Vocal Range
E3 ~ F#5 (2 octaves and 1 note)
Supported Range
A3 ~ Bb4
Voice Type
Soprano
Strengths/Achievements
- Strongest vocalist in T-Ara
- Natural even vibrato is produced
- Pitch is mostly quite accurate
- Able to transition seemingly well into falsetto
- Falsetto can be for the most part relaxed
- Generally favors falsetto over straining in her mixed voice
- Support is consistently present in her mid range
- Can support her voice as low as A3 with consistency, rarely even G#3
- Able to vocalize well up to Bb4 with support in her mixed voice
Points for Improvement
- Often lowers her larynx below A3
- Generally sings in a very narrow range, limiting vocal growth
- Mostly places her voice in her nose
- Above Bb4 generally shows glottal tension
- Loses projection and power above C5, sings with a high larynx
- Never been able to truly showcase a head voice
- Underdeveloped mixed range
- Shows tension on certain vowels, such as “Aye (애)”
- Vocal runs are mostly messy and pitchy
Registers
- Lower register: The lower range is the most explored and often used part of Soyeon’s range, even then it’s still generally under developed. Often pushes her larynx down below A3 to project in a range she can’t support in.
- Mixed register: Very under explored as a range, she has enough ease to hit D5’s with her mix without too much trouble but does not often sing above that. Support is present in a balanced mix up to Bb4.
- Upper register: Not ever able to showcase a connected head voice, mostly uses an airy disconnected falsetto, but within the showcased range she is mostly relaxed.
Agility
As a vocalist, Soyeon has yet to be given enough chances to truly showcase her ability as a vocalist, therefore due to the lack of material she’s been able to put out, she generally sticks to easy pop melodies and ballads, within a narrow range. When attempting things outside her comfort zone, such as more R&B melodies with ornamentations, i.e. runs, it is possible to hear issues with her ability to control her voice. She mostly has issues with not only note separation, but being able to sing runs with the correct rhythmic flow and smoothness, as well as note accuracy, generally resulting in sloppy pitchy runs, such as in “길에서” and “Stickwitu“.
Overall analysis
Debuting in 2009 as the main vocalist of T-Ara, Soyeon has had a very long and extensive career over the years as a member of T-Ara, but she’s yet to truly showcase her full vocal potential. Unlike many idol groups, T-Ara has pushed Eunjung and Hyomin forward as vocalists of the group for shows such as Immortal Song 2 or Yesterday, resulting in Soyeon never truly getting the recognition as the main vocalist of the group. With a voice that has clean support and cuts through with a more mature and full sound amongst the T-Ara members, Soyeon would most likely be classified as a light lyric soprano due to the lightness of her voice and the high placed range her voice naturally sits on.
The lower part of Soyeon’s range is one that’s adequately developed in both support and range and has been somewhat explored over the years. Unlike most sopranos in K-pop, Soyeon doesn’t always go for an airy approach in her lower range and instead falls victim of a different bad habit, often lowering her larynx in order to project in her lower range, ultimately causing vocal strain by creating a sound that’s not true to the tone of her voice. Soyeon has been able to show consistent support in her lower range down to A3, such as the Bb3’s in “여자는 배 남자는 항구“, and A3’s in “사랑밖에 난 몰라” and “사랑아 가지마“. Below A3, there have been times where she sings with an airy tone, such as the G#3’s in “느낌이 아니까“, G3’s in “뭐라고 끝낼까“, and E3’s in “Breakaway“, but most of the time an added fake darkness is present in her lower range with the lowering of her larynx, such as the G#3’s in “Love Poem“, G3’s in “Breakaway“, F#3’s in “눈의꽃” and F3’s in “모나리자“. There have been rare occasions in which she’s been able to carry support down to G#3, such as in “아파“, but such occasions unfortunately show inconsistency in her ability to properly support her voice and keep a stable larynx below A3.
Her mixed range is one that’s very balanced in the fourth octave, generally not overly pushed or full of chest development, Soyeon uses a nice balance of head and chest voice in her mixed voice. This support is generally present up to Bb4 with consistency, as heard in the A4’s in “좋은 사람” and the Bb4’s in “떠나지마“, “산라의 달밤” and “揮著翅膀的女孩“. This support can show inconsistencies depending on the vowel used, such as the Aye (애) vowel Bb4 in “그대가 그대를“, and above Bb4 support becomes less present and tension generally takes over, as heard in the B4’s in “Falling U“, “Wanna Be“. Even though she’s able to support her voice up to Bb4 in her mixed voice, she shows issues with keeping a lifted soft palate and often places her voice in her nose, having yet to show the ability to produce proper resonance in her voice. Above C5, her mixed voice becomes more head-dominant and although strain is present, it becomes less damaging to the voice due to the lighter vocal approach she uses. Although a lighter vocal approach is used, strain is still heard above C5 due to the weaker breath support used in order to reach those notes, as well as the tight throat tension and high larynx present in her voice, such as the C5 in “사랑아 가지마“, C#5 in “30전에“, D5’s in “Sugarfree” and F5 in “뭐라고 끝낼까“.
Her upper register consists of using a falsetto register in order to sing above her mixed voice. She oftentimes transitions up into her falsetto instead of trying to mix higher above C5 and for that, she’s often able to transition quite well up into her falsetto, such as in “눈의꽃” and “Bye Bye Bye“. With that being said, her falsetto is mostly relaxed with an airy quality and is produced without true breath support, where the vocal cords are not fully touching and she’s unable to create a connection between all of her registers, shown in the E5 in “Bunny Style” and the C#5 in this “Acapella” cover. Thus her upper register has yet to be truly explored and developed into a head voice where she’d be able to control her voice better dynamically and produce true head resonance.
