Jung Joonyoung’s Vocal Analysis

0. S vocalists: Stylistic vocalists, Baritones, Soloists, Vocal Analyses, Vocal Ranges: 3 Octave Ranges, , , , , , , , ,

Vocal Range

F2 ~ F5 (3 Octaves)

Supported Range

C3 ~ Bb3/B3

Voice Type

Baritone

Strengths/Achievements

  • Shown very clean improvement in falsetto transitions
  • Despite pushed singing, can sing with relative volume control
  • Improvement of overall control of his voice
  • Able to sing with minimal support when singing naturally up to C#4
  • Pitch is mostly clean

Points for Improvement

  • Tends to favor style over technique, lacks flexibility of his voice
  • Sings mostly with a pushed down larynx
  • Above B3, he needs to push with air pressure and tension
  • Unable to sing in his lower range with a clean supported chest voice
  • Not shown a head voice
  • Not shown consistently supported singing
  • Unable to produce resonance

Registers

  • Lower register: Most of the time spent in this range is for phrased notes, where he doesn’t really show the ability to sustain his sound with a clear nor developed chest voice quality in the second octave.
  • Mixed register: His mixed range is where he spends most of his time. He sings with mostly a chest-dominant mix, generally pushed with a lowered larynx.
  • Upper register: Has shown improvement in transitions and connection throughout the years, as well as pitch. Transitions within the fourth octave show a clearer quality, but mostly uses either an unsupported falsetto or a scream-like falsetto.

Agility

Jung Joonyoung’s main musical genre is mostly rock, which in its essence isn’t known for its melodic embellishments as much as it is for its intensity. Thus Jung Joonyoung never really had a reason to work exclusively on his vocal agility as vocal runs are generally not very common in rock and if present, aren’t meant to be too complex. There have been a few occasions in which he’s had to sing melismas during songs and it is possible to hear that he’s aware of each individual note, but there’s a lack of flexibility in his vocal cords when moving from one note to another. Flexibility and agility are generally easier for vocalists who not only have lighter voices, but sing lightly. Jung Joonyoung on the other hand tends to sing with a lot of weight in his voice, which makes moving quickly around pitches harder. Not only that, but also the amount of pushing and constriction present in his voice makes it so that he’s unable to maintain a smooth flexibility when singing runs, which results in mostly pitch accurate but often laggy and unclear vocal runs, as heard in “뭐라할까,” “박하사탕” and “슬픈 언약식.”

Overall analysis

Jung Joonyoung was first introduced in the entertainment industry as a contestant on the popular survival TV show Super Star K season 4 alongside fellow contestant Roy Kim. Through that appearance he quickly rose to fame for his powerful rock vocals, as well as his kind of quirky personality, which ultimately landed him in the top 3 for that season. His voice is known for its thick and low qualities, coming from both his vocal habits as well as his naturally lower range. His voice type seems to be most that of a baritone, where his natural tessitura would naturally fall somewhere between the higher portion of the second octave of the piano (F2 ~ A2) up to the mid-upper fourth octave (F4 ~ A4). Currently he is the main vocalist of his band Drug Restaurant, formerly known as JJY Band.

Despite being known for the thickness and weight of his voice, he rarely ever sings very low. As a rock singer, he focuses most of his songs on belting on a range that is generally high for a baritone. For that reason, he often neglects singing in his lower. When he does however sing below C3, it is possible to hear a lack of development of his chest voice muscles as he descends in range. Although there’s a degree of chest voice used when singing in the second octave, most of the sound is produced by a shallow approach more closely associated with the vocal fry register. Thus creating a sound that’s often quite dark, but not as easily connected nor projected. He often loses connection between his modal register, namely his chest voice, and relies on the vocal fry to project his chest voice. All of this is done while also pushing his larynx with the back of his tongue, which creates more tension than support, causing him to often sound pushed and muffled in his lower range. Despite this, his vocal cords do remain mostly connected as he descends in range. Examples of his lower range can be heard with the A2’s in “먼지가 되어” as well as F2’s in “공감.”

