Vocal Range
C#3 ~ G#5 (2 octaves, 3 notes and 1 semitone)
Supported Range
E3 ~ Bb4/B4
Voice Type
Mezzo-Soprano
Strengths/Achievements
- Possibly and arguably the strongest vocalist in YG entertainment presently
- Able to keep tone and support down to E3 consistently
- Possesses a very agile voice, with good note separation
- Resonance is present in the voice from time to time
- Able to keep consistent support in her voice up until Bb4/B4
- Notes in falsetto are controlled for the most part
- Pitch is consistently controlled in her voice
- Musicianship is very prominent in her singing
- Mixed voice is bright and more head dominant, so there’s less strain on the vocal cords
Points for Improvement
- Although voice is agile, runs lack precision in pitch
- Notes below E3 lack support and tone, although they’re still audible and not airy
- Resonance is not often achieved
- Notes above B4 are often produced with tension and strain
- Falsetto register is weak in terms of tone production and isn’t often used
- Voice is very young and could easily change, so some of the vocally heavy songs she sings can damage her voice
- Mixed voice is not very flexible and lacks tone and control
- Notes above C#5 can often sound unstable, tight and screechy
- Vowels such as Woo (우), Eu (으) and Aye (애) cause her swallowing muscles to close her throat
Registers
- Lower register: Able to support down to E3 consistently with an even column of sound, through proper breathing and a neutral larynx position. Notes below E3, however, generally become more quiet and less connected, with a slight hint of airiness and less projection, although tone is still present.
- Mixed register: Normally a very balanced to head-dominant mix is used where her voice sounds youthful and bright for most of the time. Support is present up until B4, with resonance and consistency up until Bb4. Above B4, notes become more screeched and pushed.
- Upper register: Most underused register, where her voice becomes the weakest and lacks projection. Her voice still possesses enough control of pitch to freely carry out vocal runs even in this register.
Agility
Lee Hi’s voice is a bit heavier than most other K-pop female idol vocalists, which doesn’t stop her from having, arguably, one of the most agile voices amongst her peers. She is able to carry out complicated and smooth vocal runs from the bottom to the top of her range with precision and accuracy of pitch and a very clean and consistent separation of each individual note. Her precision is generally good but at times her runs may come out of place and will contain some extra notes that can sound off-key and miscalculated. Most examples of her precision in vocal runs include her cover of “Love“, “Killing Me Softly“, “Mama Do“. She can either go off key when she’s brought outside of her supported range, like in “Sway“, or when the runs are too improvised or require too wide of a range like in the last run of “Goodbye Baby Goodbye“.
Overall analysis
Lee Hi is arguably one of the idols with one of the most unique voices in K-pop. That uniqueness doesn’t necessarily come from her vocal tone or her vocal quality, but instead it comes from the fact that, even at such a young age, her voice stands out by being one of the few Mezzo-Sopranos amongst young female idols singers. Her voice generally possesses a very dark, soulful and womanly quality in her lower range, but the youthfulness of her voice due to age and her mixing technique show that she still has a developing voice, most likely at this point in time she’d be classified as a Light Lyric Mezzo-Soprano.
Possessing one of the best lower ranges amongst young idol vocalists, she has the advantage of having a naturally lower voice than most other k-pop female vocalists, which allows for her voice to fully project and be connected even as she descends into the lower third octave. Her voice is characteristically very smoky and dark in her lower range, where she possesses a very clean, supported and projected sound, well placed in her mask and her chest, allowing for her voice to fully be present even in her lowest notes. She’s able to keep a consistent full sound on F#3’s, such as in “너를 위해“, F3’s such as in “U-Go Girl” and E3 such as at the end of an acapella cover of “Mercy” and in “Let It Be“. Her voice however starts losing her natural column of sound as she descends below E3, such as her Eb3’s in “시간이 흐른뒤” and “All I Want For Christmas Is You“, and her D3’s in “Officially Missing You” and “U-Go Girl“. Although she may be able to take her voice below D3, presently, her voice still only shows support on E3 and above.
Her mixed range shows a very distinct and almost light quality to it, which betrays the sense of soulfulness and heaviness present in her lower range. Due to her young age, her voice still lacks the maturity to fully connect from bottom to top with a consistent color and timbre, which is also a technical flaw due to the nature of her mixed voice. Lee Hi’s mixed voice is generally either balanced, or head dominant, which allow for her to peak at F5, even with as a mezzo-soprano, numerous times, such as in “Mercy” and “U-Go Girl“. Her voice is head-dominant but still has the right amount of chest voice for her muscles to properly be able to coordinate and control her mixed voice and allow for her to bring it up to F5. The issue however, is that due to the lightness of her mixed voice, it lacks the necessary strength from the chest voice muscles to create a fuller and bigger sound as she ascends, also taking away the natural qualities of a mezzo-soprano as she ascends, although age is also a factor to be considered. Therefore, resonance may be present in her singing, but it’s generally kind of small in comparison to the potential size of her voice, as it matures. However she has been able to show quite a couple of times the ability to be resonant on A4’s, such as in “Whistle“, and her Bb4’s in “Rolling In The Deep” and”Goodbye Baby Goodbye“. Her support is still present on B4, such as in “Let It Go” and “Love The Way You Lie“, but above B4, her C5’s generally carry a bit of a tight throat and even on B4’s, due to the vowels being either “Aye (애)”, “Woo (우)” and “Eu (으)”, her swallowing muscles tend to close around her belts, even within her supported range. Examples of strained high notes above B4 include the C5’s in “나는 달라” and “살아봤으면 해 (If I Were You)“, her D5’s in “Mercy” and “Let It Be“, and her Eb5 in “Sway“, where her voice generally sounds quite tight and screeched.
