Kim Bohyung’s Vocal Analysis

0. MB Vocalists: Mid-range belters, 0. ML Vocalists: Mid-low range vocalists, Companies: B2M Entertainment, Soloists, Sopranos, Vocal Analyses, Vocal Ranges: 2 Octave Ranges, , , , , , , , , , , ,


Vocal Range

D3 ~ B5 (2 octaves, 4 notes and 1 semitone)

Supported Range

G3 ~ C5/C#5

Voice Type

Soprano

Strengths/Achievements

  • Strongest vocalist in SPICA
  • Consistent resonance is produced
  • Voice shows support up to C5 consistently
  • Support down to G3/G#3 consistently
  • Has been able to support her voice down to F3
  • Good pitch and sense of key
  • Good control of dynamics and stylistic approaches
  • Great harmonizing and blending skills
  • Transitions well into falsetto
  • Able to sing slow and mid tempo simple runs

Points for Improvement

  • Aye (애) and Oh (오) vowels generally causes tension even within her supported range
  • Larynx raises above C#5, causing strain
  • Runs can be sloppy
  • Lowers larynx below G3 to produce tone
  • Jaw tension present in the mixed voice
  • Head voice isn’t produced, falsetto is mostly used
  • Bad tongue position in the upper mixed voice
  • Incorrect breathing technique, breathes into her chest a lot

Registers

  • Lower register: Her lower range retains good support and placement down to G3 consistently and even below that, she is able to keep tone and project in her lower range. However that is often done by slightly lowering her larynx and straining her voice.
  • Mixed register: Mixed voice is strong in volume and produces consistent resonance up to B4 and C5 with consistency and occasionally support is present up to C#5. Voice is often pushed and shows jaw and tongue tension in her mix, high larynx above C#5.
  • Upper register: Falsetto is mostly used although transitions are well done. Most of the time the falsetto is airy and at times produces a fuller tone, above F5 her throat closes in her falsetto register. Head voice isn’t produced.

Agility

With a light and bright voice, agility becomes an easier goal for a vocalist like Bohyung. Although not necessarily taking much influence from R&B music, Bohyung is capable of producing considerably accurate vocal runs in her voice when done so in a slow and mid tempo, such as in “Who You Are“. When the runs become more complicated or faster, Bohyung’s note separation turns into sliding through the notes and that ends up causing her pitch center to be lost, such as in “Lost Stars“, “Break Away” and “No Diggity“. Bohyung also shows an understanding of her own voice and instead of trying to add unnecessarily complicated vocal runs that she can’t sing properly, she instead often simplifies vocal runs in her vocal performances, such as in “Officially Missing You” and “미아“.

Overall analysis

Debuting as a member of SPICA in 2012 as one of the main vocalists, alongside Kim Boa, Bohyung has been able to make a name for herself with a group of capable vocalists and acapella group. She is often the most highlighted vocalist when it comes to high belting and as the youngest member, carries the group with more responsibility. Her voice is placed high in pitch and range, allowing her to take on the most challenging lines without as much strain to her voice due to her extensive mixed voice. Due to the high pitch of her voice and the placement of her range, it is safe to say she’d most likely be classified as a Light Lyric Soprano.

Her lower range is mildly developed with good tone and projection. It’s one of her better registers, being able to vocalize with ease and relaxed even down to G3. Her tone isn’t even lost when she sings below G3, being able to retain tone and project even down to D3, such as in “Officially Missing You“. She has been able to show support in studio down to F3, such as in “Let It Go“. That support however lacks consistency, as she’s often heard struggling to keep a neutral larynx in her lower range, such as the F#3’s in “난 널 사랑해” and F3’s in “Break Away“, and at other times lacks stability in keeping her vocal cords connected, such as the F3’s in “늦은 후회“. Her support however is very consistent above F#3, being able to show a relaxed and forward full sound in her voice, such as the G3’s in “Officially Missing You” and “행복한 나를“, and the G#3’s in “순수“.

Her mixed voice is the most extensive and used part of her voice. She is usually the one who takes on the most challenging and highest notes in SPICA’s repertoire and for the most part, the only one who can handle them the best. She has shown over the years that she’s able to produce consistent resonance in her mixed voice, with fulness in tone and a forward sound as high as C5, such as the Bb4’s in “난 널 사랑해“, B4’s in “Let It Go“, “It’s Raining Men“, C5’s in “Let It Go“, “Let It Go (Studio)“, “그대안의 블루“, “삐에로는 우릴 보고 웃지“, “이유 같지 않은 이유” and “남주긴 아까워?“.  The issue with Bohyung’s technique is that she often causes constriction in her sound by tensing up her jaw and swallowing back her tongue, causing the tension to overcome her sound and hinder her resonance. Support is however consistent up to C5 and she has actually been able to support C#5 at one point, even if inconsistently, in “삐에로는 우릴 보고 웃지“.

