Vocal Range
A2 ~ G#5 (2 Octaves, 5 notes & 1 semitone)
Supported Range
F3 ~ G#4/A4
Voice Type
Mezzo-Soprano
Strengths/Achievements
- Mixed voice projects well with good support up to A4
- Good rhythmic flow and note separation in her runs
- Support is present in her lower range down to F3
- Tone is kept even down to her lowest note
- Currently the lowest known range for a female idol in K-pop
- Knows her voice and the range she’s most comfortable in
- Falsetto transitions are done well in pitch
- Good placement can be present from E4 ~ G#4/A4
Points for Improvement
- Gets throaty really early on in range around Bb4
- Loses power above A4, mixed voice is very light and thin
- Vocal runs can lack in accuracy with pitch
- Sings with a husky throaty tone
- Airiness present below F3
- Unable to sing with a head voice, only uses a throaty falsetto
- Sometimes overcompensates lack of support by pushing with her throat
- Lacks vocal stamina
- Uneven instrument outside her supported range
Registers
- Lower register: Her lower range is the most developed part of Boa’s range. With tone even down to her lowest note and the ability to project well below her supported range, she’s able to vocalize with clear support down to F3.
- Mixed register: Her mixed voice is strong and possesses stability in support up to A4, but quickly becomes thinned out and pushed out of her throat anywhere above that. It lacks brightness in tone.
- Upper register: Under explored register. Mostly sings with a throaty falsetto, transitions are generally well done and pitch is controlled.
Agility
With a style that mostly resembles soul and rock music, Boa shows that she’s a vocalist who has been influenced by R&B music to a certain degree. With such an influence, she is able to show that she has the necessary care to learn at least the basics of vocal agility, being able to sing through vocal runs with a certain degree of accuracy. She has shown, from time to time, that she can sing simple slower and mid tempo vocal runs without too much issue, being able to create the correct rhythmic “bounce” through the notes, as heard in “라구요“, “When I Was Your Man” and “Take A Bow“. However, if runs are to get somewhat longer, more complex or faster, she seems to have difficulty properly separating each individual note from one another, as heard in “뻔한 멜로디“.
Overall analysis
Debuting in 2012 as a lead vocalist from girl group SPICA, a very vocally focused acapella group, Kim Boa was no stranger to vocal harmonies and keeping her sound controlled in a group. Having provided backing vocals and harmonies for many songs prior to her debut, as well as coaching various idols such as Infinite, Kara and Rainbow, Kim Boa was experienced in knowing what kind of sound one should go for in their singing in order to succeed. Stylistically she possesses a very husky and deeper tone than most other females in K-pop, most likely due to her lower range and weightier timbre that would make her a rare breed amongst female idols, most likely being classified as a lyric mezzo-soprano.
The lower part of her chest voice is possibly the most developed part of her range and arguably the most extensive lower range for a female idol in K-pop. Rivaling many males with extension of her lower range, she is able to venture into the second octave and sing down to A2 while still keeping vocal tone. Although very extensive in range, the support in her lower range sees quite a gap away from A2. What for most females would be mostly just air, Boa is able to keep good forward tone and support in her lower range down to F3, as heard in the G#3’s in “Take A Bow“, G3’s in “Stand Up For Love“, F#3’s in “라구요” and F3’s in “Tonight” and “Halo“, and still being able to project and keep her vocal cords connected enough to project below F3, such as the E3’s in “Breakaway” and “Just Give Me A Reason“, D3’s in “라구요” and C#3’s in “라구요“. Below F3, her range generally becomes less connected with more airiness in tone as well as less support even though tone is present true support is lost.
Her mixed voice is the one part of her voice that although somewhat extensive in range, being able to peak at F5, still shows issues with evenness in tone and development. As a vocalist, one’s aim should be to even out their instrument from bottom to top in order to keep their vocal tones full and connected throughout their ranges. In most cases for untrained vocalists, their voices sound like 3 completely different voices when comparing their lower ranges, mixed ranges and upper ranges. In Boa’s case, the gap in her supported range and upper mixed range are very noticeable. She’s able to produce a full, weighty and husky tone from F3 ~ A4 without much problem, being able to support her voice well, control her pitch, dynamics and tone production well while not losing the natural timbre and deepness in her voice, as heard with the G4’s in “라구요“, G#4’s in “The Cup Song“, and A4’s in “Music Is My Life,” and “Say Something“, where even resonance can at times be produced. However as soon as she sings anywhere above A4, her voice becomes quickly thinned out and powerless, sounding almost as though she struggles to even sing up in a range higher than A4. The tone mostly becomes throaty and she often pushes her voice out with her throat in order to project. This is due to a lack of proper breath support and power to handle the higher passages in songs. This is mostly caused by the lack of brightness and development of her head voice muscles in her mix and the fact that her throat closes too much around her larynx, creating a lot of tension. This can be heard in the Bb4’s in “You Don’t Love Me“, “누구없소“, “When I Was Your Man” and “Tonight“, B4’s in “Right Here“, “When You Believe” and “Just Give Me A Reason“, the C5’s in “이씨 니가 시키는 대로 내가 다 할 줄 아나” and the D5’s in “It’s Raining Men“.