Her falsetto register is by far her least developed register, where her voice becomes the weakest and the least comfortable. Her voice is still quite controlled and she’s able to freely do vocal runs even in her falsetto, such as in “Mercy” and “Let It Be“, but her voice lacks the full connection of her vocal cords to produce a less airy tone. Her falsetto also is limited in range, where her highest note is a belted F5, her falsetto is mostly not used above Eb5, an F5 is hit in the recording of “All I Want For Christmas Is You“, but her voice is just less supported and less capable of the natural sustain she possesses in the rest of her other registers. Projection may be present, but her placement isn’t ideally put into her mask and head voice, instead her voice is generally only half-placed in her mask, where the other half is placed slightly in the back of her throat and the rest is lost through the air coming out of her vocal cords.
As a young vocalist, Lee Hi’s biggest assets are her naturally low voice, her developed lower range and her ease in her mixed range. Another one of her strengths is her pitch which, apart from occasional vocal runs, is mostly impeccable and allows her to actually sing very complicated vocal lines at will and with freedom. Her voice is always in control of her pitch, her breathing is very steady and she possesses a very advanced understanding of music. Always being able to change the music at will with different accompaniments, she knows where to use stronger notes and to properly add her own character such as in “Lonely” and “어른아이“. She also generally uses a straight tone but has a natural and healthy vibrato, which only add to how advanced her vocal technique is considering her young age.
Due to being cast as a vocalist and singer from K-Pop Star, she didn’t go through the training that most YG vocalists normally would, allowing for her to develop her technique, style and persona on her own, not being influenced by the vocal coaching present in YG Entertainment. As a vocalist, she is a young prodigy whose vocal technique surpass the vocal technique of many of her older and younger seniors, where she’s able to control her voice beyond her years. For future improvements, developing her head voice and further developing her mixed voice to properly add to the natural soulful depth and color of her low voice would be a must, however it may take time due to the current vocal care she’s under, where little to no emphasis is put on developing proper vocal technique. However, due to her naturally good vocal habits, Lee Hi should have no issues with her present vocal technique.
Musicianship
Probably her strongest quality, Lee Hi is a vocalist who not only hears music well, but is also able to add and make every song her own with vocal runs and melodic changes. She has the natural ear and ability to fully adapt to many different kinds of backgrounds and settings, where her voice shows control and precision in her musical ideas. Examples include the many covers she’s performed, where her confidence has risen and her control even more so throughout the years, such as in “Bust Your Windows“, “Lonely“, “Let It Be“, “Let It Go” and “Love The Way You Lie“. Her ability to harmonize and produce clean and well balanced performances is also an asset of hers, such as in “Officially Missing You“, “Goodbye Baby Goodbye” and “Mama Do“.
Label (Type of Vocalist)
M Vocalists: Mid-Range Vocalists
LR Vocalists: Low Range Vocalists
S Vocalists: Stylistic Vocalists
Vocal Range Video(s)
video by:We Are D-town
Best Vocal Performance
—
Analyzed by Ahmin (Kitsunemale)
How did she do in her Breathe performance?
I’m sorry, but as soon as I saw it on my suggestions thing on YouTube, I wanted to come here..
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Based on the fancams, but the time stamps should be the same:
Hold My Hand 0:02 0:54 2:04 2:40 3:14 the Bb4’s are closed, but the Bb4’s on “comeback” are much more opened and the approach is much better. The support is there for both, it’s just the vowel for “hand” is a really tight aye and she’s just not opening up the vowel well enough. 2:28 oh that run was sloppy, that could’ve been better, it was better in studio. 2:34 that run was much nicer, the rhythmic bounce on it was really nice. 3:08 could’ve been better, she really needs to work on her vowels.
0:18 0:33 0:37 nice G3’s throughout Breathe. 1:09 Eb3 airy, same as the studio version. 1:22 too airy on the lightly mixed C5’s, the support is shallow and she’s overcompensating supporting by having a slightly high larynx and too much air coming through her vocal cords. It’s a healthier approach than her closed throat mixed notes in the fifth octave when singing softly, but it’s still incorrect. Verse and chorus were the same again, she’s slightly louder on the second chorus but the same problem is more or less happening throughout with the C5’s. 3:19 Eb5 high larynx, too light…yeah there’s nothing truly new, no big change or improvement in her technique.
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Thank you! So she has problems with her vowels? That’s in the analysis, too, right? Honestly, I would, too. I always hated the 애 and 이 sounds when I’m just singing along to something for fun, it must be annoying for her since she’s actually singing as a job. Poor Hi 😦 I hope she improves throughout her solo since she didn’t in the years she was away, maybe someone will give her tips or something to help her… not that I think that’d actually happen but I can pray for her.
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hello ahmin!
i want to ask you several things if you don’t mind..
1. is ‘Breathe’ still within her old/usual range or does she achieve any new notes?
2. considering the composition, is the song better suited for a soprano?