That however is not usual, as she usually pushes her larynx up and closes up her throat above C5, such as the C#5’s in “누구 없소“, D5’s in “Right Here” Eb5’s in “You Don’t Love Me“, E5’s in “Who You Are” and G5 in “깊은밤을 날아서“. Her high larynx issues often cause her to strain her voice a lot and overuse it above her comfort zone, which can eventually take a toll on her voice and damage her vocal health. Another issue of hers is she may at times strain even within her supported range due to incorrect vowel shapes in her throat and muscle memory that leads to tension being brought up to her mix, such as the Aye (애) vowel C5 ~ C#5 in “행복한 나를“. Her mixing is generally very well controlled and in the occasions she’s sung with a brighter mix without trying to add artificial tension to create “power”, she’s able to properly support her voice with ease and a light mixed voice sound.

Her falsetto range is one that isn’t necessarily developed but still is easily transitioned into and relaxed within a comfortable range. She has shown many times that she is able to go back and forth between her mixed voice and falsetto registers without any noticeable issues or lack of smoothness, such as in “Just A Feeling” and “Lost Stars“.  As high as F5, even though her falsetto register lacks connection and produces a generally airy and small sound, she’s able to keep a relaxed sound without much strain to her voice. However above F5, she tends to show a more closed throat shape, keeping her voice tighter, a higher larynx and a more pushed approach to her falsetto, such as the G5 in “화“, A5 in “Blue Rain“, Bb5 in “When You Believe“, and the B5 in “Lonely Night.”  This is generally a less used register but she seems to be the one vocalist in SPICA with the most extensive falsetto register, therefore mostly taking the highest falsetto notes when required to. Her upper register never truly shows the connection or resonance of a true head voice, making this her least developed register.

Musically, Bohyung is a sensitive vocalist who’s able to hear musical changes well, blend her voice well with others and accurately use vocal effects and dynamics in her vocal performances. She does have issues with her breathing technique, never truly using her diaphragm to its full potential for better breath support and often breathing into her chest. Her vibrato is produced well and with evenness and her singing within her supported range is usually controlled and full.

The bad habits existent with trying to push more volume and power by creating jaw and tension can eventually lead her to some vocal damage and should be addressed as soon as possible to minimize the damage over the years. As the main vocalist of a girl group, it’d be advisable that for her to gain better breathing technique and address bad habits in her mixed voice, to keep her career as a singer going strong and lasting as long as possible. Her mixed voice and head voice should be the first to be explored, in order to lighten up her mix and create a better habit of an opened throat shape in her mix.

Musicianship

As a vocalist, Bohyung isn’t as risky as many others would be when it comes to adding many different melodic ideas to her covers. She generally simplifies vocal runs she can’t fully commit to with precision and will mostly work with small vocal changes in her songs, such as in “Officially Missing You“. However, the highlight of her musicianship is her great ability to fully blend and harmonize well as a member of SPICA, in many different occasions showing the ability to have a great ear for pitch, blend and rhythm, such as in “Cup Song” and “Right Here“.

Label (Type of Vocalist)

MB Vocalists: Mid-Range Belters

ML Vocalists: Mid-Low Range Vocalists

Vocal Range Video(s)

Video by: Viet Tien

Video by: Hawaiipups and kpopvocalists

Video by: eternalsilverlight

Best Vocal Performance(s)

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Analyzed by Ahmin (Kitsunemale)

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122 thoughts on “Kim Bohyung’s Vocal Analysis”

  2. oh i came here to check something about Lee Hi and yay an analysis for Bohyung. onehallyu is down or i’d have commented on this there lol but a nice write-up as usual! she’s my favourite voice in SPICA, so it’s nice to see that she’s the best in the group~ i feel like her voice is the clearest among them to my untrained ears and i love her C5s… but Boa still isn’t far behind at all of course. would you say that Boa’s a mezzo because her voice sounds richer when she sings lower, kinda like Lee Hi? Narae sounds like she’s around SNSD Seohyun’s level, they kinda sound similar, but i’m not sure

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    1. Well this was posted like less than an hour ago haha I wish it was all well in OH so I could have posted a thread about this but oh well. We are still discussing Boa’s fach, she could be either a mezzo or a soprano, she sounds like a Soprano in her mix but then again not? It’s really questionable. I think Narae is yeah, average or average to above average if she were to be rated here. Boa’s mix is quite a bit behind Bohyung, but it’s all still under discussion. Thanks for checking this out and commenting btw!