Musically, Soyeon has very little issues being able to properly change her voice dynamically in terms of volume in order to properly convey the message of a song. Compared to every other T-Ara member, Soyeon is the only vocalist in the group with an understanding of good breath support where she’s able to vocalize fully supported notes within an octave of her range, whereas every other vocalist in the group rely on poor and shallow breath support with airy vocal tones and weak tone production. Not only does she have the best support and tone production in the group, she also produces a very nice even and healthy vibrato within her supported range. Her weaknesses lie mostly in her placement, issues with keeping a stable larynx but most of all, the fact that she always stays in a very narrow range and does not truly explore the full potential of her voice, although that also keeps her from straining her voice and risking her vocal health like many idols do.
Vocally, Soyeon is very underrated as the main vocalist of T-Ara, not only is she not promoted outside of T-Ara in vocally focused TV shows, even within T-Ara shows, challenging vocal parts are usually given to weaker vocalists with brighter mixed voices who have more volume to their voices with more vocal strain, often overshadowing the fact that Soyeon is the member who’s most likely to be able to actually sing such challenging parts the best. For future improvement, working to truly come out of her comfort zone and explore the development of her mixed voice, breath support and perhaps being given more chances to challenge herself vocally could help her strive to improve as a vocalist.
Musicianship
As a safe and smart vocalist, Soyeon is yet to come out of her shell in many ways, one of those being her ability to not only improvise new melodies in her vocal performances, but really take a song and make it her own. Most of the time, one could see Soyeon as more of a vocalist who sticks to the original melody of a song and tries to stay true to it concentrating more on the lyrical delivery, than trying to add melodic changes in order to show off vocally, indicating that perhaps she may lack the confidence to take a song and twist it around as if it was her own.
Label (Type of Vocalist)
M Vocalists: Mid-Range Vocalists
Best Vocal Performance(s)
Vocal Range Video(s)
Video by: Viettien81212
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Analyzed by Ahmin (Kitsunemale)
K-pop Vocalists' Vocal Analyses 
I heard she was supoose to debut with SNSD, is she better than sunny and tiffany
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She’s very close to them in level. I’m not sure about Sunny but Tiffany has a better lower range. Sunny has a head voice, they might be above them.
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You mean they might be above her, right? LOL
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Yes I meant her lol
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I like the crown you out on “T-ARA” :3
“she has enough ease to hit D5’s with her mix without too much trouble but does not often sing above that. ” She has ease in mixing B4-D5s but it’s not supported?
Too bad she doesn’t really mix high nowadays, it seems like she’s afraid she’ll crack if she does lol
I never thought that she could mix a F5 until i watched the vocal range video lol
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Ease as in, she can hit them with a light heady mix without showing too much struggle to stay in that range but it’s still strained.
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Hello, this is a little bit irrelevant but I’m really curious. I know you will never do an analysis abt GD and I dont expect you too but in Baby Goodnight, his voice gives me goosebump everytime, so I just want to know what do you think about his singing in the song and his high note.. Thank you!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGWK9Kr9mPM
the note: 01:22
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He was singing in falsetto, E5’s, through his nose, there’s quite a bit of throat tension and he’s singing with a high larynx, he’s a tenor so him being able to hit E5 is not exactly surprising to me but I never thought he’d go for it in songs. His pitch is not bad. I think GD is a rapper and it’s not fair for me to analyze his singing when it’s not his main instrument/artistry.
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What saves her from failing below average is being a smart vocalist and having consistent support, right? Technically, same reason why Minzy ranked A to AA?
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No not at all, she has support. She is average because she has very nice support, she is safely average. Minzy has resonance, that’s what helps her. Also of course you can produce a healthy vibrato while nasal, nasality has to do with placement not support.
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Oh. So that explains why I am able to produce a natural vibrato two nights ago while demonstrating to my friend how does it sound to have a nasal and overly-bright mixed voice. At first, I thought I was just imagining it until my friend asked me how to do a natural vibrato.
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By the way, can you produce healthy vibrato even by being nasal?
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Are you planning to analysis eunjung hyomin and jiyeon soon? Thanks
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Maybe Hyomin at one point, because she’d be the second strongest vocalist in terms of technique but I have no intentions of analyzing Jiyeon or Eunjung.
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I’m not sure but in my opinion Hyomin’s vocal is way more stronger than Soyeon, cuz she can belt the high note. However I dont know anything about the vocal analysis xD Hope to see your analysis for Hyomin as soon as possible xD
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I’m not sure that we will analyze Hyomin I’m afraid. I do believe Hyomin has better technique than Eunjung, but her sense of support is still not very good.
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Hey Ahmin, I wonder if you have been following T-ARA lately; it seems like they’ve pushed Jiyeon as a lead vocalist now; so I guess she must have improved somewhat. Has she? 🙂
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T-ARA hasn’t released music in a long time so I’m not sure how she’s being promoted as a lead vocalist. Even if she’s getting more singing lines, they’ve talked about how in T-ARA lines are apparently given to the members who make the most effort in terms of being idols. The managers and whatnot don’t know anything about vocal technique so her getting more lines does not mean she’s improved her singing, I’m afraid.
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Soyeon did a lot better than I thought she would! I always knew she was technically the strongest in T-Ara despite being the lovable yet lazy main vocal. Are you planning on doing the rest of T-Ara’s vocal line?
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Not at all. Hyomin maybe, but not anytime soon.
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I know this is a little irrelevant, but do you plan to do an analysis for K.will soon? Been dying to see a breakdown of his vocals, as he’s one of my favourite Korean male vocalists 🙂
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Make sure to check the future analyses page when making requests. As for K.Will I’m waiting on a friend to finish a vocal range video for him first.
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Okay! Thanks for the reply ^_^ I’ll make sure to check before making a request next time.
