CNBLUE’s Vocal Analysis: Jung Yonghwa

Found this to be an interesting read. Thought Yonghwa was a better vocalist but he isn't bad either. I think sometimes there are good vocalist but they lack stage presence, style, composition, etc. Yonghwa is multi-talented, charismatic, and knows how to connect with his audience, all of which contribute to his success. Especially his charisma and connection with his audience, don't think that is something someone can just learn.

Source: https://kpopvocalanalysis.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/cnblues-vocal-analysis-jung-yonghwa/

Vocal Range

G#2 ~ G#5 (3 Octaves)

Supported Range

B2/C3 ~ E4

Voice Type

Light Lyric Tenor

Strengths/Achievements

• Able to support his lower range down to C3/B2
• One of the few tenors to be able to support his voice in the second octave
• Very extensive mixed voice range
• Support is present in the lower part of his mixed voice up to E4
• Even vibrato is produced at times
• Improvement shown in the lower range
• Transitions into falsetto can be with relative ease

Weaknesses

• Voice can often sound thin and raspy
• Lacks resonance and the sound of his voice is small, lacking power
• Nasality is present throughout his range
• Larynx early on in his mixed range around F#4/G4
• Tongue tension present often in his voice
• Throatiness happens in the mixed voice and falsetto
• Falsetto is often airy and raspy
• Intonation issues can happen often
• Vibrato can be laggy outside his supported range
• Breathing technique is very underdeveloped and unexplored
• Voice is not agile and runs lack connection

Registers

• Lower register: By far his most developed register with little to no exposure in his repertoire. Surprisingly able to produce well supported notes in his lower range around C#3 ~ B2 but with stylistic airiness here and there.

• Mixed register: very lightly approached, generally lacks a full sense of chest resonance and lacks power. Placement is usually throaty and nasal, lacks true sense of support and although extensive, it shows little to no development technically speaking.

• Upper register: Very soft, raspy tone. Generally sings with an airy, disconnected falsetto with a tight throat and closed larynx. Transitions can be done with adequate accuracy but the voice shows little to no true head resonance or volume unless pushed.

Agility

As a rock singer with a very clean melodic approach to his singing, Yonghwa’s repertoire does not require him to generally sing with a runs or thrills. However so, he does occasionally need to be able to perform some kind of simple run that’s part of the melody of his covers or songs he chooses to sing and when that’s done, he can easily lose his sense of pitch and control. His thrills are usually smooth and well integrated in his muscle memory, such as in “So Sick“, but when it comes to more slightly more intricate vocal runs, he can easily lose his sense of key, such as in “고해“.

Overall analysis

Recently quite a popular vocalist and one of Korea’s most beloved band idol vocalists, Yonghwa debuted with C.N. Blue back in 2009. Following the debut of another band under FNC Entertainment, F.T. Island, CNBLUE’s catchy songs as well as public-friendly charisma earned them the popularity they have today. As their main vocalist, Yonghwa generally sings the most in the group, generally in a higher mid-third octave range up to the fourth octave of the piano, lying in the Tenor tessitura with a light tone and soft sound in his voice. Drawing influences from rock, pop and alternative genres of music, Yonghwa has been able to create a name for himself as an artist in the Korean music industry.

The lowest part of his range is the only part that has shown improvement over the years and the highlight of his voice technically. As a light lyric tenor, Yonghwa’s voice generally shines more in the upper mid third octave to fourth octave range, but even then he’s been able to work on his lower range over the years to produce considerable amounts of tone and keep ease in that range. Even though he may sound uncomfortable and his voice might not shine as much in his lower range he’s able to show support even down to C#3, notably in “Love Me Tender” and “애국가“, and even down to B2, such as in “봄바람“. However, as soon as he descends below B2, his voice still has the tendency to be pushed with a low larynx or to become quite airy in tone and lose the support he shows around B2/C3, such as the A2’s in “Wherever You Will Go“.  The issue with the support existent in Yonghwa’s lower range is that the repertoire which he sings as a member of CNBLUE does not allow him to showcase just how developed his lower range can be in comparison to most other tenors in K-pop.

His mixed range is his most used range and the part of his voice that shines in terms of being comfortable. Although that might be true, it is also one of the least developed parts of his voice. Yonghwa is technically very unaware of how to properly place his voice, often heavily using a throaty light approach to his mixed voice which oftentimes does not allow him to have any sort of volume or power. His mixed voice is very much a head-dominant and cricothyroid muscle driven mixed voice that does explore the true tone of his chest voice, already present in his lower range. His mixed voice is very extensive in range and can be pushed with minimal vocal strain due to its light approach, allowing him to phrase A4’s and G4’s without showing many signs of vocal fatigue, such as in “Checkmate” and “Love“.

