Super Junior-M’s Vocal Analysis: Zhoumi

0. M Vocalists: Mid-range vocalists, Companies: SM Entertainment, Groups, Tenors, Vocal Analyses, Vocal Ranges: 3 Octave Ranges, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Vocal Range

G#2 ~ B5 (3 Octaves, 1 note & 1 semitone)

Supported Range

Eb3 ~ F#4/G4

Voice Type

Tenor

Strengths/Achievements

  • Able to support his voice appropriately
  • Mixed voice is supported up to F#4/G4
  • Lower range has good tone and projects well down to Eb3
  • Pitch is consistently good apart from runs
  • Able to harmonize well
  • Falsetto can be relaxed and is generally projected
  • Nasality is not usually present
  • Good placement is generally achieved
  • Open throated and supported notes are often produced

Points for Improvement

  • Transitions into falsetto can be sloppy
  • Runs are often messy and pitchy
  • Below Eb3, tone becomes lost
  • Voice becomes thinner and headier above G4
  • Tone is often shrill in his mixed voice
  • High larynx above G4
  • Vibrato is often too quick
  • Falsetto can be unstable
  • Jaw and tongue tension present

Registers

  • Lower register: The lower range is often neglected and not used often. He sacrifices tone for style often and support is only brought down to Eb3. Anywhere below that, tone becomes airy and muffled.
  • Mixed register: Mixed voice is produced with good placement and support up to G4 with certain consistency. Above G4 generally sings with a tighter throat, high larynx and the mixed voice becomes much more head dominant.
  • Upper register: The falsetto register is often placed in his nose or mask and is not very well connected. He has issues with producing a full tone, more head voice-like upper range and he often sounds shrill in his falsetto.

Agility

Zhoumi has a generally light voice with a very light approach that allows him to sing through difficult and high passages for a longer period of time without as much weight being carried. Having said that, his understanding of vocal agility often becomes vague when it comes to more complex runs. He doesn’t often sing runs and doesn’t borrow much of his style from R&B, staying more true to a ballad singer approach to sings, which could explain why when he does attempt runs they often come out messy and pitchy without a clear sense of direction in his musical ideas, such as in “放手 (Let Go)“, “I Will Always Love You” and “只要你快樂“. He has developed over the years a sense of pitch that allows him to break down slow and quick runs without as much effort, being able to sing each note clearly with an acceptable flow, such as in “Because Of You” and “家後“, although the rhythmic approach could still use more freedom and more of a “bounce”.

Overall analysis

Debuting as an addition to Super Junior in 2008, as part of their Chinese sub-unit, Super Junior-M, Zhoumi has been a member of SM Entertainment for years and has even debuted as a solo artist under the company in 2014. His voice generally carries very little weight and is very bright in tone. With a youthful tone, placed generally high in range, it is not far fetched to categorize Zhoumi as most likely a light lyric tenor.

His lower range is generally not overly highlighted in songs, he often sacrifices projecting well in his lower range for style by using a more airy approach in his singing. This airy approach is done by not fully connecting the vocal cords, which causes his voice to become quiet and lose projection as he descends in range. He has shown good support and projection with a better connected tone down to Eb3, such as the E3’s in “一人的寂寞 (Lovesick)” and the Eb3’s in “Blind” and “西風的話“, but as soon as he descends below Eb3, his tone starts to change into a more muffled sound, less clear in quality, which can be heard with the B2 in “野百合也有春天“, the C3’s in “Goodbye“, the C#3 in “The Generation Song“, and the D3’s in “Pre-Debut song” and “家後“. He has at times shown that he can produce better tone down to D3 such as in his high note battle with TVXQ!’s Changmin, but rather inconsistently.  His chest voice for the most part actually lacks a sense of true chest placement and often sounds lighter than it could be, if he were to truly develop the thyroarytenoid muscles in his vocal cords in order to create a fuller and somewhat bassier tone in his voice overall.