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Is there a reason why she doesn’t take on the high notes? it makes more sense for her to be the belter of the group if she is the strongest vocalist instead of having Eunjung doing the notes
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I have no idea because as the main vocalist, it would make more sense to give her the high notes than to let Eunjung strain her high notes all the time. Eunjung and Soyeon can sing about the same range, but for some reason they give the notes to Eunjung instead.
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I think Eunjung get the high notes because her voice is naturally high, while it’s usually flat, it sounds more fuller and less airy than Soyeon.(IDK about the last part of the last sentence what whatever lol) Soyeon high notes tend to pitchy to me. It’s not flat like Eunjung but it doesn’t sound as good to me. I’m probably wrong but i think Eungjung has a higher range than Soyeon because of her naturally high voice, but I think Soyeon can go lower.Soyeon high note tends to be nasally and airy/sound like a head voice, if it’s not one. I don’t understand why fans think singing high note make a person a better singer. To me being a singer is a person ability to make music with their voice. A good example is Wheein and Solar. There should be no question that Wheein produces a better sound. Anyway, even though Soyeon doesn’t have the best technique or range, her voice is still my favorite voice on this planet so far. Anything she sings is just so beautiful.
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Actually Eunjung just has a lighter mixed voice, where she uses more head voice than Soyeon who is a bit more balanced in her mix. Since Eunjung is also more nasal, it helps her get the higher notes out with less strain even though the strain is there, whereas for Soyeon since she uses a bit more chest, it can be harder to push the notes out as regularly as Eunjung could.
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She had an traffic accident in 2012. Maybe it affected her throat + vocal cords?
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I’m not sure about that.
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In SM plan she’s the Main Vocalist but Taeyeon is back-uping her for the belts so did you think it will be work if that will happened ?
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I don’t know Id have to hear it lol
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If she was in SM she’d probably have more training overtime, where as in MKB.. well..
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I mean Shannon and Davichi did well as part of MBK/Core Contents Media
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Can you tell me who’s the best vocalist in Cross Gene? https://youtu.be/VgKaxlpIF-U
And if I can request I’d like to see Yongseok and Takuya analyzed. Thanks!
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I don’t know who’s who so I can’t tell you by name who’s better and these are weekend show performances where they’re dancing, so it’s not very focused on good vocals. What I can tell you is I do not hear resonance from any of these vocalists so nobody stood out to me yet but we could consider them of course! ^ ^
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Yeah, sorry. I didn’t have time to find any good videos of them singing because it’s hard to find many videos because they aren’t the most popular… and I also get distracted looking at them dance XD. I hope you can do them, but I’ve looked at the projects and you guys are really busy. I am really greatful for all the work you do! Thanks so much!
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We will consider them for the future. ^ ^
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no surprise she’s the strongest, but yeah, I think average fits her to a T. When I think of an average vocalist, for me Soyeon fits the word average to a T. Thanks for the analysis, I think the ones who I’ve been waiting for the most are Soyeon and Taeyeon, so now all that’s left is Taeyeon. I can’t wait for hers. Thanks for all the hard work again, guys.
also, may I ask what rank you’d give Yoon Mi Rae? If you’re familiar with her.
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I am only partially familiar with Tasha, she seems like an average vocalist, she’s really a rapper with a pretty singing voice so I wouldn’t think it’s fair to judge her singing.
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Fair enough.
Also, which kpop girl group would you considered weakest and strongest in terms of vocals? I know lots of groups have weak members, and then strong members (F(x) has Luna but the rest are pretty weak, etc), but in terms of who has the most overall well-rounded vocals, who would you choose? I think it’s SNSD. Also, excluding groups like Mamamoo and Red Velvet who just debuted a year ago. Are T-Ara, Kara, or 2NE1 the weakest?
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Id say Kara, Dalshabet and 9muses are pretty weak. CSJH The Grace, 15&, Davichi are pretty strong vocal units. If not then TTS, Spica and BEG.
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Are y’all going to make a vocal ratings list saying whose better in terms of skill than who?
Plus I’ve been meaning to ask tips on how to extend my mixed range because its very limited.
I think I have a bass type cause my lower range is d2-f3. I’ve been trying to improve my middle register/
My middle range is about b3-E4. And e4 is quite strained. Are there any tips to a healthier middle range. Because anything after is falsetto from about c5-c6
Thanks 🙂
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Yes after we’re done with a good 90% of the analyses of the vocalists who will be included in the vocal chart, it will be released. Have you seen my vocal tips videos? They should be able to easily answer your question. I think you might be a baritone, it’s very rare for a boy to be a bass, don’t base it off of vocal range. I’d need to hear you sing but do watch the vocal tips videos.
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Just a question: I have a friend who starts mixing at A3 and has tone even at B1. He said that his vocal coach classified him as Bass. Considering he is trained with classical technique, do you think he is correct?
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If his instructor has called him a bass, I don’t see why not although A3? That could very well be a bass-baritone passaggio.
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Sorry to bother but may I know what u think about former T-ara member Ahreum in this song? (She only sang 1 part though…) I just wanted to know if she knows how to support. Or she might be better than Eunjung/Hyomin? It’s okay if it’s too short to be know. Also about the other 2, Shannon and Gunji, I guess Shannon did the best here right? 🙂
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You might want to tell me who Ahreum is, but if she’s the girl on the left then yeah she does know how to support. She reminds me of Gunji’s style.
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The girl on the left side is Gunji. Ahreum is in the center.
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Oh awk lol They sound similar in style..
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Was going to say the one on the left IS Gunji 😀 Ahreum is the blond one that sings first :3
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Ahreum é melhor que Soyeon? Ahreum consegue alcançar high notes, enquanto Soyeon não, Ahreum foi melhor que Soyeon em Day by Day?