3. these clips is from her guesting on WINNER’s concert.. she was standing instead of seating. are there any differences between both stages and her music show performance?
day 1
day 2
4. in your analysis above, you stated one of her weakness is “Voice is very young and could easily change, so some of the vocally heavy songs she sings can damage her voice”. is ‘Breathe’ fit in the ‘vocally heavy song’ you mentioned? because i haven’t heard Hayi ‘abusing’ her higher register this much, so i’m somewhat worried since it’s her title track.. meaning, she’d be singing the heartfelt piece a lot. what do you think about it? is her current technique enough to prevent her voice from severely damaging?
thank you in advance! sorry for adding more to your workload >.<..
cheers!
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1. Breathe is within her normal range yes, but there is a song in the album where she hit both a C#3 and a G#5, which extended her known used range but still….it didn’t show true improvement.
2. Breathe is not that high in range, it’s quite reasonable for a mezzo or a soprano. It’d be unreasonable as a male range but many male songs are also written in a similar range.
3. The version you showed me, the first video seems to be in a lower key than the original song and so she’s singing in a more comfortable range for her. Both of them are in a lower key, so she has better support and placement in these. These are better for her current technique. It’s the top of her supported range so she sounds like it’s slightly troublesome but not bad.
4. I don’t believe Breathe is a very challenging or difficult song for her at all, she’s not truly singing too high nor with too much power. She’s using such a light approach and singing in such a comfortable range that she should have no problem at all. It’s not a vocally heavy song, neither of them are. This song isn’t very high at all actually. Her current technique is definitely enough.
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fiuhh.. what a relief then..
having read your previous comments, i’m aware that her technique hasn’t improved much.. and just like everyone else here expressed, being in YG made me have very little expectation on that. my biggest wish is for her to preserve her vocal chords.. so based on your observation about Hayi’s latest performance, i hope from now on she’ll use the lower version instead for her future live stages.
thank you again for your answers, and have a good day!
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hi Ahmin, here i am again just to throw you some more questions.. sorry for being such a bother.
1. quoting your analysis:
“…but the youthfulness of her voice due to age and her mixing technique show that she still has a developing voice…”
from that excerpt, what i decipher is Lee Hayi’s voice hasn’t fully matured yet, and so still prone to change. in what age usually a singer’s voice completely developed?
2. i saw your conversation with someone, that my little birdy’s voice is somewhat ambiguous since she sings like a mezzo, but her placement when doing register switches resembles a soprano. have you encounter similar cases before? if you have, where do they usually end up?
3. if by any chance her voice type indeed changes in the future, will it affect her overall technique evaluation?
4. what’s the lowest note she sang in these clips?
>> short snippet of Beyonce’s ‘Hold Up’
[video src="https://scontent-ord1-1.cdninstagram.com/t50.2886-16/14181466_534087220117629_1720650878_n.mp4" /]
>> documentary of HIGHGRND’s Song Camp (around 1:21-1:25 minute mark)
thank you in advance!
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Well a vocalist’s voice usually matures when they’re in their late twenties or early thirties. Mhmm No actually, the only cases I’ve encountered of that are improperly trained Sopranos. Actually a user on the blog once asked about their singing and she trained herself to almost like she she’s a tenor, but she is more than likely a soprano. Her rating would remain the same if she were a soprano or mezzo. She sang a D3..well in between D3 and C#3 in Song Camp and there’s a C3 in the Hold Up snippet but I can’t tell if it’s just Beyonce of it’s her voice too.
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You said that ”resonance may be present in her singing, but it’s generally kind of small in comparison to the potential size of her voice” but as a fan who has watched a lot of videos of her live performances I’ve honestly never really heard resonance being present in her singing (at least not in recent live performances) so I wonder could you find an example of a performance where she is resonant?
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Some examples are in the analysis like when she sang rolling in the deep.
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Oh, thank you I guess I didn’t read the part with examples… I honestly can’t hear it that well, maybe it’s because her voice is a bit lower than what I’m used to? Quick question I’ve been having some of the same issues as her actually (my vowels) sometimes my throat kinda closes up when I’m singing and our ”choirmaster” told me it was my vowels and I needed to have a more open throat when singing yet she also told me that my breathing was correct I’ve been trying to fix it since it’s embarrassing when it happens(some really unflattering sounds come out) but I don’t feel like she has really given me any tips to do that so would you know any good ones for this issue?
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I’d have to hear it, but usually focusing on the soft palate helps. Try to semi yawn but push the sound out from your lips.
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She did Hold My Hand, too!
did she do well on this one, too? Sorry if this is bothering you lol I got excited, she’s been locked away forever. There’s a fancam of her singing Breathe in the other video, too.
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Are you guys ever thinking of Soohyun from AKMU
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Check the Future analyses page when making requests, the answer is there. ^ ^
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Sorry~
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What is the highest note she sings on “Breathe” in the original key?
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I think Eb5?
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idk why but i felt she sounded much more stable in recent sketchbook performances compared to the past? but seriously her confidence and stage manner (which aren’t part of your analysis i understand) are the most noticable change. leave these here for your references!
also her breath performance. sketchbook sound system is on different level lol xD
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sorry forget to put the link. her breath performance:
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Where do mezzos typically start their mix? (Sopranos too?)
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It varies..generally the D#4 ~ F#4 range depending on the vocal weight of the mezzo and sometimes mezzos and sopranos overlap in passaggi.
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I’m a bit curious about Winner’s vocals… where would you rank Seungyoon and Taehyun?
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We don’t know for sure yet, since they weren’t analyzed, Seungyoon should be at least average and Taehyun at most average.