His habit of lowering his larynx isn’t something part of his lower range alone. Unfortunately this habit is present throughout his whole modal register. As he’s not yet shown the ability to sing with a head voice, that seems to only include his chest and mixed voice thus far. The way to produce correct resonance in pop music while remaining supported and relaxed requires the throat to opened, while the airflow from the diaphragm hits the vocal cords with just enough pressure to create sound. This, along with proper placement, creates power. However many vocalists have the habit of overusing the throat muscles to create power, some do so by squeezing the throat and some others by pushing their larynxes down with tension from their tongues. This does create more volume and a thicker sound, but it’s not as natural and not as relaxed as a more neutral position in the larynx while keeping the throat opened.

The result of this is a sound that’s pushed, heavy and often unsupported. Jung Joonyoung’s case is no different. To an extent, pushing his larynx down while keeping the sound placed in the back of his throat seems to be partially stylistic. However the few times he’s shown a more neutral larynx approach while singing more lightly show that he has yet to develop the right amount of development in his vocal cords against a consistent airflow from his diaphragm to produce support. Examples of this include the range up to C#4 heard in “잊었니” and “I Love You.” The issue with this is that the sound is generally shallow as there is very little support being engaged when singing like this. This explains why his sound becomes thinner and weaker if he goes above C#4, such as the D4’s in “Remember.” Thus this would be why he chooses to sing with an unhealthy approach. In order to create more volume, often mistaken as power, he pushes the sound with a heavy chest voice and a throaty approach.

His mixed voice is generally chest-dominant and heavy, due to his low larynx position, the sound is rarely ever light. He doesn’t usually mix with much brightness, but he can coordinate his muscles extremely well despite the tension present in his vocal cords. He often sings as high as G4, or even A4, while sounding relatively controlled. This control is done with the help of tension and not support, which is not the most desirable nor healthiest way to sing. Examples of his belting range include the C#4’s in “슬픈 언약식,” his D4’s in “널 사랑하니까,” his E4’s in “천생연분,” “When the Sun Goes Down” and “내가 만일,” his F4’s in “공감” and  “해석남녀,” his F#4’s in “여가,” “Princess” and “토요일은 밤이 좋아,” his G4’s in “풍문으로 들었소” and “너와 나,” his A4’s in “Creep” as well as “먼지가 되어.” Despite showing a relatively more relaxed approach up to C#4 at times, his consistency with support up until C#4 is quite questionable.

His upper register consists mostly of a falsetto, generally light and breathy. At times he’s able to produce a sound that’s less breath, but still there’s a huge contrast from when he uses his mix to when he uses his falsetto. His transitions have shown improvement, becoming much quicker and smoother over time, as heard when comparing performances such as “Creep” and “응급실” to more recent ones like “공감.” Another interesting quality he’s able to produce is a more scream-like falsetto, that’s not exactly a head voice but is somewhat more projected and connected than his usual falsetto. With his lighter falsetto he seems to peak mostly at around B4, but with his more pushed one, he is able to go into the fifth octave and sing as high as E5, as heard in “먼지가 되어” and “매일 매일 기다려,” as well as the F5 in “Outsider.” This register is a disconnected register where his larynx isn’t pushed down, but support is still not present. He often pushes with so much tension that his pitch is sharp as well.

Musically Rock music does not need to be unhealthy in terms of singing. There does not need to be tension in the throat in order to sing Rock music. There is a healthy way to do. Pushing greatly limits one’s vocal ability and range, as they tend to sing with only more volume as they get higher and are unable to control their volume output as well as their breath management when singing softly. Jung Joonyoung is an example of a self-taught rock singer who is a great composer and artist, but could use some work when it comes to his vocal technique. Many artists tend to skip over the basics of singing in order to focus on their own style, but it can be damaging to the voice to overwork the muscles on a daily basis with as much tension as he does. For the future, working on re-learning and establishing basic breath support could potentially help him become a more flexible vocalist if he chooses to go down a different route musically.

