video by: Viet Tien

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Analysis done by: Pandayeu aka VT Evil Queen/JiYul

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209 thoughts on “Davichi Vocal Analysis: Lee HaeRi [Newly Updated]”

    1. Please in the future don’t ask questions about non Kpop singers. I’ve seen that video before, all I hear is pushing and a high larynx from the other lady so no, not resonant at all.

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    1. 3:02 I didn’t quite like that one because of the aye vowel. 3:19 same thing. 3:23 this one was better. 3:32 this one was the best so far because she got to breathe, the 3:44 one was nice too. Her sustained ones can be a bit pushed and the vibrato is too shrill.

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    1. She is supporting, but she sounds tired and so her sound wasn’t as full or loud as usual. She sounded thinner.

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  8. Good Evening and this is Haeri’s Live spoiler MV of her new song , which will be released few hours later. There are two episodes here in this video (2:02 & 2:37). For it is the first live video of her new song, how do you think of it? And how about these high pitches here? Many thanks!

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    1. There’s very little tension when her vibrato comes out but otherwise she sounds really well placed, those Eb5’s are great really.

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  11. There’s a video of all her head voice performance recently in the song ‘PATTERN’ and would you please say something about it? How about these head voices? Furthermore I wonder if her analysis article could be updated according to her recent performances. Many thanks!

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    1. Also there is a new vocal range video of her and it showed that she was able to access down to C#3(though it doesn’t songs well)

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      1. Oh I know what song it is and I know about this, I’ve already added the video onto the analysis, and edited the vocal range. I just forgot to edit the header. ^ ^ Thank you for reminding me.

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      1. is it just me? i hear like a shout quality in seungyeon high notes. she has the tendency to be loud and full power in the fifth octave. i dont know if it because of her voice type, chesty mix or her style to let her voice out. there is this video seungyeon singing yeon by big mama, she is singing next to a guy. during the verse he is like whoa my ears gonna bleed hahaha

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    1. Hello! Not trying to speakon behalf of the admins, but Haeri then Ailee last. You can see in their analyses that while Ailee has a few moments of support above F5, it is very inconsistent. She also does not really carry resonance up to F5, and because of her chesty mixing, she pushes quite a bit on like Eb5 and above, sometimes D5 too, depending on her condition. This causes her to be a lot less free and limits her resonance to an extent. Meanwhile, Haeri is usually more open and free from like Eb5-F#5 and can consistently carry resonance and support up to F5/F#5. Although Ailee has that supported G5, but consistency is more important. 🙂

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      1. In her mix? Or overall? I’m not going to compare specific notes, that’s not the point of this blog.

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    1. Nice job, nice smooth and a bit different than what she usually sings. Nothing new in terms of her technique, except her runs aren’t so bad here.

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  17. Hey there, I had someone tell me that Lee Haeri’s E5 in this song was unsupported. Is that true? It sounds resonant to me:)

    4:37

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    1. It’s not chesty, it’s generally pretty balanced as far as I’m aware. Slightly on the heady side occasionally but that’s more of a dynamic choice.

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      1. May I ask but what after the first high note in 3:56 in the mentioned performance was that a run in her second high note? I’m not really familiar but I just wanted to ask cause it came off really beautiful for me. Just asking and sorry and thank you in advance 😀

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      2. That was the E5 that I mentioned that was a bit rough. She did a sort of descending scale, I guess you could call it a really slow embellishment, it’s a run but it’s super slow.

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    1. F5, it wasn’t as opened nor as forward as it could’ve been. 2:32 it’s a supported Eb5, but the placement isn’t forward enough.

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    1. Not for I Have Nothing but for Someday there was a tiny bit of support being carried, but the larynx wasn’t neutral and her vocal cords aren’t developed down there.

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      3. Can i understand what you meant as this was OK note though not strong support?
        I’m so happy for her, hope to see her exploring the F#5-G5 range

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      4. I don’t think I remember saying it was okay… did I? I forget. It was better than the F#5, but it’s too fast to say anything conclusive without context. It has an attempt to support but it wasn’t fully relaxed from what I could hear.

