Girls’ Generation’s Vocal Analysis: Sunny [Newly Updated]

Vocal Range

E3 ~ G6 (3 octaves, 1 note and 1 semitone)

Supported Range

Bb3/B3~ Bb4/B4(without head voice)

Bb3/B3 ~ Bb4/B4 ~ F#5/G5

Voice Type

Soprano

Strengths/Achievements

  • Supported head voice up G5
  • Head voice up to G6
  • Ease in the upper register up to C6/C#6
  • Consistent support up to Bb4/B4
  • Occasional support up to C5
  • Occasional resonance up to B4
  • Resonant Eb5

Points for Improvement

  • Unstable Vibrato
  • Weak lower register below Bb3/B3
  • Above D5/Eb5 her mixed register becomes very shouty and strained
  • Mixed register can lack in projection
  • Unstable pitch
  • Nasal placement
  • Inconsistent resonance

Registers

  • Lower register: Sunny’s lower register is her weakest and least developed register. Sunny carries support down to Bb3, but the tone production is weak and lacks in projection. Below A3 Sunny virtually loses all of her tone and projection producing a very weak and unsupported sound.
  • Mixed register:  Sunny’s mixed register is her second most developed register, generally supporting up Bb4/B4. Although her larynx does not truly rise until she sings in the D5/Eb5 area, she lacks the support to keep her throat completely relaxed in the C5/C#5 range.
  • Upper register: Sunny’s head voice is the most developed in Girls’ Generation and her most developed register, carrying support up to F#5/G5.  Sunny maintains head voice up to G6 and ease in the register up to C6/C#6.

Agility

Sunny rarely attempts any kind of complex and intricate runs she normally sticks with trills or simple 5-note scales, that being said she does not always do them accurately for example this performance of “Into The New World” on Sketchbook. That specific run is a simple 3-note trill, however Sunny almost completely slides through it making sloppy. Because Sunny is a fairly high soprano with training runs would become easy to her.

Overall analysis

Prior to her debut in 2007 with Girls’ Generation, Sunny was apart of a duo called Sugar under Starworld Entertainment, however that group never debuted due to a lack of funding. Sunny’s position as a vocalist in Girls’ Generation has been vague since her debut in 2007 some categorizing her either as a  sub-vocalist with the dancers or a lead vocalist with Tiffany and Seohyun, however recently she is most commonly referred to as a lead vocalist of the group along with members Tiffany and Seohyun. Although Sunny is one of the lead vocalist of Girls’ Generation she leans more to the variety side of being an idol having many solo activities of being an MC and radio host.

Sunny is best known for a her sweet and girly vocal tone which truly stood out and suited Girls’ Generation’s early songs such as “Gee“, “Oh“, and “Kissing You” as well as her OSTs such as “Your Doll.”  That being said, Sunny is completely capable of changing her vocal color to suit more fierce and powerful songs such as “You Think” and “Run Devil Run.” Sunny’s cute yet versatile voice has definitely caught the hearts of many Girls’ Generation fans and K-Pop fans a like.

Sunny’s sensitivity to pitch can become very unfocused leading to vocal lines and even complete performances being sung out of tune. The most notorious performance of this would be her cover of “Tree” by BoA.  Throughout this performance Sunny is consistently singing flat and sharp most notably in the lower portions of this song. Another example of her singing out of tune for extended periods of time would be her cover of IU‘s “Good Day” on 1000 Song Challenge with Jessica and Sooyoung in this performance Sunny is frequently out of tune especially in the beginning. Because of her unstable pitch it can give the illusion that her chest voice is shaky and lacking proper support, but in all actuality it’s just the wavering of her pitch. Sunny’s pitch has been on and off ever since her debut and has not really improved since then.

Sunny’s lower register severely lacks in development being one of the most underdeveloped lower registers among idol lead and main vocalist. Sunny is a high Soprano therefore she naturally lacks the affinity for singing low notes, however her lack in development in her lower register goes beyond her just being a Soprano.  Sunny loses stability in her lower register around the B3/C4 area, but is able to maintain support down to Bb3/B3.  Even A3 can prove to be a challenge for her for example her A3 in “Lion Heart” can often be lost and unheard. Sunny’s lower register becomes even more unstable and unsupported the lower she goes for example her F3 in SNSD’s “Goodbye.” During this performance Sunny is pretty much lowering her larynx to sing the F3s which is leading to a very uncomfortable and unsupported sound.