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SEungyoon, I think, is Ave to AA (good chest and decent mix). Taehyun is W to A (Good chest range but weak support). Jinwoo is W (Shallow support, throaty technique)
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woaaaaah i’m new fans of lee hi. i really love her voice and i found this. i searched about tegoshi yuya but when i read the url it’s about kpop lololol. aaaa i want to know tegonyan i love his voice too like hayi ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
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hey, I’m sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, but how did lee hi and park boram do in their performances on sugarman this week?
can you guess who won? lol
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It’s not the wrong place, it’s perfectly right to ask about Lee Hi on her analysis page. 0:54 that A4 was closed due to the vowel but not bad. 1:06 The B4’s in this section have support as usual, but a bit tight overall. Her placement could definitely better. Lee Hi is definitely able to produce resonance but it’s not very consistent. This is in a fairly easy range 1:52 there is a quick F#3, so far F#3 ~ B4 seems to be the range which is not truly challenging for her. 2:11 She really needs to open up on her Aye vowel. The song didn’t really go anywhere else with the rest, so she kind of kept it the same. Cute song though. 3:15 A4’s and B4’s after that were nice on those more opened vowels.
0:30 Boram gets REALLY quiet on those G#3’s, there during the verse. Her lower range sounds like your usual Soprano pop vocalist lower range. 1:47 She has support down to Bb3 to an extent but it’s not very strong, her chest voice muscles aren’t very strong. 2:00 her phrased C5’s don’t sound bad in the choruses, actually. Even her C#5’s don’t sound that bad, her mixing is nice she just tends to sound slightly tight as she goes higher. 2:27 That B4 wasn’t bad, it had nice placement. She sounds better here than what I heard of her before. 3:12 She has a nice bright mix so even when tension creeps in and her vibrato gets wobbly, she still is able to mix with relative ease.
I think both did well technically but if I’d have to compare one to the other, it felt like Boram’s performance had a better arrangement and it was more dynamically diverse, as well as stylistically. Lee Hi’s kind of stayed the same the whole way through, which wasn’t really her fault but due to the arrangement, I’d guess Boram would have won?
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yeah, boram won. i was really a little impressed with her, because that’s the best i’ve heard her sound too. maybe improvement? or she just went all out for the performance
i was hoping leehi’s performance would have something outside of her usual stuff. don’t get me wrong, i like her usual stuff, but i haven’t heard much improvement in her from her debut to now
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I like the arrangement of boram’s much more, but wasn’t really attracted to it perhaps because her voice tone is pretty standard to my ears.
I think Lee Hi’s trying a bunch of genres and I’m happy to see that. She has her own style of singing. Check the youtube for work it out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzYlNgqqeCs That is so distinctively her.
Sure vocalist wise she’s not the best out there, but given the genre she’s playing with it’s expected and she’s not going to do a celine dion style ever i think.
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(Ack super late reply ahoy) Did Boram have support on her C5’s and/or C#5’s? And what was the peak note at 3:11-3:12?
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Maybe the C5’s, but the C#5’s seemed to have too much glottal tension. 3:11 there was a very quick E5. 3:01 also hit E5 here.
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Why did Lee Hi move down? I’m guessing her musicianship and lower range aren’t enough to classify her as in between? Or is it because of her inconsistency of producing resonance and around the Bb4/B4 area? I’m just curious. 🙂
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She was moved down because I realized she didn’t match the criteria to be in between and Above Average seemed adequate enough for her. I overrated her before.
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oh my Goodness!
to be honest with you, i was slightly panicked when i didn’t find my sugar plum in the Above Average to Competent section.. i really thought her vocal is regressing. then i re-read your analysis, but couldn’t notice any change in it, so i wonder what went wrong until finally i find this comment.
a breath of relief escaped me as soon as i realize it’s a misjudgement on your part.. because for me, the petite lady’s technicality is the most important. like i previously stated, i’m aware being in YG probably won’t bring any ‘good’ to Hayi’s instrument (meaning, no drastic/significant improvement). therefore i always hope she can at least maintain her current skill, since i adore her voice so much and i don’t want it to ever deformed. *prayer circle*
one question before i go, do you put a notice in an artist’s page when there’s a correction or maybe highlighting an edited part to let your reader’s know the former+the updated state of one’s technique?
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Oh no I just wait for a comment asking about it haha I’m not even sure how I’d notify ppl actually.. Sorry bout the misunderstanding.
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don’t worry, it’s fine~
if i may suggest, probably you could write your new findings/revised points with different colour? just to make people aware about the edited part.. or probably some footnotes? i don’t know which one is easier though ^^;
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Mhmm yeah I mean it doesn’t happen often but you’re right. I’ll discuss with others how to address it. ^ ^
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Hello, Can I ask how Lee Hi did here?
Thank you!!
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0:11 ~ 0:18 She could relax her jaw a lot more, she sounds somewhat tight in her approach but her singing is overall nice, love her style in this. She suits the old school sound with her vocal approach. 0:34 Tight C5, she’s putting too much pressure into her jaw and throat. 0:45 tight A4 because of the vowel, she overly pronounces her vowels usually. Those falsetto transitions were slightly sloppy due to the lack of tone present in her falsetto and the disconnection of registers. 1:01 and 1:06 those C5’s are better than the other ones. 1:14 that run could’ve been more precise, it was slightly pitchy. The same for the next verses and choruses, overall she just sings with similar issues overall. 2:57 Those C5’s do sound better than before too, that’s nice. The mixing is better, she needs to relax her jaw and open up on her vowels, also making sure her runs are precise is important.