Her falsetto is the most under-explored and underdeveloped part of her voice. She doesn’t often try to sing very high in her falsetto and doesn’t even sing songs that would require her to sing much higher than her comfortable range in falsetto. For not being able to use a connected head voice, one can say she has an underdeveloped upper range. Not only that, the tone she produces in her upper range is mostly and airy and somewhat throaty falsetto, usually slightly pushed out and very thin in tone quality, lacking character and power. Fortunately, she is in control of this part of her range regardless of its development and although unable to support her upper range, she is able to transition into her falsetto without losing the control of her pitch.
The best aspect of Boa singing is that she has such a well developed lower part of her range, that despite being unable to handle high songs with challenging parts, she is able to comfortable sing songs a few keys lower range and knows exactly what keys and songs best suit her voice. For that, she is able to mask away many of her weaknesses and allow only her strengths to be showcased. She even uses the natural huskiness of her voice and the vocal strain present in the upper part of the fourth octave as an edge to her vocal performances.
If one is to put technique aside, SPICA is mostly a group not known for its individual vocalists but instead their strong vocal unit as a harmony acapella group. Each member is able to handle different ranges and is able to help each other shine the best when singing together. As such, they often allow each other to mask each other’s weaknesses through their well rehearsed and divided lines in their vocal performances. For her own personal improvement, developing a true head voice, stronger breath support and exploring a brighter approach to her mixed voice in order to create more power and tone above A4 could help further develop the full potential of Boa’s range and help her shine more as a soloist as well.
Musicianship
Stylistically and musically Kim Boa’s strongest traits lie in her ability to create vocal performances that lie very close to a more soulful genre of music. Instead of relying on complicated runs and added melodic lines to her covers, she stays true to the melody and uses her husky tone to add character to her performances. She doesn’t try to risk too much when it comes to her solo performances. She shows the care and precision with pitch, even more so with the very well rehearsed acapella re-editions performed by SPICA, such as “No Diggity” and “The Cup Song“. She’s also good at harmonizing with duet partners, being in control of her tone and being able to blend well, such as in “Lucky“.
Label (Type of Vocalist)
M Vocalists: Mid-Range Vocalists
ML Vocalists: Mid-Low Range Vocalists
Vocal Range Video(s)
Video by: Viettien81212
Best Vocal Performance(s)
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Analyzed by Ahmin (Kitsunemale)
K-pop Vocalists' Vocal Analyses 
Boa is one of my biases and I was hoping she would at least be A to AA but reading her analysis it sounds about right. Knew her lower range is developed but wow. Hope she gets to improve her mix more especially because her tone is great and distinctive and if she improves more she could go a long way.
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Also another question: Do you think Sihyun (the rapper) is a mezzo as well (which means SPICA would have 3 sopranos and 2 mezzos)? Her tone seems lower.
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I am not sure, I didn’t think so though.
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Alright, thanks!
BTW, Spica moved companies a little before Christmas to CJ E&M so maybe that could be fixed 🙂
http://www.allkpop.com/article/2015/12/spica-renews-contract-with-cj-em
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Is she the second strongest vocalist in SPICA?
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Not sure, possibly but I’d have to make sure with the other lead vocalist. I would guess so though.
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YAY A MEZZO! lol I seriously thought there were none in kpop everybody is a light lyric
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Does Narae have a better mixed range than Boa? I’m figure Boa’s lower range is superior and both are average overall but just wanna ask.
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Isn’t narae a soprano?
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I think so, but I mean in terms of how they project/support their notes, not necessarily range because since they’re different fachs, it’s gonna be different.
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I agree with that she lacks vocal stamina, coz her as a mezzo and lead vocalist, sometimes she’ll have adlibs in the fifth octave with Bohyung, which certainly is not right for her lol I always see her struggle with the high notes lol…
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Since she is lacking in some parts of her vocal technique (like underdeveloped head voice) would that impact her ability to be a vocal trainer for others? Or do you think she theoretically knows about vocal technique but cannot execute that herself but can teach others?
This isn’t specific to Boa but in general
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That is actually true, yes. Some vocal trainers know the theory, but are not good with the execution.
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Do you think Boa would be AA or at least close if she had a more extensive supported mixed range (like if she supported B4’s consistently) since she has a more or less developed lower range?