Sunny’s mixed register is quite interesting in terms of development. Sunny only supports her voice up to Bb4/B4 , but is able to maintain a fair amount of ease up C5/C#5, however above that her mixed voice becomes very strained and shout-like especially approaching the D5/Eb5 area.  The main issues with Sunny’s mixed voice, aside from a lack of support above B4, is her lack of projection as well as her unstable vibrato.Sunny’s projection is severely hindered because she sings with a nasal placement in her mixed voice fairly consistently, therefore preventing her voice from resonating correctly in the mask, for instance her performance of “Beautiful Restriction” in this performance Sunny sings many supported B4s, but they lack in projection due to her placement.  Sunny’s vibrato is overly quick and uncontrolled due to a lack of steady airflow when sustaining notes for example her sustained notes in “It’s Love” with Taeyeon.  Despite Sunny’s problems she is capable of producing resonance, even if rarely for instance her solo performance in Catch Me If You Can is filled with many resonant Bb4s and B4s. She has also shown she is capable supporting up to C5 for example her C5s in “Baby Maybe.” These days Sunny has been showing off the full extent of her mixed voice, before she was limited to only singing up to E5, however now she has shown is capable of mixing much higher than that up G5.  She first kicked this off with her F5 in “Europa” from Girls’ Generation 2014 mini album Mr. Mr. and continued this trend in 2015 with Girls’ Generation’s “You Think” from the Lion Heart album.

Sunny’s head voice is her most developed and consistent register as well as the one she seems to be the most comfortable in. During Girls’ Generation early years specifically around the Genie and Oh! period Sunny’s strength in her head voice was shown off with songs like “Girlfriend” putting it front and center with a G5 and even an A5.  Sunny also seemed to be more inclined to use it during her earlier years singing songs like “I’ll Write You A Letter” by Lena Park in which she easily sings an C#6 despite it being strained as well as other songs requiring her to sing up to C6. However, all that being said, she does have relatively recent performances where she uses her head voice, for example her 2014 performances of Gain‘s “Bloom.” In the performances she switches easily into many F5s in head voice with control and connection and frequently jumps between head voice and chest voice.

Musicianship

Due to a lack of true solo performances Sunny’s style of musicianship is unclear.

Label (Type of Vocalist)

M Vocalists: Mid-Range Vocalists

MH Vocalists: Mid-Range Head Voice Vocalists

Best Vocal Performance(s)

Vocal Range Video(s)

Video by: Ahmin (Kitsunemale)

Analyzed by Pandayeu

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144 thoughts on “Girls’ Generation’s Vocal Analysis: Sunny [Newly Updated]

  1. Ela é melhor do que Tiffany?
    Taeyeon > Seohyun > Sunny > Tiffany?
    Desculpe perguntar, mas é que a Tiffany não tem controle em suas high notes e sua voz é muito nasal..

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  2. Finally, I know right she will be average vocalist like Tiffany. Tiffany still little bit better than her or same?

    So like this Taeyeon>>Seohyun/Jessica>Tiffany/Sunny ?

    Who’s better between Yuri, Krystal and Joy for weak to average vocalist?

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    1. Yuri isn’t weak to average, Yuri isn’t a lead vocalist so her rating is unknown and irrelevant. Joy has not been analyzed and will not be analyzed so I am afraid I can’t answer.

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    2. Actually Sunny is better than Tiffany it’s like TaeYeon>>Seo/Sica>Su>Tiff. I don’t know, I’m not familiar with Yuri’s singing.

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      1. I know that Jessica is a better singer that Seo.Also that she can go higher that Taeyeon.Could you explain me why are they as one? 🙂

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      2. Because she’s not better as a vocalist than Seohyun. Taeyeon could probably hit D6 too, she just hasn’t. So whoever sings higher doesn’t matter. I mean since you said “I know Jessica is a better than Seohyun” could you explain to me first why you think that?

