Vocal Range

C#3 ~ D6 (3 octaves and 1 semitone)

Supported Range

G3/G#3~ A4/Bb4

Voice Type

Soprano

Strengths/Achievements

• Ease in the lower register
• Able to maintain tonality below G3
• Able to support her voice up to A4/Bb4
• Decent pitch
• Stable legato singing
• Good Ear

Points for Improvement

• Inconsistencies within supported range
• Nasal tonality
• Unstable vibrato
• Pushes and strains above A4/Bb4
• Lack of projection in mixed register
• Sometimes isn’t completely relaxed when singing
• Tongue Tension

Registers

• Lower register: Seulgi’s lower register is probably her most developed register. Seulgi is able to carry support, tonality and projection down to G3/G#3. Below G3 Seulgi is still able to maintain tonality even though she is essentially singing without any true support.

• Mixed register:  Seulgi can generally support her mixed register up to A4/Bb4 above that her voice tenses and she begins to push the sound. Seulgi’s placement in her mixed register is very nasal because she does not sing with a lifted soft palate.

• Upper register: Her upper register is fairly unexplored compared to the rest of her voice. However, from what she has shown she uses more of a falsetto than a true head voice and really beings to push and strain her head voice around E5/F5.

Agility

There are few examples of Seulgi really exploring the flexibility of her voice, however from what she has done it is safe to conclude that she requires more development in that area. When Seulgi attempts runs, they are often above her skill level and therefore result in sloppy execution. The sloppy execution is mainly a resultant of the inaccurate pitch separation as well as inaccurate pitches being sung. For example her run in”Dumb Dumb” requires her to move through a series of notes fairly quickly, but she often just slides through them without good note separation or accurate pitches. She also has issues with rhythm when executing runs which also leads to a sloppy execution for example her run in “Little Little.”

Overall analysis

Seulgi, along with group member Irene, was the first member of Red Velvet to be introduced to the masses through SMRookies_SR14G in 2014. She instantly caught the attention of many fans because of her exceptional dancing skills as well as her cute and youthful appearance. Because her dancing skill was highlighted over her vocal skill, many fans believed she would be just a dancer of Red Velvet. Nonetheless, Seulgi shares the vocalist position with fellow member Wendy.

Seulgi’s tone in her chest voice is very well developed with a solid and clear tonality present. However because she sings with a lowered soft palate, the tone is often restricted to just resonating in her nose instead of having proper placement in the mask. In addition to that she also sings with improper tongue position in her chest voice as well. Seulgi’s tongue is almost never in a flat neutral position which causes her to become closed and not project well; this also is present in her mixed register.

When Red Velvet sings pieces requiring  harmony, Seulgi often sings the lower portion of the arrangement. This is quite fitting because she has an extensive lower register spanning down to D3 as well as solid development being able to support G3/G#3, not to mention ease.  In Red Velvet performance “Stickwitu,” Seulgi showcases just how easily she is able to sing her lower extremes of her lower register. In this performance Seulgi phrases many notes towards the lower extreme of her range, even D3, without sounding uncomfortable and without any true support. Also in the group’s performance of “Wish Tree” she sings many F#3s with ease even if they are airy for stylistic purposes. Additionally, Seulgi shows off her skills in her lower register with other performances such as: “Goodbye” and “I Have Nothing” supporting G3 and G#3 respectively. Seulgi’s  lower register is definitely her most developed and the one she sounds most comfortable.

Similar to her chest voice, Seulgi sings with nasality and improper tongue position in her mixed voice. Because of this, her voice can’t properly resonate in the mask nor can it project properly because of the tongue position. On top of that she also sings with a fairly high larynx outside of her supported range. She has the most support around the A4/Bb4 range, even though she is capable of singing up to G5 as she demonstrated in cover of “Tears.”  The higher Seulgi sings in her mixed register the more obvious her problems become. For example her D5 in “I Have Nothing” is a combination of all of the aforementioned issues; her lowered soft palate is preventing the sound from resonating correctly in the mask, her incorrect tongue position is closing the space in the back of her throat, and her lack of support is causing her to push, and therefore forcing the larynx up. Seulgi has even shown to have these problems in the lower portion of her mixed range as well, for example the B4 she sings in her short cove of “I.” Although her larynx is not lifting, the tongue tension (caused by the position) really constricts the sound and prevents from projecting fully and causes tension.  Seulgi also has an unsteady vibrato in her mix register due to an mismanagement of the airflow as shown in “Turning Pages of Memories” and “If I Were a Boy.”

Seulgi’s head voice is rarely explored whether it be in solo performances or in Red Velvet’s studio tracks. She has only truly ever showcased her head voice during Red Velvet’s High Note Battle on their Kiss The Radio appearance; there she demonstrates her ability to vocalize at least up to a D6. Seulgi normally sings in more of a falsetto voice rather than a true head voices, therefore it is safe to assume that she does not know how to bring her vocal folds together to create a true head voice. This is evident in her performances of “I Have Nothing” and Red Velvet’s group performance of “Would U.”

Musicianship

N/A due to a lack of solo performances.

Label (Type of Vocalist)

M Vocalists: Mid-Range Vocalists

ML Vocalists: Mid-Low Range Vocalists

Vocal Range Video(s)

Video by: Viet Tien

Best Vocal Performance(s)

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Analyzed by Pandayeu