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  27. Do you think it’s too late for Haeri to develop a connected head voice? I’ve noticed for the last couple of years (Pattern, More than Words, 맛 있어서 눈물이나 live) she’s been trying to go for head voice highnotes a lot more but it usually ends up unsuccessful.

    I remember reading something about how there isn’t much room for improvement after around 30. Not sure where or how reputable it was. I just wonder if age could be limiting her because I feel I’m in a similar situation (somewhat, lol) to Haeri.

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    1. Not ahmin , but what you mean by unsuccessful? not supported? then sure but she’ve been going for more connection in her recent years .
      for the age factor that simply not true it depends on the vocalist and how much they’re willing to work on their technique, you specified 30 so I will give you some examples park hyo shin changed his placement after his enlistment around 2013/2014 so he was 33 old ish and that improvement was somehow drastic in some aspect , another example would be Jung dongha ; his head voice improved significantly in his 30 around 2014 in his multiple immortal song performances so lee haeri can improve her head voice if she works on it age is not an obstacle .
      the thing you notice with some Korean vocalists is the more they age/mature the more they have a grasp on their technique and that includes ( sohyang [who improved in her late 20 rather than her debut } ,ailee , hwanhee prime belts are around his 30 …)

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      1. sorry if this is not related to that question, but how do you think about haeri’s vibrato on the last part I feel like it’s more relaxed than before? thank you so much

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      2. you mean the vibrato on the A4 at 4:40 for me personally it uneven she does have some nice natural vibrato moments though I will try to search for some examples

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      3. those are brief but it more natural; 3:05 on the E5

        0:22 on the G4

        you would probably find more examples In her 4th octave when she’s not belting, she’s not really a vocalist who would use vibrato as an embellishment/ornament in her dynamic. if you noticed her vibrato add tension rather than freeing the note.

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      4. Haeri indeed has a tense vibrato but she can still improve it right? i just hope she develop more her head voice and have a natural vibrato, tho maintaining her mixed after almost 12 years is already amazing. Btw thanks for replying

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      5. I’m not sure if she improves it honestly she just has that forced vibrato when she belt and it was the case since forever and that probably her biggest issue at least to me , honestly you shouldn’t focus on that with many Korean vocalists use of some unnatural laryngeal vibrato at times even the technical ones like Kyuhyun and son seungyeon so her developing a full supported head voice is way more valuable. you very welcome

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  28. oh hallo, i havent been back to this site since like years. the only kpop vocalist that i’ve been following somewhat closely on her activities is ms ArrumieShannon, but she just streams and like its “exclusively” Valorant nowadays so…

    anyways, its just that today i came across this certain davichi video in my youtube recommendations, and inadvertently, this site popped up in my head. Soooo i figured that i should post a question here for fun =)))

    how is haeri and minkyung here compared to 2015-2016 (or like to the current state of this analysis) ?

    (there’s 2 person and i dont know on whose analysis should i post this on, so i just randomly picked haeri)

    have a nice day mr ahmin and kpopvocalanalysis friends ~ UwU

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    1. Haeri still did very well on the F5 there is another F in their ost recently too, only thing i care is Minkyung seem like regressed a bit on her mix voice huh? she didn’t support many of her C#5 for recent years, most of her note above C5 seem like had throat tension now

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      1. oh i see… its amazing to hear that haeri still manages to keep her vocals in top shape after all those years. about minkyung, hmm thats interesting… since im not of vocal background, her mix still somehow sounds good enough to my untrained ears despite the small regression lol.
        in overall, it feels like they still does somewhat fine vocally these days…? im still enjoying some of davichi’s classics, so its nice to know that they’re not doing too bad ~
        didnt expect that someone still frequents this site when i posted this lol. thank you for replying.

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      2. do u have any examples of Minkyung not supporting C#5 that she could do in the past? Not hating just curious I want to learn to tell the difference better

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