Musicianship

As previously discussed, Jung Joonyoung’s main genre of music is rock. With that in mind, he’s not one to sing songs outside of that genre. His main form of musicianship and artistry doesn’t lie solely on singing Rock songs, but also making songs that aren’t necessarily of that genre become more Rock in flavor. He knows what his main sound is and so he emphasizes strong thick and intense vocals onto his vocal performances. He may add melodic changes to songs, which are often in the form of more scream-like falsettos and louder powerful belts despite the tension present in his throat.

Label (Type of Vocalist)

S Vocalists: Stylistic Vocalists

Best Vocal Performance(s)

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Analyzed by Ahmin (Kitsunemale)

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59 thoughts on “Jung Joonyoung’s Vocal Analysis”

      1. He’s probably on the lower spectrum since there are people in weak who keep a stable larynx most of the time

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    2. Hmm… you’re right, maybe it’s just because I focus too much on the fullness of his tone, he sounds well supported for a weak vocalist though

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  2. ..I know it would be like this (the analysis)..
    When he sing by pushing his larynx lowered I could feel my throat shaking anw…

    finally other analysis is being posted! thank youu.

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  3. Wow… I was waiting for this. And, to be honest, the fact that he is pretty bad when it comes to vocal technique is, so far, the biggest surprise for me on this blog… As a total layperson I really thought he would be at least average, dont know why tho…

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    1. “Layperson” I read that as “ladyperson” and I was like “Huh I mean I guess that could be a reason for you to be confused” LOL but yes I was expecting a higher rating as well.

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  4. Way back when I asked you about him, you told me that his technique isn’t bad, so this is kind of a surprise. JJY is also known to drink alcohol and smoke a lot, do you see in any way how that affects his voice?

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  5. What you said about rock is true. For example, Jung Dongha can with style and good techniques. Is Ha hyuwoo another example of a rocker who has good techniques ?

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  6. Too bad…I’ve always really liked JJY’s voice. I honestly didn’t expect him to be rated as Weak.

    Anyways, any idea who you’re analyzing next?

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      2. I see. From hearing him sing….it doesn’t really sound like he’ll be higher than average if that.

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      4. Huh, weird. I watched a few videos where he sounded kind of nasal and overly raspy…then I saw a few where he sounded full and really clean. I’m confused.

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      1. We’ll see. My ears still need training. I really still can’t tell the simple stuff when it comes to hearing strain/support/resonance/etc.

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  7. This was really unexpected… I thought he would be at least average. When I listen to a singer you’ve rated as “weak” is easy for me to agree with you, because when they sing it feels like they are not singing properly(?) they make it uncomfortable to losten…if that makes sense. However, it’s pretty hard for me to listen to JJY and say he is a weak singer, it doesn’t feel right in my tongue xD

    It was way easier with my Ultimate Bias (When he was rated weak), beacause I just knew it when I heard him(?)

    Anyways, thank you for the analysis 💕

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  8. Not entirely surprised. I guess because I watch him more on 1N2D than on any singing show. So I’ve always seen him as more of a stylistic vocalist. Still love JJY though.

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  9. Which rocker do you believe (s)he is above average / (except Jung Dongha and Ha Hyunwoo – not sure their rank is above average but what people discussed about them is enough for me)

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  11. Hi! Great analysis. I agree with your analysis of JJY, though I thought he’d be in the category “Weak to Average.”
    Any thought of analysing Kim Dongwan’s voice? He isn’t the main vocalist of Shinhwa, but he quite obviously has a clearer, more natural voice and better technique than Shin Hyesung. I think.