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  3. Is the reason why Sunny’s better than Tiffany is because of her really developed head voice? From the review I was actually expecting her to be weak to average becuase of her unstable pitch and her weak lower register and messy mixed. But I’m so pleased to see that she’s better than I thought considering she’s my bias 🙂

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    1. Yes it is because of her well developed head voice. I don’t understand why, because there are average vocalist who do they exact same thing I mean..Tiffany’s pitch is similar to Sunny and her mix is even messier. Well, I’m glad you’re happy.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. They’re not, not if you only consider the lead and main vocalists of other groups as well. Seohyun is not Above Average.

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  4. I was very excited when I saw this on my Facebook feed lol.
    How is there such a large gap between her chest and mixed registers and her head register? Do you think she only trained her head register?
    Also, did her head voice give her a boost at all? She seems to match the criteria for A very closely, but while reading I thought maybe she’d get a little boost to A-AA lol. Wishful thinking on my part.

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    1. Her headvoice definitely gave her a huge boost actually.Only thing really keeping her from being A-AA is her pitch.

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      1. Falsetto is not something we look into, honestly having a better falsetto than someone else is like having a better unsupported extensive lower range.

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  5. Finally, Sunny. LOL she’s better than Tiffany? Hmm yeah she just weaker in low register, and a bit better in mix, and absolutely in head voice. Does she always use the head voice or still falsetto? Huh i hope she can do the C5 nice too lol

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  6. Can you tell me where sunny mixed a G5 in You Think? I keep hearing about this G5 but i never actually heard it in the song

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  7. Fico tão triste por saber que a Sunny não é bem aproveitada,se bem que ultimamente ela prefere ir pra realitys e ser MC de rádio.Agora não entendo pq muitos consideram a Tiffany superior que ela(ok a diferença não é muita)e até superior a Seohyun LOL.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Has she showcased any other resonant notes in head voice besides the Eb5 or nah? Also thank you for the analysis!

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  9. Sorry before, not trying to pry or anything, but isn’t the video where she was on Gain’s Bloom a lip sync? I thought it was one your rules not to use lip sync videos for analysis? Forgive me if it turns out not to be lip synced, though 😀 . Thanks guys.
    Cheers.

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    1. We avoid using lip synched videos or studio tracks, but sometimes they serve their purpose. The purpose of that video was to show she has a head voice and that’s it, regardless of it being live or not, she can use it in studio or live.

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  10. wow!! sunny! :3 so she’s better than tiffany? ahmin once said that tiffany supports her voice better in the C4-Bb4 area, so it means that tiffany have like a better placement and rounder voice in that area right? but yeah sunny supports up to B4 and tiffany only to Bb4.. but fany supports 1 and a half note better in lower.. while sunny supports 1 and a half note better in headvoice? since tiffany carries support up to E5, i actually thought soyou and tiffany’s better cos sunn’s support may be higher but it’s not that like solid? like her support is kinda shallow compared to the two of them? ( in the mix area).. does that mean sunny’s headvoice>>>wendy? thank you!

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    1. No it doesn’t mean she has better placement nor a rounder voice, she just controls her voice slightly better but after listening to them more, Pandayeu was able to conclude that there was barely a difference for them. No this has nothing to do with Wendy’s head voice whatsoever, Wendy’s head voice is better than Sunny’s. Sunny has a much more opened and relaxed mixed voice than both Soyou and Tiffany, she’s produced much better mixed voice notes around Bb4/B4 and above, has a head voice and overall supports somewhat better. It’s not a huge gap.

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      1. wow.. that was fast :3 so sunny>>soyou>>tiffany.. so the only thing that makes her better than the two is her mix right? since both have way better lower register and sunny have better HV than tiffany and way better HV than soyou cos ive read that soyou doesnt really possess like a headvoice? actually if you’re talking about relaxed mix or something i think her voice is even more relax than jessica..