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Quem disse essa barbaridade? lol Cantar mais agudo que uma outra pessoa não quer dizer nada de especial, com essa lógica a Eunjung seria melhor que a Soyeon por cantar mais agudo que ela mais frequentemente que ela. A Eunjung não tem suporte e a Ahreum tava fazendo Rap a maior parte da música, ela não consegue abrir a garganta quando chega perto de B4, então não vejo como ela seria melhor que a Soyeon. A Soyeon nem canta em Day By Day lol A Soyeon consegue cantar F5, eu acho que ela tá de boa na hora de gritar umas notinhas agudas para provar que é soprano pelo menos, que nem a Eunjung que grita até A4/Bb4.
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How would you rank these average vocalists: Soyeon, IU, ChoA & Minah?
If Soyeon can support her B4 consistently, will she be an A to AA vocalist?
Thanks in advance.
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She would not be A to AA if she could support B4 consistently. Minah > Soyeon > ChoA > IU.
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Is Soyeon & Minah better than IU :0 ?
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Thank you so much for her analysis! It was a very nice and informative read.
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Can you put all the girls in this category according to who’s better?
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Yes Soyeon and Minah are better than IU. I’m not sure what the final order would be yet.
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did you check all her live in shows? like Hidden Singer and Song for You?
I’m not a expert, I’m just asking. I think she could be a good to average singer if mbk explored her voice a little more, and they make her look like a lazy singer.
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Yeah don’t you see all the links in the analysis? They’re all in there. I think it’s all about training, she just needs to be better looked after.
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sorry I let it playing and probably missed lol
she did even said in a interview that she would probably never show all her potential, because is not what the company wants and demand from t-ara… which is really sad because she could get in a lot of music varieties with her unique voice.
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That is very sad, I wish she would get that kind of recognition.
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Whats her best performance?
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None stood out as better than others.
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Hello, I have some questions about Soyeon singing.
Did she support her voice @3:07-3:14 (I mean the A4 and the two B4s)
Also, do you think that she has shown any improvements or regression, even subtle changes, since her debut?
What can she improve to be considered a to aa or just aa? I’ve read your advice for her in the analysis, but I want to know more specifically. (Like what the most necessary improvement is, etc)
Thank you very much ^^
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I thought it was G#4, A4 and then B4 …the B4 had very little tension. I don’t think she regressed, I just don’t think she ever tried to take risks with her voice which is both good and bad. Working on better openness and support, consistent resonance is part of being an AA vocalist. Producing it at all would help her rise up and improve. C5 is kind of a must for a Soprano as well, supporting it that is and with resonance.
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You mean her B4 kinda supported, don’t you?
If she stop projecting through her nose, she would be able to achieve resonany, wouldn’t she?
I think she’s really tried to improve her stamina recently so she can sing quite well while dancing. In the past she used to lipsync most of the time due to bad stamina, so people consider her as a worse vocalist than Jiyeon and Boram lol.
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It doesn’t work that way automatically. There are vocalists who don’t produce resonance but are also not nasal, like Wendy. Resonance has to do with both placement and openness in the vocal track. The B4 had some support yes, it wasn’t 100% there.
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video from dead yt link is :
151219 T-ARA Number 9 + Cry Cry @ Guangzhou Concert
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Was her voice cracked at 2:45? Or she just went a bit sharp? It sound kinda funny lol
Also how was her high note? I know it’s not good but she hasn’t hit note above C5 for while so I’m really curious.
Thank you ^^
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She cracked it …I think it was C#5.
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with the “high note” subject going on lol what do you thing about this one in around 2:40?
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One of these videos, the Butterfly chinese song one was actually mentioned and linked in the analysis, specifically that note I believe which is a Bb4, well within her supported range. The other note is a somewhat pushed B4, not a very high note but not badly executed.
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she also have another one in this live around 1:55
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thanks for the answer ^^
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2nd dead yt vid link by alden is :
151219 T-ARA Day By Day + Like The First Time @ Guangzhou Concert
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dead yt vid linked otaviop is t-ara soyeon singing chinese song, I can fly
the butterfly wings on led
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The first time I heard her sing, I was completely blown away by that nice, deep and emotional voice. I do agree that Soyeon is a smart and safe vocalist who never goes out of her comfort zone, though I am surprise that she is actually a light-lyric soprano. I always thought she was a mezzo, so thanks for showing me that.
I know it is a lot to ask but since your analyses are very comprehensive and your knowledge is really admirable, I want to hear your opinions on these three Japanese artists: Mika Nakashima (Soyeon often covered her songs back when T-ara promoted in Japan), Flower’s Reina Washio, and Kana Nishino. I have no idea who to go to, so I would greatly appreciate if you could tell me about their voice type and whether they are good singers or not. Again, thank you very much 🙂
Mika: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY-xk03XtdI
Reina (the girl with short hair who sings the introduction, the pre-chorus and the chorus): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH1qA0LwI7I
Kana: http://fansoop.com/2015/03/pv-kana-nishino-aitakute-aitakute-subbed/
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We really don’t analyze non-Kpop vocalists but since it’s your first time, I’ll be brief. First let me thank you for reading the analysis and for the compliments. ^ ^ I can’t watch the video for Reina because it’s not available where I live. I’m listening to Mika and Kana. Kana is definitely a Soprano. Neither of them have good breath support or placement. They both place their voices in their noses a lot and sing straight out of their throats, it’s a very common trend amongst Japanese vocalists. Mika might also just be a Soprano too actually, but she pushes her larynx down when she sings so she sounds somewhat lower than her natural voice tone. She has a thicker and tighter approach to her singing, whereas Kana sings with a brighter approach and a high larynx.