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      3. Could Boa possibly be a dugazon, which is kind of a soprano/mezzo hybrid?

        “A Dugazon is a very light contralto voice, let’s say, a mixture between the vocal weight of a light-lyric soprano and the tessitura/color of a mezzo soprano.”

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      4. It’s really hard to tell when someone is so undertrained as Boa. She is not an exceptionally developed vocalist for contemporary standards or classical standards, I don’t believe she’s a Dugazon. She could just be a mezzo soprano.

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  3. Another above average? Do most of these idols train the same way? By the way, you once said that you thought a main vocalist should be at least above average how about a lead vocalist then

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    1. There is a pattern of stronger vocal groups having their main vocalist be Above Average and weaker ones be Average, I believe a lead vocalist should be close to a Main vocalist in skill. There’s nothing that should stop a lead vocalist from being as good as the other members.

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      5. ah ok, cause i listened to “paper hearts” and amber singing the chorus sounds quite nice, and of course her lower range is better than krystals

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      6. Not really much better, Amber is also a lyric soprano. She also has stability, pitch, support and nasality issues.

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  6. thank you for making this
    just a small question will UKISS’ vocalists ever be analyzed they debuted in 2007 or are they too irrelevant >< ?

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  8. Why didn’t tell me you did this analysis yesterday! Lol, graet job! I wish she was more consistent. It’s always so annoying to find out the notes I missed lol. I wish I heard the G3 and G#3’s. Btw do you think Boa and Bohyung are both the same level? Do you know who’s better yet?

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      3. I would love to have anoyher mezzo in kpop. I was just listening to the other vocal range video of her belting/mixing. I saw that a long time ago but that video is of her when she was younger (well of course it was made 3 years ago) and mine is more recent. I see that her mix was more heady when she was younger and it began to be more chesty when she got older. Do you notice that too?

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      4. Yeah that too but it was mostly that she also got more resonance and her throat opened more. That was 2007, very long time ago.

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  9. It’s great that this is done because this can be used to compare directly with Park Bom since Bohyung was almost in 2NE1
    (There are some crazy Park Bom fans who claim she is just as good a vocalist as Bohyung, only different styles)

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  10. great analysis as always ^_^
    if you don’t mind me asking but which entertainment group do you think produces the best and who produces the worst vocalists on average?

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    1. I am not sure, I can tell you that only for the big three, the best being SM (Also take into consideration they have MANY more artists, so that gives them a higher chance of having at least a few more people who are better) and YG is the worst.

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      2. Minzy improved quite a lot over the years. She has achived occasional support on C5 nd her resonance is consistent even if pushed. She already has better lows than Bohyung she just sounds way more consistent on G3 nd overall she has better placement and is not as airy, she just needs to fix her larynx position.
        Minzy usually is consistent on G3-B4, Bohyung has G3/G#3-C5/C#5 and has similiar issues as for throatiness or larynx position. Not saying Minzy is better, but the gap is not as big as some ppl might believe.

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      3. “Minzy improved quite a lot over the years. She has achived occasional support on C5 nd her resonance is consistent even if pushed. She already has better lows than Bohyung she just sounds way more consistent on G3 nd overall she has better placement and is not as airy, she just needs to fix her larynx position.” where? I believe you are the one claim strain C of Minzy from King of mask singer was that good (admins already seen this long before) and CL had technique as good as Jessica LOL keep you 2NE1 bias calm

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  12. Ock joo hyun please!!!!!!!!!
    I can’t hold back the my acquaintance disdain her anymore 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

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    1. Wendy seems to be above Taeyeon, competent I believe. Seulgi is average. Joy is probably below average, I don’t know the other ones. We will analyze them but they debuted only a year ago, it’s not fair to analyze them yet.

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      1. Oh, Wendy’s likely to be competent now? Wow haha that’s a surprise I’m excited to see the full analysis when it comes out because last time I checked you comments on her, you said she was just about the same level as Taeyeon.

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      5. What are the main reasons for you saying Wendy is better and was Taeyeon better than her younger days? I feel like Taeyeon’s voice has been getting damaged over time and I’ve heard many times her voice sounding really bad health wise in the past few years. I know you’ll probably talk about how much Taeyeon has improved since debut in her analysis, but would you say her techniques and overall singing has actually gotten worse? Thanks so much!!