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Would you say Lee Hi has the strongest vocal technique in the AA category?
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Nope, I would not. Solar and Wheein for an example are definitely stronger vocalists in the AA category.
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Damn she must’ve been really overrated…
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https://youtu.be/gaTyxXcBaoQ?t=2m44s What note is that? And how can you tell what note it is but not with a piano, Are there any other methods?
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Well some people have perfect pitch, I’ve been identifying notes for so long I just know what they sound like sometimes and I can approximately tell. That was an A4. You can also use a tuner to tell.
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I used a phone app tuner and it read as A4 too but I wasn’t too sure if it was accurate enough. How was the note executed? (Sorry for asking so many questions and thank you for answering them)
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It was kind of closed due to the vowel, but not bad.
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Did she regress, I remember her rating being Above Average to Competent..?
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She didn’t, she was misrated.
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What do you guys think of Lee Hi’s performance on Immortal Songs?
I think she did well, the song sounded like it was in her range of comfort for the most part. I have no idea what to make of the gentleman singing(?) with her, though.
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I replaced your link with a Youtube link instead because..I’d rather watch that on Youtube. 0:26 that Eb3 was sung with a low larynx, the F3’s and Gb3’s she was singing in the beginning had pretty connected tone and support but she was kind of sounding slightly like a bee? She was going for that sound overall. The F#3’s in the verse could be a bit better technically, but she’s being kind of half-whispery throughout so I can see where she’s going with it. Is this her first time on Immortal Song 2? She may be nervous cause vibrato sounds slightly faster than usual. She sounds nice throughout chorus, except for the peaks on C#5’s, she sounds pretty much supported, even though he’s kind of sing-shouting over her. This is a weird duet. Lee Hi did fine for the most part, it was a weird pair, didn’t match quite so well and it just felt really off. 6:21 She’s throaty, she’s trying to push over him in terms of volume.
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Thank you so much for the breakdown! You always mention things I never notice.
Yes, I think it was her first time on Immortal Songs. I hope she’s given a chance to go again, preferably by herself or with someone that suits her style a bit more.
Apparently, the man, Jun In Kwon, is a very respected folk singer. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that lol.
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I get mad with these things, like some people crying in the audience. I would be crying too.
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In this performance (Immoratal Song), Lee Hi was sick, she can barely speak clearly on v-app. Do you think this affected her performance? How much did it affect it?
I just found out about this site/blog after being a K-music fan for so long. LOL. I’m glad you’re very patient and dedicated in analyzing our favorites, along with your team! Fighting!
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Oh thank you for your compliments! ^ ^ No I don’t think it affected her singing actually, at least not noticeably.
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random performance video. Don’t know why but it made me think of Lee Hi
except I think lee hi is much better than the above singer in the video.
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What do you think of Lee Hi here on Gil’s new song? https://youtu.be/6fvjOD8-SdI She sounds so different. This is like the 1st time I listened to It’s Cold. It’s just so much higher that usual :))
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She isn’t singing higher than usual but her voice sounds a lot more Soprano-like in this. It’s the headier softer approach she’s using, it’s much lighter than her usual singing.
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Just a question, are you guys considering doing a vocal analysis for the main vocalists in WINNER (Seungyoon and Taehyun)?
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Yes. Please refer to our future vocal analyses list.
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i want to also leave this here because it really showcases lee hi’s amazing professionalism~ i know confidence or stage presence aren’t part of your analysis and they’re subjective matters, but i’d like to “brag” that imo she has improved miles than before… xD
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Hello What do you think about this cover?
leehi-love on the brain (rihanna cover)
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0:49 that vowel could’ve been more relaxed for sure, but not bad. Lots of falsetto moments, a bit mumbly. Nice F#3’s throughout. A bit tight on the B4’s, nothing too different than usual so far. It was nice, it was improvised so it could’ve been better but some of the moments in falsetto were pretty nice.
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Thank you))
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I have a question: when you say she has an agile voice, do you mean that as an innate characteristic of hers? or is it a technique? are some people born with more agile voices than others? and if so, is it possible for someone who wasn’t born with an agile voice to develop agility like someone who was?
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It’s a technique. Everything is taught, either self-taught or by someone else. Self-taught people learn by copying/emulating how other vocalists sing. In this case, Lee Hi learned to do runs by copying artists she likes who sing songs with many runs. Also agility yes, can be worked on just like anything else in singing. ^ ^
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ah! thank you. I’ve always thought it was technique but reading these analysis I started having doubts about what I thought I knew. Thanks for clearing it up!!
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How good is she compared to adele because theyre both mezzo sopranos and people say she is the korean adele
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I’d rather not compare her to Adele, because I am not familiar with her enough.
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adele would be rank as an average vocalist
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Was the note at 3:17 resonant or do you think it’s the mic’s reverb short question. Also is gummy a good vocalist (not good as in the rating)
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Good placement, a bit of pushing and tension. I don’t know Gummy well enough to answer.
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I forgot to check back sorry but thank you.
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Hello, I really like your blog and appreciate it. I’m not really understand about it, but it’s interesting to read your analysis because I really like Lee Hi and I notice that you just post vocal analysis of Lee Suhyun Akmu. What do you think about their perfomance in their duo “I’m different” ?https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tDQeSkxkod4
Are their voice compliment each other? Since they have different range and type vocal. Is it more suitable for Lee Hi to sing with Lee Suhyun rather than with Katie Kim who have similiar type vocal? They have perform in one stage before, the link : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0LNum-Y-2fM
The last question, if YG really debut Katie Kim and Jang Hanna. Then YG will have 3 soloist. Who is more superior in term of technic vocal?