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Nah, you deserve all the compliments for not only your understanding but also your attitude when facing questions that are not related to K-pop like mine.
Regarding your analyses, I mean that’s really all I ask for – a brief overview of their voice. Singing straight out of the throat is a damaging technique, right? Now I know why there was a period when Mika went on a hiatus for vocal recovery.
As for Reina’s song, here is another link https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B98Mlu5rJjIGZWJMbWxhRi1YOWM/view?pref=2&pli=1 (Reina has a short bob haircut with blunt bangs). Among the three, she is the person I look forward to hearing your analysis the most. She has that angelic voice that moves my heart everytime I listen to it. So please help me with her and that would be it. Thanks heaps ^^
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Again, thank you so much. ^ ^ Yes singing from the throat is damaging, it means no support is being used in one’s singing. The one singing at 1:24? This is a really pretty video. Mhmm she is a bit different from the other ones, although I hear shallowness in the higher parts, that are barely high, I hear actual support. I’d guess she’s a soprano too, most likely. She seems to be most supported one from the three you asked about. It’s odd to me but I’ve never heard a Japanese vocalist who favors powerful or technically skillful singing, so Idk a single male or female japanese vocalist who truly could be considered even Above Average, at least not off of the top of my head.
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Yup that’s her – the girl who sings majority of the song. Among the current J-pop idols, I personally find her being the best in terms of technique and emotions. Depending on the nature of the song, Reina can adjust her voice to evoke all kind of feelings such as regret, nostalgia, happiness and outrage. And although I do not know much about vocal technique, I have always felt a certainty (or support as you would like to call) in the way she belts out notes.
Well, Japan is the world’s second-largest music industry so I guess they have their own way of doing things. Probably they choose not to follow what have been practiced by singers out there and re-invent how one should handle a song. Or it has to do with their voice and their language. I remember reading elsewhere about Japanese people having a limited vocal range so maybe, just maybe, it affects their abilities to grow technically.
That’s why I come to love these 3 vocalists. Technique aside, they stand out due to the emotions they infuse into a song and how they do not sound weak or whiny like other J-pop acts.
Again, it is really nice talking with you 🙂
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Well emotions, that’s not something we can objectively argue about so we don’t talk about that. However, I’d still call her technique still quite week. Kokia and Ito Yuna are two of the stronger Japanese vocalists I’ve ever heard, but that’s it and they’re not that strong. I don’t think it’s much to do with the spoken language cause spoken Japanese isn’t nearly as glottal, low larynxed or nasal as sung Japanese. No problem, thank you for coming by. ^ ^
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what?! not even above average ? how about Kokia?
her cover of ” Ave Maria ” sounds very very good to me!
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Again not Kpop… So I can’t be answering these questions. Kokia has a nice head voice but her mix isn’t too impressive.
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Hi Sphello, I’m not a vocal coach but It’s important to know that classical singing and pop singing cannot be analyzed based on the same criteria. This “Ave Maria (by Caccini or Vavilov)” you just posted is a classical-style song. Female classical singing mostly uses head voice, while female pop singing is done mostly in chest voice and mixed voice, with only occasional use of head voice and falsetto. In pop singing, vocal resonance must be placed forward, while in classical singing, that’s not the case. They are two completely different singing techniques. It is good that Kokia does both classical singing and pop singing, but when she sings a classical-style song like this, her techniques must be analyzed based on the criteria of classical singing. Instead, you need to go listen to Sumi Jo’s Ave Maria or Katherine Jenkins’ Ave Maria, and see how they sound 😀
Now, let’s talk about pop singing. One of the major weaknesses of Japanese pop singers’ is their mixed voice. Listen to Kokia’s mixed voice, or Kana Nishino’s (mentioned in the post right above) mixed voice. What many young Japanese female singers do to connect their vocal registers is to weaken the amount of compression of their vocal folds when their chest voice ascends and approaches their first passaggio. In this way, Kana Nishino connects her chest voice to her falsetto all the way up to G5 or A5. However, if you connect your voice in this way, you would never achieve power and volume in the belting range of singing; you wouldn’t be able to belt in chest-dominant mix. Someone posted Nana Mizuki’s live performances in the SoHyang’s vocal analysis page a few months ago, and the same can be said of Mizuki’s mixed voice as well. As an exception to young Japanese female singers, Shiho of Superfly does belt in chest-dominant mix, but unfortunately her chest-dominant mix only reaches up to E5 or so, and at around F5, her voice strains. They need to do something about their mix 🙂
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i really want you to do en jung and hyomin. sometimes i feel these 2 cannot singging well but other time the pretty good. make me confused, they can sing or not although i think they not the very good vocalist
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Both of them are weak vocalists, with Hyomin possibly being weak to average. I just haven’t had the time to think about analyzing them.
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how would you rank IU,taeyeon,ailee,eunji,hyolyn,luna,U.Ji,park jimin,raina,kim boa,soyeon,eunjung,tiffany,minah and solji in vocal ablities/skills/technique????
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We literally analyzed every single one of these vocalists except Eunjung so the answer is in the blog if you take the time to read their analyses. Eunjung is the weakest of them all, she’s a weak vocalist.
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so it goes sth like this: ailee>U.Ji>luna>taeyeon=eunji>park jimin>raina>hyolyn>solji>kim boa>minah>IU>soyeon>tiffany>eunjung??????/ because that’s what i understood..if you have any corrections to make,PLEASE DO ’cause i am no expert
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That’s close! Not quite there though. Ailee >> Luna > U.Ji > Park Jimin > Taeyeon > Eunji > Raina >> Hyorin > Solji >>> Tiffany > Kim Boa > Minah > Soyeon >>>>>> Eunjung would be more accurate. For the full ranking just wait for the chart we have planned to be released eventually.