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      2. Hey Ahmin, does that mean Sunny sometimes does better than both Seohyun and Jessica in the fifth octave? Can you rank the vocal line (and Jessica) in each registers, resonance, pitch and agility altogether since they’re all analyzed?

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      3. Yes occasionally she does better. No I don’t like to rank registers and I didn’t write Jessica’s or Sunny’s analyses so I can rank them overall but that specifically? No.

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      4. So Pandayeu can you answer this for me?
        “Can you rank the vocal line (and Jessica) in each registers, resonance, pitch and agility altogether since they’re all analyzed?”

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      5. No because it’s kind of pointless really…I feel their analyses make it very clear who does better where. I’m not really a huge fan of ranking really.

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  11. Even though I didn’t expect it, I’m kind of happy Sunny is above Tiffany as a vocalist. Tiffany’s higher on my bias list but I’m tired of people claiming Tiff is a better vocalist than Seohyun and this is a very good and well informed analysis with evidence to support that Tiffany is actually the weakest vocalist of SNSD 😛

    Like

  12. so sunny is the better vocalist, but is tiffany like a more well rounded vocalist? like more flexible vocalist? cos she can access her 3 registers.she have the low,mix and the headvoice right? while sunny may be better in mix and headvoice but her low register is like almost non existent.. so it’s like, sunny is better but tiffany can offer more as a vocalist?

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  13. Wtf. I read somewhere that Yuri could easily be a main/lead vocalist in other groups. Is this for real? I mean, I’m asking you this because you seem to be the right people to ask a dumb question.

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    1. I’m not sure if this is a real question or an insult. lol Also we’ve answered quite a few of these non-main vocalist related questions to you..many times. The answer is..yes, Yuri could very well be a main vocalist of a group considering even Jungah, Park Bom, Niel, Seungyeon, Gayoon, Leo and Youngsaeng are main vocalists and Jiyoon, Gyuri, Krystal and Min are lead vocalists. Honestly anybody could be a main or lead, not a very good one, but they could be.

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    1. If you read the analysis…the answer is there:
      “Despite Sunny’s problems she is capable of producing resonance, even if rarely for instance her solo performance in Catch Me If You Can is filled with many resonant Bb4s and B4s. “

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  14. man, I haven’t been by in a while and lots happened. Yay Sunny! I always thought she was underrated in the singing world cuz her strong nature in variety, i mean she’s prolly a better MC/DJ than singer. I did like Sunny’s take on IU’s song in 1000 song challenge, maybe it’s just me but it seems Sunny could sing other genres, like trot and rock maybe a little better than her band mates.

    So vocally, would you say if sunny was in Apink, or gfriend, or something in the more girly charms it’d be a match for her and they’d kill vocally?

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  15. Hello,

    I was wondering why you put Beautiful Restriction as one of Sunny’s best vocal performances? It seems to me that she had some sort of issues with producing round notes at certain points, like her throat was tightening up or something (maybe an overly-raised larynx? I’m not sure). Like her notes at 0:08 and 0:15 especially. Or is that just part of her vocal tone?

    Also, what did you think of the note at 0:28? While short, it seemed like one of her better notes to me (maybe she ended it quickly because she sensed she couldn’t hold it?).

    I could be completely wrong about all of this, I’m still trying to learn more about vocal technique.

    Thank you,
    Michelle

    P.S: Do you think this solo performance of Beautiful Restriction was better than her performance with the other girls of SNSD ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OaQvfTre4M )?

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    1. 0:08 and 0:15 were slightly tight and whiny C5’s, which is understandable since it’s not a note that’s within her supported range. I remembered asking Pandayeu why he picked that performance and he said “because she sounded nice technically.” And I understand that, since she’s handling C5’s decently, her pitch was also fine. The key for the one with SNSD as a whole was a semitone lower, so less challenging overall. The best vocal performance section isn’t saying that the performance is flawless, simply the best that specific vocalist has ever done. 0:28 she didn’t end it quickly because she couldn’t hold it, that’s just how the melody of the song goes. It was tight, to me. I think Pandayeu picked this one because it’s a solo as well. They’re both not bad overall.