Thank you. Good luck with your blog.
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Their voice types aren’t that different, what’s more different is their styles. Katie Kim is most certainly a Soprano, but she sings and has trained herself to sing like a husky low voiced mezzo. Lee Hi may as well be that, although her voice does have more depth and darkness than Katie’s. To be honest, it’s more of a subjective question since it comes from preference. On those particular songs, both duet partners compliment the songs in different ways. It is easier for Katie and Lee Hi to sing together because of their styles though.
Omg Jang Hanna!! I REMEMBER HER! I was looking forward to her debut…Jang Hanna definitely has better technique than Katie Kim, but I’m not sure about her and Lee Hi. Thank you very much! ^ ^
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Thank you for your fast reply. I’m so happy to read it.
Interesting to read your reply. So according to your “temporary” analysis, their ranking in term of technique would be Jang Hanna > Lee Hi-Katie Kim > Lee Suhyun.
I’m suprised that you state that Jang Hanna has better technique than Katie Kim, eventhough Katie Kim has better result in KpopStar Competition.
But I’ve ever read about comment that said Jang Hanna’s skill weaken in her perfomance with JinuSean. Is that true?
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No, no that’s not what I’m saying at all. Jang Hanna/Lee Hi > Lee Suhyun > Katie Kim, I’m not sure what part of what I said came off wrong but yeah I said Jang Hanna has better technique than Katie Kim but not sure about her vs Lee Hi. So Jang Hanna>/Lee Hi > Katie Kim and for sure Suhyun has better technique than Katie. Well many winners don’t have good technique, they just have attractive voices. Winners in singing competitions are winners for popularity and tone quality, not vocal skill. I’m not sure what performance you’re talking about?
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Oh, I get it. I’m not native english speaker, so I’m sorry if I make mistakes with my words or understanding your words. ^ ^
But now, I’m quite understand why YG want to debut Jang Hanna as soloist, she has a good technique. I’m happy because you are so enthusiastic about her debut. ^^
I’m not really sure where I read it, I think it’s just a random comment in youtube. Maybe she is nervous because it’s her first stage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmuWn59Kpds
I also looking forward for her debut so I can read your analysis about her vocal. ^^
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in which song did she hit the G#5???
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It was one of the songs from her newest album, it was a falsetto but I don’t remember which song.
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the night time version or the day time version??
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The first one that was released.
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thank you
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I made a new updated 2016 vocal range video for her. Hope I didnt get any notes wrong (my sense of pitch is still not good).
vocal range start at 0:23
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For the C3 I heard an airy D3, but that’s it. Great job with the video! I added it to the analysis! ^ ^ I think you missed the F5 from For You but that’s about it! I don’t have time to check the pitch right now but generally it seems pretty good.
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What do you mean when you say her placement matches a mezzo. Is it the same meaning as placement when talking about chest, head, and mask placement? Or do you mean the range her voice is placed in? I didn’t know placement had to do with voice type so i’m kind of confused
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The placement of her voice, range wise, where her passaggi are located or in other words where her lower chest voice sits in relation to where her mix starts. It’s not the same kind pf placement yeah.
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I have one question: Lee hi’s talking voice is quite low if you compare it to other s.korean girls. Does having a low voice affect the highnotes? In her Kpop days her high notes weren’t really nice to ears but I always loved her lower range.
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Well she may be a soprano who forces her voice to sound thick and lower than her natural voice.
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What is the song that she is singing in the beginning of the vocal range video? Thanks !
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I’m sorry I don’t know it. Try Shazam.
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The song is Missing You ^^
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She seems worse? Though this is a random live performance.
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To me, I hear the same vocal habits she’s had for a couple of years now.
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1. Is it that the “Light” and “Lyric” of voice type can be changed but the type of Soprano (Mezzo, Alto, Soprano) cannot be changed?
2. Because you said that Lee Hi is still developing her voice, and current she is a “Light Lyric” Mezzo Soprano… but I am assuming she can be developed into a Full Lyric Mezzo Soprano?
3. Can I assume that you can develop and change your voice from Light to Full? But not Mezzo to Soprano to Alto?
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Actually it’s just she’s young, but it doesn’t mean she can be a full lyric. The voice can mature and change in many ways. You can’t choose to do it.
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Wait, so that means my voice can change as well? Because I was born same year as her, 1996 o.o just in march, shes in september…
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Lee Hi was recently in King of Masked Singer. I’m just curious, how did she do here?
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Someone actually asked about this already but for some odd reason, the question was not posted on her analysis page but instead the about and our criteria page.
“As for Lee Hi:
I like most of her B4’s throughout the duet with Im Semi. She is doing well with changing between a more stylistic approach and then using more connection and better placement. 2:29 The Ee and Aye vowel still show issues for her in terms of shaping.
I love her version of My Name, it’s such a cool vibe to the BoA classic. It’s smooth, sexy and dark. Not necessarily vocally challenging. The range was generally narrow for her so it didn’t really challenge her in anyway.”
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Thanks for replying so fast!! I also really like her performance here.
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How did Lee Hi do in this performance? I wonder about the B4’s at 0:39, they seem a bit in her throat (I could be wrong) but did they have support?