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oh!!ok! thank u very much for your response and keep up the good work! i look forward to your future analyses!!!
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Ainda estou esperando pelos gráficos :c
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So am I.
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do you have a live performance that she did her best vocally? (like Bom have one in her post)
I’m just curious ^^
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I thought I included one. Let me add it. ^ ^
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Isn’t Hyomin better than her actually?
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In what way would she be better?
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Her technique, people told me she was better than Soyeon, and I thought she had a better upper register
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Well yes I know you mean her technique but I am asking you like in what way? You shouldn’t rely solely on what other fans tell you because a lot of what they say tends to come from personal taste. You mean her head voice? Yeah she can use a head voice but it has absolutely no support at all.
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I’d like to ask about her falsetto (from 5:46 to 6:03). It seems that she hit some F#5 and did a run in fals here. Are they sound ok?
Thank you ^^
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There was barely a run but the falsetto was as it is, airy, soft. I do hear the F#5, which changes her range. I shall add it in later.
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Oh, I thought that there was a run at 6:03 but I wasn’t sure. It sounded like a run to me.
Is there a run at 9:37?
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I actually think you forgot to add the F#5 right xD?
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Thank you for reminding me lol
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No problem ^^
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She run in 6:00
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i’m sorry, but i just wanna ask about T-ara’s vocal ranking (technique), who’s the strongest to the weakest..
then, did Jiyeon improves a lot since her debut?? is she the weak vocalist or not? i’m actually not really understand how to analyze vocal technique..
it’s because i’m really curious..
thank you.
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I have not noticed any major improvement in Jiyeon’s technique. All members aside from Soyeon and possibly Hyomin are weak vocalists. Soyeon > Hyomin > Eunjung/rest. They’re all weak, so I don’t really know members like Qri or such well enough to tell them apart from one another.
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From Jiyeon’s solo and T-ara’s last comeback I have come to the conclusion that Jiyeon is a better vocalist than Eunjung by far. She has a very pleasant voice and does live vocals very well compared to some of the others in her group, including Soyeon at times. She has been pushed forward and given more lines because she has consistently sung well in the group. I just think she deserves a second look.
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What kind of second look? As long as she’s unable to support, getting a solo won’t qualify her for an analysis unfortunately.
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She had a solo, she got a solo comeback all to herself In 2014 with her own solo song and album.
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Im aware and that’s what I’m saying. Her getting a solo doesn’t qualify her for an analysis. Amber, Hyuna, CL, Sandara, etc all had solos but that’s not enough for an analysis. We would rather focus on more highlighted vocalists or vocalists with the basics of technique down or more.
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hmm.. i see, but, is Jiyeon rank above Boram and Qri??
then, will you make an analysis for mbk ent. new GG – DIA, but i’m not really sure about them (Eunice, Yebin and Eunchae as vocal lines of the group), because they’re lacks of material to analyze…
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I already answered this question for you, I don’t know the non-lead/main vocalists of T-Ara well enough to tell you who’s slightly less or more skilled than whom amongst the weak vocalists of each group. I don’t know if Jiyeon has slightly better technique than Boram or Qri. They won’t be analyzed yet, they lack material and debuted recently.
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As a vocalist myself, I would rank Jiyeon above everyone in the group except Soyeon and Hyomin.
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LOL I already read all of comments of this article, there’re so many explaination 🙂
–
–
this is some videos that I found on youtube,
Eunice
– https://youtu.be/uw8snS8arjw
.
DIA on KBS immortal song 2
– https://youtu.be/_jgspfPO4dM
I hope DIA will analyze soon
it will be materials to analyze them soon.
thank you for the answers..
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Vocês já viram ela fazendo a nota de number nine que é originalmente da Eujung? Queria que na versão estúdio a nota fosse dela 😥 https://youtu.be/NgpYTqEEDjY?t=3m17s
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She always struck me as at least an above average vocalist. I think it’s the fact that her vibrato sound so flawless and rich
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Would Areum, the member that left t-ara be a better vocalist that Soyeon or Hyomin because the notes she got in a couple songs highlighted that she was a good vocalist and to me she sounded a lot better than the other girls at times. Her high note in Day by Day for example at 2:33
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From the start of her line at 2:33, her sound was placed in her throat. It was too inward, she wasn’t supporting nor placing her sound well at all. She sounded throaty from the start, so it is to be expected that her C#5 would’ve been just strained. I don’t see how this highlights her as a better vocalist than Soyeon really. 10 seconds of a short line within a live performance of a weekend show with choreography wouldn’t really be the best way to hear if she is a better vocalist than anybody. Actually I’d rather not hear her high notes because I have T-Ara songs and I haven’t heard any T-Ara member ever hitting a note in the fifth octave with support, I’d rather hear her from G3 ~ B4 instead to make sure at least she has that range covered. 1:36 even listening to her line here, it doesn’t really highlight good technique at all.
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I also wonder if Hyomin has a bigger range than Eunjung or Soyeon. Can she belt a higher note cause I watched this video https://youtu.be/sO_H7My2cU8 and found out that she had hit a higher note than Eunjung
Or maybe Eunjung just never tried to belt these?
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She has shown a wider vocal range than Eunjung and Soyeon but that doesn’t mean her range IS wider. It’s just what we’ve been shown.
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Thanks for your answer xD And also one more question. Did she use head voice for her F#5 Note in this video? I’m a little bit confused between head voice, falsetto and even nasal voice
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I believe it’s falsetto.
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I didnt see it in the Analysis but do you know if Soyeon has some support on her B4´s? Because B4 is just a semitone above her supported range so I would think that she still has some support (even if its more shallow) but the tension overweights. Also I probably got it wrong but why would it help her to sing in a wider range? Because that would besically mean she would strain more right? Maybe I didnt understand that right but could you explain that to me? (If that comes off as rude I´m sorry
it isnt meant to be rude)
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Oh nevermind just saw that the tension overweights her support on B4. Sorry ^^ but could you still answer my other question? Thank you very much
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What would help her sing in a wider range? I believe her B4’s are mostly tense. You’re not rude at all!