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  16. In terms of Yuri, Hyoyeon, Yoona and Sooyoung, how would you rate them and what do they lack in terms of vocals. I’m asking you to rate them because people say Hyoyeon is a better vocalist compared to Yoona and I was wondering what vocal techniques she has over Yoona’s.

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    1. They don’t support their voices almost at all. They lack the basics of singing and sing through their throats and noses most of the time. They lack control of airflow, pitch, Sooyoung sounds mostly shaky, Yuri pushed and tight, Yoona airy and flat, Hyoyeon flat and closed. None of them are good, it’s likely all 4 would be rated as weak vocalists and Hyoyeon has slightly better tone production and connection of her vocal cords than Yoona, but it’s almost irrelevant who’s better. It shouldn’t matter, they’re not main vocalists and they weren’t trained properly vocally, so who’s slightly better than who isn’t important.

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      1. Hey ahmin can you please tell me who’s better between Sooyoung and Yuri? Because almost everyone is saying it’s Yuri but I don’t think it is. Sooyoung could cover any of Yuri’s parts, but Yuri would never be able to cover Sooyoung’s high note in Paradise or Sailing for example, so yeah, I’d like to know it from an expert rather than mere Yurisistables lol

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I can’t because I don’t know who’s better. I believe Yuri has better technique slightly but honestly it’s not something I think about much.

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  17. Hey there, I just wanted to ask, how would Hyoyeon rank as a singer ? Is she a better or worse than Yoona? I know they are the dancers of Girls Generation and that they arent amazing singers.But could you please give me a brief summary. Thanks

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    1. I honestly don’t know. They’re both weak vocalists with very minimal sense of vocal technique, we don’t usually keep up with them nor pay attention to their singing beyond the surface because that would just be nitpicking strengths.

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  18. Hmm Can I ask what exactly keeps her from A-AA? For me it seems like her Pitch and Wobbly Vibrato keep her? Since she has occasional Resonance (or is it still less than the resonance than from the A-AA vocalists?) Or is her Support on C5 to occasional to bring her up?

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      1. Airflow is the steady amount of air that hits the vocal cords. Hers isn’t consistent, which causes her to lose control of pitch, stability, her vibrato and even support at times.

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      2. Hm yeah that explains it I guess. If her Airflow was to be more consistnt would she be A-AA? Or is her support on C5 way to inconsistent?

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      3. If she fixed airflow many other things would be fixed like her C5’s. I’m not sure, I’d have to hear the change.

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      4. Damn so basically Airflow is the absolute first thing you should learn as a Vocalist`? Because it seems like Airflow is needed for every other basic thing like support pitch and stuff.

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      5. Support and airflow come hand in hand. Vocalists who push still actually haven’t managed proper airflow, but support should be the first thing.

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    1. It’s been addressed in the comment section a couple of times. Proper vocal stretch and airflow that would help her clean up her vibrato, her pitch, her instability and her consistency.

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      1. Meaning her head voice? Yeah it’s one of the better ones. Not many female vocalist really support the G5/G#5 range in their head voice. It’s definitely the best in SNSD, but I really wouldn’t call it one the best in kpop.

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      2. would sunny’s head voice be rated as AA or AA to P since she’s able to support up to G5?
        thx

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  19. does sunny has the best openness, if she is opened, among the average females(and possibly in snsd, except for taeyeon of course)??? she does have a more stable larynx than seotiffjess in c#5 range, right?? and how can she maintain a stable larynx in that area despite not supporting there????

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  20. First, thank you for the quality and integrity in these analyses. I read them for interest primarily and out of regard for favorite artists. I have no working knowledge of music or vocal quality, but I’ve been curious about something a long time: I really like the quality of Lee Soon Kyu’s (SNSD Sunny’s) voice…my wife tells me her voice reminds her of Madonna(?).

    But I’ve noticed that although you’ve analyzed her vocals as (what I consider to be) ‘pretty good’ among kpop idols and as much as I love her live singing…i cringe a little when she sings duets or in small groups. I’ve only heard a couple (wish I had a reference), but it was enough to wonder what went wrong as she sounds like she isn’t in tune with the other vocalist(s).