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      6. Thanks ^^ so Seulgi is same as Tiffany? Joy is around Sooyoung SNSD?
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iMHNIfhmr0 (start 3:37) cover Twinkle, 5:45 Irene Yeri cover Apiril’s song (i don’t know its name 😀 )

        start 0:55 (Tears) Wendy Joy Seulgi cover 3:34 (Lion Heart) Irene Yeri cover, have you seen it? I think Irene sings ok 🙂 she is above Yoona Hyoyeon? How is Wendy’s highnotes? Yeri is worse than Irene or not?

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      7. I wouldn’t compare Joy nor Sooyoung because neither of them are true lead vocalists so I don’t really think of their vocal skill. Joy has a weak mixed voice, quite nasal and high larynx. Seulgi’s is stronger, her mix is stronger and so is her support, her tone has a more rounded tone overall but her C#5’s are quite strained. It’s a different kind of strain though, instead of being shouty like Tiffany, it’s more thinned out and less yelled. I’d say Joy is better than Sooyoung, Joy has better pitch. They were all struggling with the Eb5’s and F5’s in Tears. Wendy was also having issues with her Eb5’s and F5’s. She got the G5 out too, which was tough. I’m not sure I’d say 4:15 that Irene’s singing is okay, her mix is really whiny, the larynx high, the throat really closed, the tone very nasal and her support is very weak.

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      9. Yes Wendy’s head voice seems to be consistently supported up to G5 and A5 according this video. Potentially she can support C6, as done pre-debut.

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      1. Taeyeon never had support down to F#3, good pitch (it’s better now but in her younger days, Taeyeon’s pitch was a mess), fast & accurate vocal runs or a head voice with resonance up to C6, so no. But Taeyeon’s mixed voice is better and much more resonant than Wendy’s. Taeyeon has not gone down, she’s better. Her technique is better, her pitch is MUCH better.

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      4. Well I was saying that Wendy’s pitch is much better than Taeyeon’s was and currently it’s still better overall.

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    1. I might analyze Hanbyul yes but that will depend on his status in the music industry and activities. He isn’t a priority at the moment, I’m afraid.

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  15. It always felt like even though Bohyung was the one to hit the high notes, Boa was marketed as the vocalist in Spica. Boa was the vocal coach to other idols, she also had ad-libs in all of the songs, Boa would be the one to show off her vocal ability in interviews, “I Did It” was very Boa-centric with Bohyung not getting many lines. Maybe it is because Bohyung is more shy compared to the others in a group setting but it seems like their management sees them as interchangeable

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    1. I believe there’s a D6 up the octave but I can’t tell if it’s sung or just an instrument…and if it’s sung, I can’t tell if it’s Bohyung.

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  20. Do you mind sharing your thoughts on Spica’s performance of “It’s Raining Men”? What were the aspects that they did well and… maybe not so well? Thanks, and love your analyses!

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    1. The video is mentioned in the analysis but since you want an overview of the full performance, I’ll go through it. 0:33 is where Narae started supporting, she has a nice chesty forward sound in her lower range around B3 and the A3 also had support, but before that everything she was hitting was muffled and airy, with a low larynx. The range was E3 ~ G3 in the beginning. 0:38 B4’s, all throaty but with good opened placement the issue is she forces her voice out of her throat a lot, but that’s already addressed in Kim Boa’s analysis. Bohyung did great in the chorus, she does have a pushy chesty mix but the placement is great, all resonant phrasing throughout the chorus.

      Joohyun in the second verse, she also has issues with keeping supporting in her lower range, she lacks the forwardness Narae has on the B3’s and A3’s, most of it was just airy. 1:26 there’s a D5 in the phrase, the B4’s, are nice, a bit pushed but resonance is there. Then Bohyung has throatiness again on the 1:33 D5 and the 1:38 E5. Jiwon has very weak support at 1:47 her support is shallow, so her tone lacks depth and timbre and ends up sounding kind of empty and flat. 1:54 wasn’t bad, but she needs to use more support. 2:17 Jiwon has more easy in her mix, she has a nice bright mix so even with weak support she has better control of her vocal cords there and the pitch is more centered. 2:39 I don’t know if I mentioned it in the analysis but sometimes Bohyung’s tongue gets a bit tense, in this part it was sliding back slightly. Their pitch throughout is pretty good, for at least the main and lead vocals. 3:14 all those B4’s were strained for Narae, she has weak support but the placement isn’t too bad, kind of nasal, the vibrato was really throaty on the last note. Their harmonies are really good though. 3:26 still throaty, it’s above Boa’s supported range. 3:32 high larynx E5, thinned out and strained but it’s outside her supported range. Her mix is too uneven, it’s too chesty where she supports it and too bright where she doesn’t support it, there’s too much air pressure being used.

      Overall it’s better than most groups of course, but individually these girls could still use some work here and there but their weaknesses and strengths do compliment one another and their overall harmony skills are great for the most part.