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The Analysis says that Soyeons sings in a rather narrow range which limits her vocal growth. I dont quite understand that because if she sings in a wider range that would mean more straining for her which in the end would limit her vocal growth or not?
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Well singing in a narrow range means that she doesn’t challenge herself, so if she were to ever need vocal improvement, consistently singing within the same range would not really affect her overall vocal growth because nothing would ever change. However if she were to sing in a wider range, assuming she attempts to use better technique, she could overtime improve. Ultimately if she doesn’t change her technique, it doesn’t matter how wide of a range she sings in, nothing would change either way.
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Ah okay that makes it clearer for me 😀 Thank you 🙂
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I think the run @2:46 sounds much better than those runs shown in the analysis. Do you think that her agility is somewhat improved?
And if possible, please check her B4s right after the run. She seems more comfortable hitting them than before.
Thank you.
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Please don’t post MR Removed videos when asking questions about their singing. Either post the real performance without the sound distortions or a performance with no dancing. I would not say her runs improved because these runs were about the same as the ones in Stickwitu, especially less accurate, but also with less airiness. The lack of flow is still present, so is the pitchiness. B4’s? It’s really hard to tell with the quality of the sound for some of them, but I don’t hear anything new. She never seemed uncomfortable hitting them per se cause it’s not a high for her, she just couldn’t hit them without tension in her throat which I unfortunately still hear.
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hi ahmin, what do you think about Eunjung’s Bb4s at 0:46 and Hyomin’s at 1:44 ?
were they supported?
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I don’t think this performance is a performance I’d use to talk about their technique…ever. I think there are plenty of Immortal Song 2, Sketchbook or Yesterday performances where they’re actually singing. Either way I believe neither of them support up to Bb4.
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nameless dead yt link is – [HD]T-ara I go crazy because of you 030710 LIVE
can’t use that to analyze vocals as that is not purely singing but has dancing along with it.
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Hello..
I just want to know how about the new main vocalist of DIA lee jooeun.. she’s the contestan of kpopstar 2
Is she good/better vocalist of DIA?
And also..
This is some links about Lee Jooeun..
Will you analyze her soon?
And also https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LYf9dIn_brk
She’s take eunji’s part..
The high note belt by somi (new member) and second is Eunice
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She is the strongest vocalist in DIA actually I believe but she doesn’t have exceptionally well developed technique unfortunately. I am not sure when she will be analyzed cause she hasn’t debuted long ago.
“in this one, she is in orange singing at 1:02 and 2:20 and 3:17. I’m especially curious how she does in comparison to the other two main vocals who sing identical parts to Jooeun: Yebin the blond at 0:49 and 2:49, and then Eunice at 2:06 and 3:03.”
So my answer was:
“Yebin is airy, thin and shallow support without connection. Jooeun connects her vocal cords more but also squeezes her throat more, Eunice places her sound lower and thickens the sound more and so overall she sounds a bit heavier and a bit closed. I would say Eunice and Yebin don’t really support, Jooeun’s is more connected, but still fairly whiny, tight and pushed. 3:19 This is a good example of how squeezed her singing sounds, her throat isn’t ever opened. I’m not hearing a strong sense of support from any of these girls. She could be the best but that’s not saying much about her individually really.”
As for her singing Right There. 1:10 really tight and whiny in that range. She lacks openness throughout in this first video, the higher she gets the whinier, tighter and more squeezed the quality of her singing gets. She’s kind of shallow throughout. Her pitch is nice, but her support isn’t strong. The quality of the sound is just small, thin and often airy. This happens throughout Right There as well, especially cause she is singing higher in this.
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Thank you for your answer..
She’s just need more time to show her developments..
Compare to Seunghee ex main vocalist, Seunghee has stronger support than her right?
Who’s better between Seunghee and her?
Seunghee can produce natural vibrato but i have never heard about Jooeun..
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I am not too familiar with Seunghee so I’m not sure.
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Thank you…
How about Soyeon last performance?
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You know I really do like Soyeon’s voice on a completely subjective note. Wait..I know this song 0:39 she peaked at Bb4 there for that portion of the song. Oh it’s Anjing!! I love this song!! She is singing perfectly within her supported range so she sounds generally very relaxed. There are a lot of Bb4’s in this song, throughout. No higher than that for now, she is singing within her comfort range and her pitch is pretty good here too. 2:55 her problem is her throat gets tight when she has to sustain notes, like even this Bb4. The key raised after that. She is phrasing C5’s which are relatively well mixed without too much pushing but her throat is getting tight and she is letting her larynx rise. She loses support on the C5’s, but not below that. It’s a nice performance, it’s not a challenging song for her.
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Hey, just found this blog by accident and it’s very interesting. Just want to add a few details about this Soyeon’s performance:
1- This is the last time she sang live with T-ara in 2017, they’re now in hiatus.
2- Before and during the concert emotions were running high because of the particular occasion and her contract expiring.
3- Because of that she was teary throughout the show, and during this song you can see it after the first “chorus”, fans noticed that too and apparently were chanting “don’t cry” at that very moment.
4- It’s true what you said at the 2:55, and at that moment the platform she was standing elevated, it seems that caught her by surprise because of her reaction.
5- This song is in Mandarin, she doesn’t speak the language and precisely that language has unique tunes and artifacts that maybe she was not able to convey accurately in terms of articulation, and that possibly may have affected her technique and breathing.