This lack of development in his chest voice carries over up in his mixed voice as well. He tends to approach his mixed with a more head-dominant sound, by borrowing a lighter tone and using less of a deep and full tone, instead using a bright approach to his singing. The support is his voice can be somewhat weak and cause his voice to become thinner and shrill at times, but he generally has good placement and support present in his voice as high as G4, with certain inconsistencies caused by tension. Good support and resonance can be present in his voice and he’s been able to do so on many occasions, such as in his F4’s in “天黑黑” and “Blind“, F#4’s in “家後“, and G4’s in “당신이기에“, “野百合也有春天” and “I Will Always Love You“. The tension is generally caused by him pushing his jaw forward and his tongue being somewhat tense in the back of his throat. These issues are accentuated as he sings above G4, where his support becomes weaker and he sings with a tighter thinner sound and a high larynx, such as the G#4’s in “一人的寂寞 (Lovesick)” and “Goodbye“, A4’s in “Rewind (挽回)” and “웃는 얼굴 다정해도” and Bb4’s in “爱不单行” and “野百合也有春天“.

His upper register consists mostly of a somewhat shrill falsetto that he’s yet to develop into a head voice. The fact that his vocal cords never truly come together and he doesn’t really place his voice into his head, but instead uses an airy quality with a more mask placed sound create a less true head voice tone to his upper range. His falsetto at times sounds like it’s somewhat placed in his nose or the back of his throat, but can be transitioned into without too many issues. The quality of the tone just often sounds thin and shaky. The fact that he’s yet to produce a true head voice shows that he’s unable to truly understand support in his upper register and therefore instead goes for a disconnected falsetto instead. Examples of his falsetto include “放手 (Let Go)“, “I Will Always Love You“, “只要你快樂“, “Because Of You” and his high note battle with TVXQ!’s Changmin.

Musically, Zhoumi is able to create good dynamics and control his voice and mixing well to a degree, able to use airiness for more vulnerability in his singing, more brightness in tone for a lighter approach and able to create more power if necessary. Due to the lack of chest voice in his mix, he lacks in terms of depth in tone and he can lack in terms of the true potential of a more developed mixed voice that can go from balanced to head-dominant or to chest-dominant. His intonation is mostly good but he has issues with the speed of his vibrato that often becomes overly fast and tends to sound wobbly when good support is not kept.

For the most part, Zhoumi stands as one of the better examples of a foreign vocalist in Korea who is able to stand out for his vocal ability as well as artistry. He’s been able to prove himself as a solo artist after his solo debut. For the most part, developing the full potential of his chest voice and how it can add to the power and depth of his voice will be mostly advanced, as well as developing a stronger sense of support. Addressing issues with his falsetto and developing a connected head voice would also help develop his voice and allow for better vocal performances and furthering his career and fame as a vocalist in both Korea and China.

Musicianship

Musically, his delivery for his vocal performances generally don’t lie around trying to show off range, high notes or runs. Instead Zhoumi is a very dynamic driven vocalist who focuses more on how he’s able to emote through his singing and how he can add different approaches to how he’s singing, instead of trying to alter the original melody or composition of a song. Therefore, he mostly sings songs as they were originally written. Harmonically, Zhoumi is very capable when it comes to being able to blend and lend his voice to create acapella harmonies, such as in “Me” and “西風的話“.

Label (Type of Vocalist)

M Vocalists: Mid-Range Vocalists

Vocal Range Video(s)

Best Vocal Performance(s)

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Analyzed by Ahmin (Kitsunemale)

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47 thoughts on “Super Junior-M’s Vocal Analysis: Zhoumi”

  1. LOL! I was just thinking yesterday “Wow, there hasn’t been an addition to this ranking in a while.” and BAM this analysis pops up. First analysis I believe of someone that isn’t Korean. I’m not too familiar with Super Junior M but would you say that Zhoumi is the best vocalist of this unit?

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    1. Sorry for taking your job Ahmin >.<, but considering Kyuhyun and Ryeowook are also in Super Junior M Zhoumi is probably the 3rd best since I believe Ahmin said he's better than Sungmin.

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    2. No..when Kyuhyun and Ryeowook exist

      SJ-M consists of Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Sungmin, Siwon, Henry and Zhoumi.

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      4. Chen is Korean though 😀 I believe the first one would be Zhang LiYin.
        Also speaking of, how would you guys think about the difference between Zhoumi and Sungmin?