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    1. I’m not sure I agree about him being obviously better than Hyesung. I’ve seen the KoMS video:

      “1:20 That has good placement because it’s very chesty, but it’s also very much in his throat. A lot of idols who debuted in the 90’s aside from Kim Taewoo, Ock Joohyun and Bada, have been singing EXACTLY the same way they used to. Considering that in the 90’s there was no vocal training for idols, they all pretty much sang with less than desirable technique and all pretty much sang with a lot of throat tension, including Dongwan. He is a tenor and those notes he already started to push a lot of tension through were just E4’s and D4’s, which are just the beginning of his mixed voice. It’s rather unimpressive. F#4’s for him already sound tight 1:33 his throat sounds pretty closed on those F#4’s and G4’s and even though we could argue that E4 and D4 sound more relaxed and not nearly as pushed and closed as the notes above that, even if that was part of his supported range again as a tenor it’s rather underwhelming. Since he and Shin Hyesung would most likely be considered weak vocalists, as are the rest of Shinhwa, we never really took the time to prioritize them for an analysis. We may analyze them in the future but not soon because they’re not usually requested anyway.”

      And the duet:
      “0:26 very tight vocal approach, the jaw is very closed, he isn’t dropping it low enough, a nasal placement overall and lack of proper breath support causes his voice to have this shallow flat-sounding tone quality due to its lack of depth and openness in the back of his throat. F#4 was the peak note and it had very obvious tension, which for a tenor like him is anything but a good sign. All of this I’m getting from 3 seconds of him singing. 0:29 falsetto F#4, not bad, very disconnected though. His pitch is fine. 0:37 so Hyesung starts singing, not only was his transition into falsetto much smoother, he has a much better sense of breath support and openness, his tone is a lot fuller than Dongwan’s in that specific range. 0:56 Dongwan sings with a lot of jaw tension. 1:09 that D4 wasn’t so bad, it could’ve been much more opened and cleaner in tone, it lacked resonance. 1:12 F#4’s and G4’s, tight vocal approach on those. 1:20 high larynx on that quick A4. 1:25 too much tension overall in his neck/throat, he has a very tight closed nasal sound overall to his voice. Then Dongwan starts singing, he uses his throat a lot to sing and pushes a lot, like 1:34 and 1:38 if you look at his neck, he is using a larynx vibrato as his “adam’s apple” is going up and down. 3:24 very unclear B2, diction and better placement would help the note be clearer in tone. He has tone in his lower range, he sometimes seems to lower his larynx in his lower range, which is not a good sign. 3:46 Dongwan can’t project nearly as well as Hyesung in his lower, he’s much airier and quieter, his voice gets easily muffled. 4:06 that was supposed to be a B2 but no sound came out. 4:44 high larynx G#4. 4:46 tight sound. 4:52 sloppy transition into falsetto. Both of these vocalists lack the ability to properly use breath support to control their voices and have a very throaty approach to singing, Hyesung has a better overall tone production but they both lack vocally.”

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      1. Hm. I disagree. In fact, Dongwan was originally Shinhwa’s main vocalist. I do agree that his voice can sound quite tense and not open enough, though. Hyesung is better at projecting, but he is not nearly as agile a singer as is Dongwan, nor is his range anywhere close. Nowadays he occasionally even lands on the wrong note, or on no note at all. Then again, while I prefer Dongwan’s voice he does lack consistency throughout, whereas Hyesung is usually more consistent, albeit in his smaller range.
        Interestingly, while I do like Kim Taewoo’s voice, I think it has some of the same faults as you’ve described for Dongwan’s.
        If you hear Hyesung’s more recent performances, I think you’ll note how much his voice has changed.

        Anyway, thank you for the response! (And thank goodness we have the same opinion of Naul’s voice).

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      2. What does his range being anywhere as close mean? What does it matter? Both of them are tenors with very throaty technique, very shallow approaches and who strain even E4. I don’t think either of them are considerably better than one another. If anything I heard recent Dongwan, if Hyesung got worse or not, neither of them have established proper support in their singing regardless. Make sure not to confuse voice and technique. Kim Taewoo pushes but pushing while oversupporting is different than pushing with no support.