6- This is the only time she sang that song, ever. It was like a one shot deal, a total gift-surprise to the fans in Taiwan that night. So for that matter and using the words you stated at the very beginning of your post, “on a subjective note”, I think this performance should be seen mostly as an amazing rendition, and while the song was technically “not challenging for her” I also believe the conditions that night were, on the contrary, quite challenging. That night and during that song, any technicality was not important, subjective emotions were.
Here’s another video of the same performance, notice points 3 and 4 I mentioned. This was shot from a closer angle, actually it was filmed viewing the concert big screen, not her directly.
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I don’t know why soyeon always sing on her comfort zone..
I’m sure that she’s actually better than people thought..
Hope she will have more solo after leave T-ara.. btw i like your t-ara’s crown ^^
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Me too lol I like the crown
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Hi, ahmin, will you analyze DIA Member?
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Check our future analyses list~
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Hey ahmin3 ! Do you think in 1:07 and 1:26 is B4 ? an Soyeon supported this B4 ?
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hey and B4 in 0:34 do you think Soyeon support B4 ? https://youtu.be/thLbqqAf0TY?t=34s
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Can you tell me this notes in video 🙂 ? in 1:28 , 2:08 and 1:45 , 1:49 do you think she support all note ? Can you answer me 🙂 ?
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Hello , B4 in this video of Soyeon in 0:54 Do you think she support ?
Thank you for answer me
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hey ahmin, what’s on your mind with that Performance? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kxQLnMl9pk
from 0:55 to 0:58 and 1:12 to 1:16 can i call them supported?
i know you don’t want it to be the comparision; yet i’m just curious. I feel like Eunjung has been able to support up to A4/Bb4 even though shallow, on the other hand, Hani has never ever mixed above G#4 without straining but capable of pulling fuller breath support and cleaner placement from A3 to G#4. with that in mind, is it relevant to conclude Hani stronger support overally?
btw the way she mixed from 2:37 really surprised me. She seemed making it much more balanced than ever. were they the phrasing D5s?
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oopps my bad, i mean the end of this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bji_MZEMaPg
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Eunjung can’t support Bb4 !
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dead yt link by nguy thao
is T-ARA Soyeon singing “I’m your girl”
either the one on 1,000 songs challenge or her on T-ara’s 090806 performance
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Hey Ahmin ! Do you think she resonance in this note ? and what is note ?
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In this clip, is soyeon in her comfort zone? or her was on challenging hyomin, lol?
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I mean in this clip:
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Hyomin is strained in C5 !
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video by dioaji is
A Song For You 4 | 어송포유 4 : T-ARA – For You from official kbs channel which may have disabled embedding
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Do you think Soyeon use head voice in video ?
Can she support it ?
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hey Ahmin, I think vocal run of Soyeon is good ! She used head vocie and run it https://youtu.be/DTC33Qe-sv8?t=3m
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dead yt link by nguythao9 directs to a onehallyu thread discussing
best b-side of 2016.
so t-ara 2016 is tiamo, so it’s either t-ara soyeon’s part on hurt until today or farewell movie
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Hi Ahmin, what do you think about Hyomin in this per from 1:06?
This A4 is supported right?
Also the E5 at 1:29 is a headvoice note , isn;t it
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oh wow reading these replies were interesting… if she debuted in SNSD, my original thought would be that she’d be just below seohyun but wow this analysis changed my mind a lot, maybe same level as sunny (even though sunny’s head voice is somewhat developed whilst soyeon’s isn’t)
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soyeon is actually even below tiffany
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lmfao delusional! when the vocal coaches at sm assigned soyeon as part of main vocals of snooze generation.
even the vocal coaches at this site calls stiffany a dumb singer – Not a smart vocalist, often sings songs that are too high for her
cos she doesn’t know her limit. she overreaches ranges she can’t reach in attempts to show she can go to toe to toe with the other vocalists in her girlband, jessica, teyeon. and for not knowing her limits that is why she croaked like a frog on star spangled banner and teyeon throwing away her earpiece in disgust at stiffany’s SCREAM in another performance.
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Imma need you to tone down the slander. This is not a place for petty fanwars and fights, if you want to do that, take it to Twitter. I never called Tiffany dumb, do not put words in my mouth. You’re fighting over Tiffany and Soyeon like their skill gap is night and day. It’s not. Their difference is 12:00 pm and 12:10 pm. So you can take your negativity somewhere else, thank you.
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I appreciate all this technical analysis and there are many other Korean vocalists who impress me but I have to say the strong emotional resonance in Soyeon’s voice is quite rare and transcends any technical analysis. She produces such a lush and warm cinematic sound drenched in beautiful reminiscence, wonder and melancholy. I personally think she has been way underrated especially since she was going to be lead singer of Girl’s Generation and since so many of their early hits were such smashes. Her cute voice is also really impressive and brings so much shine brightness and captivating charm. As I think of the singers or groups that have moved me emotionally, I would say IU, Soyeon and a couple of songs by Red Velvet mainly Wendy and Seulgi have moved me the most. Taeyeon and Eunji also impress me a lot.
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In the kpop community, T-ARA generally has been so demonized by a nothing burger “scandal” that the original greatness of the group has been completely forgotten. It doesn’t surprise me that so many comments would place Soyeon as a mere mid level vocalist in Girl’s Generation I mean heap on the coals and assign her to an obscurity of mediocre oblivion which in my opinion just adds even more to their tragic grandeur. And this is coming from someone who has a wide range of favorites in kpop from IU, to Red Velvet, to Girl’s Generation, to APink, Twice, Izone and f(x), I cherish the music of all these groups. but the best setlist of T-ARA ranks up there with the very best of these and is one of most unique in my opinion. Inducing shills down the spine a lot of T-ARA’s songs are truly sublime and Soyeon is the center of their sound. .
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