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      5. You’ll find out soon when Sungmin’s analysis is done, since he’s the next one to be analyzed. haha

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      7. Every member in Super Junior aside from KRY is a weak vocalist, so no, Siwon is nowhere near Zhoumi.

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    3. Zhou Mi is one of the better singer in the SJM unit but that ranking would go Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, Zhou Mi.
      Zhou Mi compliments Kyuhyun and Ryeowook well and the three sound very good together when harmonising or when following each other in song, but I wouldn’t put Zhou Mi above Kyuhyun or Ryeowook. He does have the ability to sing alongside them without sounding significantly weaker, though, which can’t be said for most SJ/SJM members.

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  3. Hey thanks a lot for this! I wasn’t expecting that you’d make an analysis for our Zhou Mi! I’m actually surprised that he got the rating you gave him ‘coz even as a hard core ELF myself I never thought of Zhou Mi as someone who had great vocals so your rating for him is such a pleasant surprise for me. Though I really loved his debut song and his debut album. I just want to share this performance from their 5th concert tour where I really thought that Zhou Mi (along with Kyu, Wook and Sungmin) did a really great job vocally. I’ve seen and heard this performance live when they came to the Philippines and I swear it made me cry because it was sooooo beautiful. Thanks again for this analysis! ^_^

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    1. A lot of ELF under estimate him, which I think comes from not wanting him there or paying a minimal amount of attention to him. While his technique isn’t the best and he has some weaknesses, he is easily the 4th top singer in super junior. Considering the frequent vocal chord related illnesses he has between 2010 and 2012 that were severe enough doctors told him he was unlikely to sing again, it’s amazing he can produce what he can.

      As a vocalist he might be a bit shaky and in need of some development but as a singer he is a lot better than many people, esp ELF who I have seen ranking him below Sungmin, Donghae and Kangin (???????), and it’s pretty impressive that he has vocally improved at all since his illness.

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      3. Oh wow. I didn’t know he suffered issues on his voice. But you’re probably right about ELFs not giving him enough attention although I don’t have that kind of prejudice against him since when I became an ELF he and Henry were already part of SJ and I’ve always been for OT15. LOL. But yeah, if he’d had that kind of issue about his then it is indeed amazing that he’s still able to do what he’s doing right now vocally.

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  5. Wow~ while reading the analysis i thought he was gonna be average but i guess he’s better than that.

    And one more thing, this sentence “A4’s in “Rewind (周觅)” I don’t know if u actually wanted to put the Chinese title in the bracket but 周觅 is actually Zhoumi lol XD The chinese title is 挽回 i think…

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      1. lol the way phrased it yesxD usually i know what rating to expect base on what you say, but i was surprise it was higher than what i expected this time lol

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  7. i thought he would be lower but anyways

    random question. What do you think of Beyonce? She seems at Ailee’s level if not higher. Like she has impressive control/support/runs and stuff

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  8. Is there any other kinds of tenors in Kpop y’all know of not Light Lyric Tenors? Does pop music just prefer Light Lyric Tenor timbres or are the other vocal fach types just more rare?

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    1. Both, lyric voices are more common but also somewhat more preferred. There are K-pop tenors who are full lyric tenors and not light lyric tenors, but apart from that I don’t believe we know of any who are anything but lyric yet.

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  9. hey ahmin3, what rating do you think you’d give to Luke James? he seems like he’d be at a competent or higher level but im not sure

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  11. Thanks for this! I love Zhou Mi to bits and I was bracing myself for a lower rating esp. since he seems to have lost quite a bit of his range after his vocal chord problems. But I’m happy that he rated well 🙂

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  12. Wow, I thought zhou mi’s raiting would be lower. Anyway, I’m so happy that he rated well ^^
    By the way, have you analyzed that immortal song’s video of him?

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  13. Hey ahmin I’m making a Vocal range video for Zhoumi and I was wondering if you knew of him singing A2 or G5? Sorry to ask as if you knew this off the top of your head but those are the only notes I’m missing in his vocal range.

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  14. Hai Ahmin. He is near for Average vocalist. What is holding back him? Inconsistent with resonance? or he have problems to make a well transition between his vocal cord? Thanks.

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