I think she’s also singing B4’s here too 1:21~1:40. Has she gotten better with these?
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0:39 Actually those were Bb4’s, she is kind of tightening the vowel and not opening up the sound enough. They’re supported, the vowel just isn’t opened. 1:21 ~ 1:40, I hear a bit of tongue tension. I hear support throughout, but she really lacks openness.
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Oh they’re Bb4’s, I guess she lowered the keys. Yeah is her lack of openness why she got moved down to AA? At least she still supports it
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Actually kind of, it was a re-rating. I overrated her because of her lower range, which is the one thing keeping her where she is for me.
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whose better between her and miley cyrus? i am kinda because of their somewhat similar supported range. thanks in advance
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I don’t know dear, I haven’t analyzed Miley Cyrus.
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Miley Cyrus supports down to D3/Eb3 (I think) but she doesn’t produce resonance in her mixed voice so it would be Lee Hi.
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i would say Miley is stronger manly for more developed low range lee hi didn’t resonate for years
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Who would you say has the more agile voice between Lee Hi and Baek Yerin?
Also, it says that Lee Hi is a Mezzo Soprano, are mezzo sopranos not able to reach as high as sopranos at all? I understand that people with this voice type are generally more comfortable in a lower range (I think). Does it mean they can’t at all though? Like biologically speaking.
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Baek Yerin for sure. No, it does not. They could potentially mix just as high but they won’t sound as comfortable.
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if you’re talking about reaching as high like in any register, it sure a bit more difficult for a mezzo to mix as high as a soprano but it not impossible if u take Beyonce, for example she has a very well developed head voice than 90% of the pop industry , ofc biology and God creation has to do with our vocal types u won’t hear a mezzo mixing a C6 like it very rare for a soprano to wander in the 2nd octave
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Right I guess that would make sense. Btw does anyone know what Mariah Carey’s voice type is? Only asking cuz it seems like she goes super high and super low with really no effort at all. It’s kinda difficult to tell honestly.
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She’s a Soprano
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Hi, Lee Hi did an acoustic version of her song Rose. She sounds really nice. Can I ask what notes she were singing and if she did well?
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She is a bit tight on her diction, pushing her neck forward and not keeping her jaw completely dropped. She is supporting, and I really do like the melodic changes she is using in the song. She is using falsetto quite a bit. The highest mixed voice note in this is Bb4 and the lowest G3? So this is well within her supported range. There was a half-rapped E3 I believe. She did just fine, this song is generally higher because she mixes D5’s but in this she used falsetto above Bb4 to sing that high.
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The guy’s G4s at 2:52 and 3:00 supported?
And what would you say about Lee Hi’s run at 3:35?
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This has been asked about:
“I’ve heard good placement and proper support from Jung Seunghwan, but he tends to get inconsistent around G4/G#4. 3:02 falsetto and he was flat. 4:13 wasn’t flat. Uh 3:27 is him mixing high, he was trying to switch to falsetto. He cracked cause the note wasn’t completely comfortable for him to hit, it seemed.”
As for your time stamps, 2:52 and 3:00 I’d say they’re resonant. 3:35 It was nice, just a tiny bit unclear at the end.
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Hi, I was wondering is it hard to sing Breathe in a baritone range? Especially during the chorus.
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Do you mean in a baritone key or down the octave from the original key? Cause if you mean down the octave, it should be really easy. If you mean in a baritone key, meaning Eb4’s instead of her C5’s, then it can be challenging but doable.
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Lee Hi finally has a song of her own again (although it’s an OST). Anyways, is there anything different with her voice or is she just singing softly and in a different style than usual?
I am aware that studio versions are not really reliable though in determining vocal technique. I’m just kinda curious. 🙂
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It’s a slightly different style from her usual breathy or kind of darker quality she prefers to use. It was purer, with some more head voice. I would say it’s a different style, it’s nice.
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I don’t know if agility could be ranked but is she more agile than ailee !?
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I would not say she is.
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Is her agility not enough to be considered a melismatic/agile vocalist?
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No, it is not.
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Hi. Is it because Lee Hi´s resonance incosistencies she isn´t a MB, right? Thanks so much in advance.
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That’s correct!
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Hey! So I came across this video of Lee Hi performing WORLD TOUR at Winner’s concerts I was just wondering was note would you say she hit at 2:40 in the first video, her mix voice seemed a bit lower here then what she normally sings in. And then to a bit silly question but what happened to her voice at 3:36 (0:14 in the second link)?? I know she’s not really singing there but what note would you say she hit because she went pretty low there and it happened so randomly and unintentionally there’s also a video on insta where you can see her face and it looked like she got a bit surprised and embarrassed lol, is it normal that someone’s voice goes that low all of a sudden? This has me really puzzled and I need answers lol.
PS. Thanks for the advice before I’ve been trying to look at myself in the mirror while singing and I’m trying to lift the soft palate and do the semi yawn thing and it’s honestly working plus I feel like I’m supporting a lot better and straining at a lot less it’s hard to explain for me but it’s like when I do what you said I don’t have to push as much to really get the sound out, so thank you!!
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Hey! So I came across this video of Lee Hi performing WORLD TOUR at a Winner concerts I was just wondering was note would you say she hit at 2:40 in the first video, her mix voice seemed a bit lower here then was she normally sings with. And then to a bit silly question but what happened to her voice at 3:36 (0:14 in the second link)?? I know she’s not really singing there but what note would say she hit because she went pretty low there and it happened so unintentionally there’s a video on insta where you can see their faces and you can faces and it looks like she got a bit surprised and embarrassed lol, is it normal that someone’s voice goes that low all of a sudden? I’m this has me really puzzled and I need answers.