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Yeah of course, she almost sounds like a heavy drinker/smoker above A4, because her singing gets so rough. She has really good placement too so like if she had B4 she’d easily be AA.
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I see. Thanks for your input and hopefully she works on her technique more to extend her current supported range. 🙂
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Hey I want to ask something. Do you know Kim Feel? His voice sounds totally different when he goes to higher note. It gets very husky and throaty(?) and I was wondering if it is because his techniques wrong or if his voice is just like that. I find it kinda charming but still it makes me worry about how it could destroy his voice if he is using a wrong technique. I don’t know anything about vocal techniques and can’t even tell voice types apart so I hope my question is not completely dumb.
Also I like to say that I adore this blog! I can’t wait for Jung Dongha his my absolute fave.
Here is a vid for reference:
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Yeah Kim Feel sings with a stylistic approach in which he completely lets go of support above F4 and becomes generally quite throaty and blocked, he projects mostly through his nose and doesn’t use much chest voice in his mix. It is quite damaging and it’s arguably stylistic, although I have never heard him not sing that way which makes me believe that he probably can’t sing with better technique. Your question is not dumb in anyway but yeah he doesn’t have very healthy technique, it could damage him if he sings songs that are too high but he doesn’t often sing very high, not to the extent of vocal damage from what I’ve heard. It’d just depend on his repertoire and how often he sings.
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Thank you for your detailed explanation! I hope he can switch to a healthier style, it’s quite sad when pple sacrifice their voices for “individuality”. I don’t understand how vocal trainers or just other pple involved in music allows singers to damage their voices(whispers bom) like this especially in S.Korea.
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I mean if you look at worldwide indie singers, they often go for that style and it’s like …many people say “omg that’s so unique” but really…it isn’t. It’s not their real voices, it’s a style. It’s completely doable and you can copy it and emulate it and it doesn’t make you good at singing, it’s a style really. It’s not your real voice, so you can choose to sing in that style but only singing in that style can then just become boring overtime as well.
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Does Boa push her larynx down below F3 or is her larynx neutral?
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From memory, at times she does but it’s not constant. Surely down to A2.
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The A2 appears to be a vocalization note so thankfully she doesn’t use it very often (probably because she knows she can’t support it)
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Would you say Boa is the strongest Average vocalist among the females singers. Her lower range is quite developed (even to an extent) which is i think an advantage to the other ‘average’ category singers. I know the other comment was if she approves her support to b4 she would become level higher. But hypothetical; if she developed her falsetto region instead, do you think she would still stay average?
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With A4 being the peak for her mixed voice, as a mezzo.. Even with a better falsetto she wouldn’t be a better average vocalist. So far the strongest seems to be Soyou.
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I come bearing new gifts:
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Are her perfomances in these videos the usual? Or are there improvements? 🙂
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Sounds about the same.
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Thanks for your fast reply. 🙂
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I didn’t know she was on masked singer twice (this was a special edition where previously eliminated contestants were brought back) so I was surprised to find these.
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How did she do here? She advanced to the final round but didn’t win.
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Here’s the duet portion of that episode
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There’s no difference for me to talk about..did you have any specific questions?
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Are the songs within her supported range and this is a more general question about her analysis, but is she consistent pitch-wise outside of her runs?
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Yes she is and I mean she tends to go above A4 quite often anyway.
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Also a clarification: When you mean “lacks brightness in tone” with regards to her mix, is this another way of saying she’s too chesty?
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It’s also a placement thing but yes.
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Hiii….. i’m not speak english but…. what’s JungKook and Jimin rating? V is the best vocalist from bts? What’s you think from Soyeon in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_lb9KYwUlQ … who’s DIA (kiss&cry) rating? Whos Sojung rating? Sorry for many questions… and sorry for my english too.. thank u, i’m from brazil and i love this blog…
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Não se desculpe tanto pelo seu inglês porque o que você falou faz todo o sentido. Desculpe, mas nós não gostamos de falar sobre ratings de vocalistas antes de ter certeza. Por favor, espere pelas análises destes vocalistas para você saber, mas eu posso te dizer que sim, pelo que ouvimos V é o vocalista com a melhor técnica em BTS e os outros são abaixo da média, average. Sojung está na média mas por razões relacionadas aos fans que talvez sejam mais sensíveis que outros, nós não vamos analizar a Sojung. Dia acreditamos ser no mínimo Above Average to Competent.
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I have a question that might sound kind of stupid so try not to be harsh LMAO.
Do you think Boa’s voice is similar to Sia’s? Like for example, their mid-ranges are strong, they rarely venture into their upper range, they both use a chest-dominant mix (correct me if I’m wrong), and their belts get throaty.
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I mean they both sound very throaty and almost like smokers above A4, except Sia is a Soprano. They somewhat sound similar.