    Is it simply a problem of pitch (as your analysis leads me to believe)? She sounds great by herself and I adore her voice…but she sounds worse when her voice is distinguishable from one or more singers (in unison) for extended singing. Just curious. I really appreciate this body of work! Thanks again!

    Like

    1. Awww thank you every so much. I am not entirely sure cause I can’t guess without hearing a specific example with a time stamp where you show us what you’re hearing but it could be both a mix of lack of pitch, lack of confidence and not knowing how to blend her voice with others in duets or small group performances. Although I didn’t have a problem with her when she sang Beautiful Restriction. Although it is true if she’s harmonizing, her voice shouldn’t stand out.

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  21. Is it just me or do I hear Sunny leading so many choruses in Holiday Night? It’s the only good thing they did for Sunny -_-

    Do you hear any improvements in their latest performance of Genie?

    And this A3? I know live performances are way better for judging, but studio versions can be used to get a taste of things right?

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      1. I feel like they should have gave Sunny more head voice moments outside of Taetiseo cause obviously she has more support and ease up there.
        Do you feel Seohyun has improved her C5’s in this new album or are they still same?
        And I’m not sure but has Taeyeon sorta improved her mix above D5’s. Her E5 and F5’s sound less strained and pushed, but I could be thinking about the ‘Twinkle’ era.

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      2. I didn’t really focus on the studio tracks to find out if there’s been improvement or more moments where she’s shown what she’s already shown in the past, for Seohyun.

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      3. Aww 😦 Going low was never her strength so it’s understandable to some extent, I guess.

        I hope we get some true lives for All Night and Holiday, man they have to be exhausted after performing those two songs after each other

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    1. Relatively speaking it carries support, but the overall sense of support she had throughout the performance kind of defeats the quality of that one C#5 since she was mostly air throughout.

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    1. Her support is generally pretty clean here, below B3, a bit shaky and not connecting enough without losing the connection. She’s not mixing really above A4, she’s mostly using head voice the higher she goes. She did well.

      Like

    1. Wow this is really old lol. She did fine. It wasn’t anything amazing, she was flat in some areas of the song. She didn’t go too high so she wasn’t like straining or anything, but her lower notes were pretty airy but that’s to be expected. It was OK 🙂

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  22. How was Sunny’s
    B4 at 2:32
    C#5 – B4 at 2:37
    B4 at 2:45

    Also, do you think she’s improving? I know she hasn’t been singing much lately but the instances she has I feel like she’s at least not straining outside of her supported range if not improving

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  23. I was wondering, how is it that Sunny, with a supported range of Bb3-G5 with head voice is considered weaker than Seohyun and Jessica who support from G3 to C5? Is it because her lower range is underdeveloped? But wouldn’t her head voice make up for it though? Or is head voice just a “plus” of sorts and not as important as mixed voice? I’m not hating on any member (I love all SNSD members) but I’m just very confused since, as you said, her head voice is extremely well developed.

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    1. I just re-checked Seohyun’s analysis and it says: “Upper register: […] her voice is able to stay connected into a supported head voice up until F5”. So Seo does have supported head voice up to F5 then. I guess I was thrown off since it isn’t included in the “Supported Range” section and I haven’t read her analysis in a while.
      I guess Sunny’s pitch is an issue too but it still surprises me.

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      1. “Sunny’s lack of muscle stability, support and pitch are more extreme issues than Jessica’s or Seohyun’s. It’s not all about supported range.” And I just found this in Jessica’s analysis I guess I answered my own comment, lol.

        I will ask though, what do you mean by “lack of muscle stability”?

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      2. Yes you did answer your own question. Although I must say I don’t remember referring to Sunny’s voice as extremely well developed. Only somewhat well developed. Also muscle stability, meaning the connection of her vocal cords while keeping a consistent airflow without letting the pitch waver nor the muscles lose strength in dynamics and control. That is a skill she is weaker at than the other vocalists, which is a much more important skill and a lot more of a basic thing one must be able to do. It doesn’t matter how developed your head voice is if your middle voice, where you sing the most, is not able to keep consistent muscle strength and airflow.

        Like

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