However when’s taken out of the context of big band, rock songs, one can easily hear the true lack of breath support present in his mixed voice. The sound produced is generally shallow, nasal and raspy, without any chest voice resonance or true color of tone. Yonghwa can show an adequate amount of support around E4, such as in “바보라서“, but as soon as he goes up slightly around F4 and F#4, his tone becomes easily throaty, raspy and whiny. There’s almost no real amount of volume that comes out of his voice and he struggles with creating more power, often resulting in tongue tension, such as the F4’s in “어느 멋진 날“, “소녀” and “애국가“, where his tongue slides back slightly and closes up the back of his throat creating a froggy tight sound. On rare occasions, such as the F#4’s in “Wherever You Will Go“, he’s able to produce a stronger sound in his mix with less tension and more true chest overtones, but that also shows an issue with consistently being able to show good vocal technique. For the most part, his voice is generally raspy and lacks a clearness which can be attributed to his preference of singing in a rock style, ultimately suiting his vocal performances but also showing a lack of true development of his vocal technique. His larynx is generally high around F4 and up, and even though he’s able to extend his mix very high, there’s a lack of fulness in tone, color and a generally husky thin closed sound in his higher belted notes, such as the G4 in “반말송“, G#4 in “Can’t Stop“, Bb4 in “Yes“, B4’s in “Now Or Never” and even more impressively, his F#5/G5 in”I’m Sorry“.

His falsetto register is possibly his most underdeveloped register, where his voice can often lack stability and transitions may show to be a slight challenge to him, such as in “The Way You Are“. His falsetto shows a very soft airy tone, much like the rest of his voice. It suits acoustic covers and soft songs very well and is more or less controlled in terms of pitch, but may show issues with shakiness and tone production by being throaty and airy, such as the B4’s in “Drive” C5’s in “Payphone“, and the E5 in “Mileage“. These occasions show that Yonghwa can feel and place his falsetto in the upper part of his cavities, allowing a more head-placed sound with a disconnected approach in the vocal cords, thus creating a soft airy tone that does not translate into a true head voice, but suits the musical style Yonghwa sings. This register isn’t often explored up above E5, but he has shown that he can make good use of it when harmonizing and performing softer duets, such as “반말송” with Seohyun of Girls’ Generation.

Musically speaking, Yonghwa’s voice can be very attractive to the public. It doesn’t show immediate obvious signs of strain, it’s not overly pushed or yelled and generally is very soft and easy to hear. He lacks an ability to produce different types of dynamics with his voice and different genres of music, but when it comes to Alternative music, Rock music, Acoustic music and Pop-Rock music, Yonghwa’s tone and stylistic singing often lends itself quite well in such occasions. However, due to technical limitations, he is unable to create fuller sounds with his voice, produce true resonance, eliminate nasality, create more and less volume and truly control his mixed voice, becoming quite challenged dynamically and with vocal onsets.

As an artist and musician, Yonghwa does not attempt to be an example of a great vocalist and never claims to be one. He is first and foremost a musician who’s able to sing his own style of music and lend his voice to his own compositions. Although he may be far from a technical vocalist, his vocal style his music choices quite well and is able to create a good atmosphere, earning appreciation and love from the general public. If Yonghwa does decide to take on more challenging song choices, it’d be advisable for him to seek a vocal coach and truly develop his mixed voice in order to create more power, resonance and vocal flexibility in his voice. Even though his vocal approach is very light and less strained than most, it could still cause vocal damage over the years.

Musicianship

Although a very stylistic vocalist, Yonghwa takes good care of his melodic changes in his songs with his more musically inclined background. Not only is Yonghwa a songwriter, but also he’s an instrumentalist, who’s able to create his own melodies at will and has shown multiple times that although his technique may not be his strongest asset, he’s able to create his own color in his covers and always add his own flare to his vocal performances, such as in “Wherever You Will Go” and “The Way You Are“.

Rating

Weak to Average Vocalist

Vocal Range Video(s)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbggJt_6hf8

Video by: Hawaiipups and kpopvocalists

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrTexsl_jpA

*Octave names are incorrect in English, they’re notated one octave above their actual pitch

Video by: sssris

Best Vocal Performance(s)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar2Yfkc-lGs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdIfx5bfU0A

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Analyzed by Ahmin (Kitsunemale)