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So I was watching some vocal range and live Rihanna videos, and base on what I have learned from this blog I believe her supported range would be F3-A4. With her intonation issues she has, nasality and very throaty placement in her voice, would you say she is Average as she would have a similar supported range or would she be W to A?
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I really don’t know, I’d rather not rate someone I’ve not heard singing myself. Plus she’s not a mezzo I believe.
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What would you consider her then? Most people seem to classify her as a Mezzo, though I’ve seen a few classify her as a damaged Soprano like Whitney later in life.
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Not sure honestly, maybe average tbh.
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hello, i want to ask, so Narae is weaker than Boa? would you like to tell me about her rating? Average or …? thank you
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I’m afraid I don’t know what her rating is. I believe she is similar in skill to Boa and should be an average vocalist as well.
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What is that low note Boa is singing at the end of this clip?
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Those were C3’s.
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https://youtu.be/zeAlM06s1OQ?t=2m47s what do you think of the vocal run she did in here?
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It’s kind of sloppy, she was sliding through the notes.
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whats with this song
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That’s kind of a vague question and it doesn’t really say much. The song is nice, she is singing softly and airily, using a lot of falsetto. There’s nothing different, the range is narrow and not challenging for her.
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Thanks 🙂
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I’m curious as for why Narae wasn’t analyzed. In your previous rules weren’t main & leads selected, especially if more than 2 vocalists could be on par with each other? Narae seems like she could be on Boa’s level.
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Previous rules? The rules haven’t changed. Have you read them before asking just to make sure? Because the rules state that the only exception as to which more than half of the vocalists within a group would be analyzed would be if the weakest of the them would still fall under average to above average at least. Considering Boa is their second strongest and falls under average, Narae wouldn’t be enough of an exception for now. The only exceptions have been Mamamoo, SHINee and Brown Eyed Girls.
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I’ve read the rules. I assumed there was a change in the rules at some point (thinking back to the earlier days of this blog) because Sunny of SNSD has been analyzed and I knew Taeyeon & Jessica would but also Seohyun & Tiffany too because of their level of skill but Sunny was also analyzed a while after them and is average. Rather than “at least average to above average”.
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See but the rules clearly state we analyze half of the vocalists within a group and since SNSD’s debut, they’ve been a vocalist only group. When we say half of the vocalists, we are excluding rappers, not sub-vocalists. It just so happens to be that when we include sub-vocalists then divide by half, it results in us getting all the leads and mains most of the time. In SNSD’s case, 8/2 = 4. Excluding Jessica who left the group, we’ve analyzed half of the vocalists of SNSD even though they are many, they’re sufficiently skilled. In Spica’s case, they have 5 members, 1 rapper, so 4/2 = 2. We analyzed two of their vocalists, simple. Actually Sunny is rated slightly above Tiffany if you think about it. See but anyway in this case, 4 SNSD vocalists being analyzed still falls within our rules and not within the exceptions.
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Spica disbanded today btw….
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OMG NO NO MORE DISBANDING ㅠㅜ
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Kim Boa was the main vocalist of Spica and Bohyung was the lead vocalist. Boa was also a vocal coach a few groups include Kara, Rainbow, and Infinite. Also, Spica member Narae said that they wanted were not disbanded and would hopeful reunited under different management.
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Some sources call them both mains, some call Bohyung the main. Fact of the matter is Bohyung does have better technique than Boa.
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Todas no Spica são Average? Até mesmo a rapper e a sub-vocal? Narae poderia ser Average, certo?
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Todas? Não a Jiwon não é. Eu acho que a rapper também não é. A Narae até pode ser.
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what made you change her peak from A4 to G#4/A4????
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Inconsistencies.
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Jiwon has been getting a LOT of attention simply being a past member of spica but i never found her to be a great vocalist. She’s often pitchy, though stable(ish) and her tone/vocal color leaves something to be desired. Any idea why so many were in love with her? Was it just reputation sake? Like, “oh she comes from spica she must be good” kind of thing?
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How many semitones seperate Soprano’s and Mezzo’s? Like at what note does a Mezzo feel like she’s hitting a Soprano F5? or is it just the same?
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I believe its around 2 semitones, its not as large as the gap between a tenor and a baritone, so yea a mezzo would feel like she is hitting a soprano F5 when she is singing a D#5
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is supporting an A4 for a mezzo like C5 for a soprano? idk how this works at all 😭
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I believe a Mezzo A4 is equivalent to a B4 Soprano.
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Was she lacking vocal stamina because her mixed voice was too chesty? Does too-heady mixed voice also cause vocal fatigue easliy?
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Not as much. Having a chesty mix is not a bad thing but pushing with chesty voice can make it difficult and be more vocally demanding. A healthy chesty mix should be able to withstand fatigue theoretically.
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