PS. Thanks for the advice before I’ve been trying to look at myself in the mirror while singing and I’m trying to lift the soft palate and do the semi yawn thing and it’s honestly working plus I feel like I’m supporting a lot better and straining at a lot less it’s hard to explain for me but it’s like when I do what you said I don’t have to push as much to really get the sound out, so thank you!!
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Mid- Range Belters:
Mezzo-Sopranos: Up to at least Bb4 up to C5/C#5
Shouldn’t Lee Hi be labelled as mid-range belter rather than mid-range vocalist??
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Also, from what I read about her agility, shouldn’t she also be labelled melismatic/agile vocalist? Or is she not there just yet?
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Her runs aren’t consistently accurate enough I feel. Also in order to be considered a belter, one should have consistent resonance, as it says in the criteria. She does not.
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Damn, at least she has a pretty good mix, but it’s unfortunate her resonance isn’t consistent. Hopefully she improves her upper register too, I can’t wait for the day she gets labelled as a well-rounded vocalist
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Being well rounded only is needed for some people who need it for their music. If it’s not something they need, it’s not something that you want to wish for necessarily.
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Of course! However she’s my favourite mezzo so ofc I’d love to see her improve .P
May I ask who your favourite mezzo-soprano artist/voice is?
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I’ve been consistently worrying about Lee Hi’s vocal condition. She’s been dodging almost all notes above C5 sometimes even B4. When she does sing them, her throat is closing and tensing up more than before. Not to mention her mixed that seems getting more and more airier.
And in this comeback it seems posing an issue on her.
I’ve never heard her being so out of pitch until months, let alone in one performance. (It can be heard very clearly throughout the song even though backing track is very loud)
this one seems to be the normal her, but I’m not sure if they’ve tuned it… It does sound tuned to me.
I don’t normally worry about regression, but given her connection in her mixed, I’m afraid that she’s developing a damaging habit, or worse – has developed one.
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I have seen that performance and I agree that she was quite pitchy at times, that 2:46 B4 wasn’t that good either. In some performances, the “I don’t care about shit” F#3 was quite airy too. But on the other side, I feel it might be because she hasn’t performed on a music show stage for so long? Promoting on music shows is waaay more tiring than performing at universities, which she has been doing regularly before this comeback. See, in that dingo live, she didn’t go that high either and everything sounded connected. I think it would help the admins more if you would provide specific videos with time stamps where she seems to avoid higher belts – because from the videos that you have provided, I can’t really see it. In No One, B4 is the highest belt she has after all (and in the dingo video I believe B4 is the highest belt she had as well and it sounded fine too?).
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I don’t agree. She’s been like that stagnantly on all music stages while performing this song. Also, 3 years ago, when she also had a CB in 3 years, her performance(s) was a complete different story – at least I didn’t hear issues that made me doubt her connection or vocal habit. She’s been performing these years as well, and she does look more confident in this comeback than 3 years ago. I do not think as a professional stage fright affects her that much.
I didn’t say that she avoided high belts in this song cos this song don’t have them. Also that’s actually not my main concern. My concern was her increased airiness, connection and vocal habits. And as I said, the dingo live sound tuned to me. Therefore I’m asking if admin has also noticed the same thing as I do.
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I think it’s mostly just on the music shows. I mean, she does move a lot more than the usual due to the choreography and music shows usually are more tiring since they need repeat performances sometimes for other purposes. She sounds fine on other live performances in other shows, radio appearances, and her live stage performance for her album in Vibe. I’m not an expert though.
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Yeah that is what I meant by her being tired or stressed out because it’s on music shows! Promoting on music shows is way more tiring than promoting on radio or self-organized concerts because 1. there is so much more to do, eg. camera rehearsals, sometimes pre-recording, waiting for your stage, and other things that need to be done to set up the stage and 2. you have to wait a long time. Not to forget that the staffs on music shows usually have more to do and will not be able to focus on artists much individually. That all contributes to Hayi possibly being way more tired on music shows than in her solo concerts and performances.
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Can i ask you something? Why she’s not a part of Mid Range Belters? She support Bb4/B4 right? In your Blog post, you wrote that Mezzo who can support at least Bb4 is a Mid Range Belter
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Actually her voice type needs to be changed.
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wait you actually believe she’s a soprano now ?
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Yes I’ve suspected for a long time but I had to be sure.
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do you really believe that C#4 – A4 sounds like a soprano ?? even when you compare her with more medium-weight voices like yeonji or Eunji she still has a lower voice , i’m a bit shocked by your observation to be honest
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Yes dear, I do.
H.E.R. is a mezzo soprano. If you compare them singing the same song, in the same range, Lee Hi’s lacks the weight H.E.R. has. Not only that, after maturing, her voice lightened up quite a bit. She’s always mixed naturally too high for what a mezzo does. She sings like she thinks she’s a mezzo which is what initially confused me, but she started to lose weight and her mix up to B4 only suffers due to technique more so than her voice being actually low. She is a confusing case.
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So is it possible that Lee Hi might be a weightier soprano (like a full lyric soprano) instead? :O
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So I guess she’s like a KPOP version of Lauren Jauregui (5H member)…
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Beautiful A4 (with Bb4 peak) by miss Hayi @1:17
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