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  13. By the way, though, I resent your dismissive attitude. “All this from 3 seconds.” That is not necessary. For someone who wants the comments to be nice and respectful, it doesn’t really look like it.

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    1. I understand the confusion but don’t judge what I said without knowing the context. As you know, that was a copy-paste, not a response to you. That was a response to somebody who said:
      “Dongwan & Hyesung provide the more powerful notes for Shinhwa, while Minwoo provides the more gentle style of singing. Shinhwa are quite easily one of the best Vocal groups in Kpop.”
      “All this from 3 seconds” is not me being dismissive, this is me saying to the person who thinks they’re easily one of the best vocal groups in K-pop that even with 3 seconds of him singing, I can hear that THAT is most certainly not true and I stand by that. People tend to overhype vocalists and it doesn’t take more than 3 seconds to hear if someone can support or not many times. I do apologize, keeping in mind this is an response from 2015, but don’t misunderstand without knowing the context please. I do apologize if I sound curt, I don’t mean to.

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  14. Haha, you’ve been dropping hints for a while that he’s not actually very good technically but I wasn’t expecting this. Not really surprised though. Thanks for the analysis!

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  16. Thanks to Jung Joon Young, I discovered your blog. I really like the quality of his voice but I do agree he doesn’t have total control of it, which I believe was the reason he did not win first place in Superstar K. Some of his words get mumbled in the low register. I do hope he takes pain to have total control of that voice cause I can already imagine the awesome. Just saying.

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  17. omg I’ve been waiting for JJY’s for so long. Thanks. Weak came as a surprise to me but am no expert. Do you think he has improved significantly since Superstar K days?

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  19. Not surprised. To the ones who are still trying to disagree or disprove this conclusion by posting videos.. please stop. This doesn’t mean he cannot sing. It’s just that he lacks vocal techniques to play his voice with that what made him weak. Either he can hit high notes or not does not mean that he’s already a good vocalist.
    In fact, I myself am a fan of JJY and I listen to his songs a lot. Why? Because I like his timbre. He has this unique style which is what he prefers over technique, making his voice recognizable even if I listen to his new song for the first time. But just because I like him doesn’t mean that I don’t see that he’s weak in his head voice or chest voice. And having profeciency in head voice or chest voice would have been a great help for his artistry.
    Let’s be objective here peeps. I’m objective, and I still Listen to IU or hyukoh despite them not really having the best vocal techniues.

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  20. I have a question, how are you able to tell whether someone is forcefully pushing down their larynx, or just has a naturally thick voice?

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    1. The sound quality is very different. A pushed down larynx has a specific quality to it that can be heard across voice types. Many times I emulate what they do to feel what sensations they’re feeling. When I emulate Jung Joonyoung for an example, I have to push my larynx down to copy his vocal habits. If I try to copy Bang Yongguk it’s the same.

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      1. would you say pentagons hui and/or nuest baekho are examples of someone with a thick voice or do they also push their larynx down?

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      3. Hui and Baekho are more on chestier side at times but they don’t forced their larynx down in their mix, also their voice aren’t not that thick

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  22. What he did was unforgivable!
    I highly doubt that he will improve anymore after all these incidents. You know the jail doesn’t really have vocal coach lol

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  23. He sounds like tenor for me because he can mix up to C5 with ease in 그것만이 내 세상.. well it would be meaningless since he became garbage lol

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      1. That’s encouraging me. I’m bass(many vocal teachers said to me)who wants to sing high notes. On the other hand, I’m still sad that bass is very hard to support above E4. I’ll usually have to sing outside of my supported range for long period of time or lower key a LOT.

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  24. “Lyric baritones have their first passaggio at B3” Is that correct? Cuz I remember you said baritone’s mixed voice start at B3. Is it where jjy’s mixed voice starting at?

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