Vocal Range

Bb2 ~ Bb5 (3 octaves)

Supported Range

E3 ~ G4/G#4

Voice Type

Tenor

Strengths/Achievements

• Second strongest vocalist in 100%
• Able to produce resonance up to G#4 with consistency
• Above his supported range good placement is kept
• Able to transition into his falsetto without too much trouble
• Lower range remains supported with good tone production down to E3
• Intonation is mostly consistent throughout his range

Points for Improvement

• Tends to use only a falsetto and has not developed a head voice
• Mixed voice becomes yelled above G#4 due to a high larynx
• Lower range tends to become very airy below Eb3
• Runs seem to lack connection and precision
• Falsetto is often pushed and squeezed
• Tends to be inconsistent with openness and resonance
• Some tongue tension may be present at times

Registers

• Lower register: Mostly not as explored and used as his other registers, but the times in which he ventures into the lower portion of his chest voice there’s quite a considerably drop in volume in tone, where airiness takes over below E3.

• Mixed register: Mixed voice is consistently supported up to G4, with some support being carried up to G#4. He tends to lack openness as he ascends in range, although good placement can be present even above G#4.

• Upper register: His upper register consistents almost exclusively of a falsetto, where his tone tends to be airy and he lacks projection. Much like his lower range, there’s a clear gap of volume when singing in this register.

Agility

Unlike Rokhyun, there are a lot less occasions in which Hyukjin attempts to add runs into his vocal performances. His style seems to be more of a straight forward ballad as opposed to R&B. The few times he’s shown some sort of agility usually were met with good results, where he’d maintain the right amount of note separation from note to note in slower and simpler vocal runs, as heard in “Treasure“, but as the speed and complexity of the runs would go beyond the given melody of a song, he’d start to become pitchier and to slide through the notes without the clear idea of the notes within the runs, as heard in “요즘 바쁜가봐“, “I’ll Be Back.”

Overall analysis

Hyukjin debuted in 2012 as the lead vocalist of the male idol group 100%. Every since then, he’s shown that he’s the go-to vocalist for the higher belted notes when needing to add a big climax to their songs. His voice is very light and boyish, lacking much darkness and volume. Overall falling under the fach of a light lyric tenor with a young voice. He’s been able to showcase his vocal ability multiple times with many videos of 100%’s youtube channel, as well as Immortal Song 2, which earned him respect from his fans as the group’s second most skilled vocalist.

The lower portion of his chest voice is often not the range in which he’d choose to sing in. Perhaps while being aware that he doesn’t possess the most well developed lower chest voice, he doesn’t often sing that low. The times when he’s done so, he’s able to produce very good and well placed chest notes down to E3, as heard by the E3’s in “낭만 고양이” and Eb3’s “야생화.” However as he descends below Eb3, his voice quickly becomes very airy and quiet, where he’s unable to maintain proper placement and support. His vocal cords then lack the proper connection and his voice becomes almost inaudible at times. This can be heard by the D3’s in “아름다운 우리 나라“, B2’s in “낭만 고양이” and Bb2’s in “Love in the Ice.”

His mixed voice has always been a part of his range where he’s had ease and range even prior to debuting. He’s always been able to maintain a lifted soft palate and doesn’t often have problems with nasality. He has shown multiple times that support up to G4 is quite consistent, and resonance is often produced up there. This can be heard by the F4’s in “I’ll Be Back“, F#4’s in “넌 내꺼중에 최고“,  and G4’s in “서쪽하늘“, “언제나“, “이 노래“, “못해“, “HUG.” Up to G#4 resonance may still be present, but constriction starts to come as his throat starts to become tighter and he starts to push his voice more with a high larynx. Support is still present up to G#4 with inconsistencies, as heard in “니가 예쁘다“, “너와 나” and “퇴근길“, but above G#4 he tends to sound shouty and tense.

As he ascends above G#4, he is the member who belts in the fifth octave the most often out of all members of 100%. As such, he’s the one who showcases most strain and is most likely to damage his voice if constantly singing in such a high range. As he sings above G#4, good placement is kept which givens an impression of resonance but that is taken away by his throat closing with his high larynx. This becomes more obvious the higher he sings, as heard by the A4’s in “전화“, “단발머리“, Bb4’s in “널 그리며“, “서쪽하늘“, B4’s in “보여줄게“, C#5’s in “Want U Back” and “Mirotic.”

His upper range is not a part of his range where he seems uncomfortable. There are many times in which he’s able to transition with relative ease and smoothness. However, he’s never been able to showcase a well connected head voice and favors singing with a light airy falsetto. As such he’s never been able to show proper support in his upper register and his placement often is lost, as he becomes slightly tight and thin as he ascends in range. This can be heard by his falsetto in “거리의 크리스마스“, “메리크리“, “널 그리며“, “요즘 바쁜가봐” and his Bb5’s in “나같은 놈.”

Hyukjin’s main issues often comes from his throat not being completely opened. As he’s able to produce resonance, the size of his resonance is usually small and he’s unable to project over someone who’s able to place their voices more forward in their masks with a more opened throat. In addition, he may at times show issues with his tongue being somewhat tense when singing. His overall singing is often very controlled in terms of dynamics and he’s able to show a sensitive ear to the message of a song when singing within a more comfortable portion of his range.

As a vocalist, Hyukjin has shown that he possesses enough potential with his natural range as well as his overall showcase technical level. He’s a young vocalist and has a lot of room to grow. For the future, learning to balance out his mix as well as opening his throat more, while keeping his larynx neutral could help him fix many issues within his mix. Further exploring his upper register and lower range could help him manage his overall instrument a lot better. Perhaps being given the chance to appear in TV shows like King of Mask Singer could help motivate him and give him a reason to explore his technique further.

Musicianship

As an overall acapella unit, Hyukjin is a smart vocalist who’s able to blend and lend his vocals well to accomplish well rehearsed harmonies in their vocal performances. Even in duets, every vocalist of 100% is able to control their voices in order to enhance and embellish melodies of songs. Harmonically, the times in which Hyukjin has added his own musical ideas to his vocal performances often are met with good results in terms of pitch although he does show a tendency to add very high notes outside of his supported range as his idea of musicianship, which results in strained melodic changes, as heard in “Treasure.”

Label (Type of Vocalist)

MB Vocalists: Mid-Range Belters

Best Vocal Performance(s)

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Analyzed by Ahmin (Kitsunemale)