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      1. So apart from Bohyung, Spica is more or less equal in terms of skill? And if it’s okay, what would be the supported ranges for the other three members?

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      2. I guess so, Jiwon seems to be the weakest link. For Narae is A3 ~ A4/Bb4, Jiwon I am not sure I can give her one for now and I don’t know the rapper like that.

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  21. Are you guys going to do an analysis on BoA the main vocalist of Spica.
    I though Bohyung was just a lead vocalist and the Main Vocalist were BoA and Narae.

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  22. How do you guys manage to set apart from light lyric and full lyric? Since i was almost sure Bohyung is a full lyric sorpano from her voice.. Her voice tone sounds really deep so it’s kinda confusing I guess

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    1. You have to listen for the quality of the vocalists time production. Even though Bohyung has kind of a thicker tone than let’s say Narsha, you have to take into consideration the size of her voice against the nature of her mix. Bohyung, Solar and Ailee are all light lyrics with chesty mixes, you can hear just how light their voices naturally are when you take into consideration how pulling chest is what gives them the extra edge in tone. Compared to Eunji and Yeonji who use healthier more balanced mixed voices but still retain depth, maturity and size to their tones. That’s the difference.

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      1. Am I correct that this also explains the difference between chesty lyric sopranos and a mezzo like Lee Hi, who has a bright mix YET still manages to sound heavier?

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    1. I think she did a great job! The lower range was really nice in the beginning, her Bb4s were very nice and powerful. Her falsetto can get nasal but stylistically it worked and I liked her melodic ideas in the bridge section.

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    1. Hey I got you a link LOL

      I can’t believe she chose to sing this song, it’s very bold of her. 0:25 That wasn’t too bad of an E3, see she is singing this in a lower key than Lena Park. She is taking it easy during the first portion, not making it as dynamically explosive as the original. This key may be a bit too low for her lower range, but it’s working quite well in her mix. 1:28 The tongue position could’ve been better but that B4 was nice, nice crescendo and resonance was present. It wasn’t bad. 2:01 C#5 nice still able to keep resonance up there, but shortly after she phrased some D5’s, which were tighter and throatier. So far this is staying below C#5 and so she’s in an area of her voice where support is kept well enough. 2:45 a little bit of tension on those C#5’s, but good placement. I like the melodic changes, she’s not attempting the same runs as Lena, she’s doing it in her own way and making them simpler. 3:18 again going above C#5, tight throaty D5’s and E5’s. 3:36 tense E5. 3:44 throaty E5. 3:49 E5 again. 3:52 her oh vowel can be a bit closed, the C#5 was less opened than the B4 that followed after. That was nice. Overall the key change was a smart choice, it stayed in a comfortable range for her where she has more vocal freedom.

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    1. There’s nothing new, resonance up to C5, strained D5s, strained G5 at the end. She did hit a B5 in falsetto which extends her overall range.

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  30. What are your overall thoughts of this performance? Particularly have they overall exhibited any improvements of note? Or is their technique more or less the same as before?

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  31. Do you think any of her Girl Spirit performances show improvement? Or is she still essentially the same?
    In particular, these three:

    Thank you so much! (Sorry for the excessive amount of videos ^^;;)

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  32. Damn, I really miss Spica 😥 It’s interesting though that Bohyung has better technique than Boa yet Boa is the main vocalist, which is typically the position given to the strongest vocalist, but I guess that some companies take other things into account like high notes (even if they’re strained) and who has the most “marketable” voice. Out of curiosity, are there a lot of groups with the same situation? I think I noticed it with Vixx, BTS, and Mamamoo (well kinda, Wheein and Solar are pretty close anyway) on the ranking of vocalists chart but I don’t believe I saw any others.

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  33. How was the G5/G#5 at 3:30? Also Bb5 at 3:34. The Bb5 sounds like the B5 from Lonely Night, but the G5 sounds more relaxed and actually kinda.. connected?

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    1. 3:30 G5 to G#5, I hear tongue tension and tightness, then with the Bb5 I hear more pushing of air. The G5 is more well placed and more connected, but not actually connected. It’s just better by contrast.

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  34. Jiwon was only ever a general vocalist in SPICA but I’m curious about her technique on her audition for The Unit. She’s clearly nervous, so her voice is shaky at parts, but it sounds like she has decent support at parts that isn’t just shouting. Am I right about that?
    If she were to debut as a solo singer after The Unit ends, would you consider analyzing her?After you reopen requests eventually of course.

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    1. Jiwon was never a vocalist with strong support from what I remember overall. The other one vocalist of SPICA had established support though, I forget her name though.

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