I will clarify first before I proceed to the main part that I'm a big SNSD fan, so you can assume that I have listened to tons of songs that they have released. Therefore, my opinion here is base on many reference songs that I've heard, and I'm going to rank them according to my preference. But, the way that I will describe each member's vocal ability will be as objective as I can muster. :D So, here we go!
TAEYEON
Of course, many fans know she's the main vocalist of SNSD. And she is, for a ton of reasons. If I were to describe her voice in one word, it would be gorgeous. Its powerful sounding, controlled and the most important feature of her voice is her technique. Seriously, she's one of the best singers in Kpop not because of her mad range or her outstanding ability in emotion delivery. It's her attention to technique. Even Hyorin from Sistar is still behind her in my list(though I must admit, she's very good too!). Also, she has a good timbre, and yes, a mad vocal range (as mentioned earlier). She shines the most in ballads, or songs like Run Devil Run that requires great vocal skills. Just to mention, have you heard her "Devil's Cry", the intro to the RDR performance of the girls during their Japan Concert? If you haven't, then you missed a lot!
TIFFANY
Yeah, yeah. Everyone says that Jessica is the second vocalist of SNSD, but this is my opinion and my opinion is that Tiffany has range, the emotional delivery, blah blah blah the good qualities of a voice. But the most important feature of her voice would be the incredible, beautiful timbre of her voice. OMG the timbre. It makes your ears explode with joy when you hear her sing. Have you heard the opening lines of their song "I'm in love with the HERO"? *faints* IT'S SO SEXY. The advantage of a good timbre is that you don't have to have an excellent singing technique, as long as you know how to properly sing, you'll sound good. And did I mentioned how I love her voice in ballads? Theoretically, when you have a beautiful timbre (it's different from powerful), you're fit with ballads. That's exactly the case here. Its very emotional, and hauntingly sexy when it comes to uptempos.
SEOHYUN
In my opinion, she's like a "weaker" version of Taeyeon(just like when Taemin is the weaker version of Jonghyun). She has a decent range, and the technique is also okay. The timbre is okay too (though I slightly had a hard time distinguishing her voice). What I like about her though is the fact that she is the most consistent singer live. She NEVER lets loose, she has great control of her voice. The problem is that, there are no songs where she shines. She's always behind Taeyeon, Tiffany, and maybe Jessica. Maybe its because I never heard her go out of her comfortable singing zone.
JESSICA
To be honest with you, the first time I heard her voice, I was baffled. She has this shrillness in her voice, and I personally don't like it. Especially when she tries hitting high notes. For heaven's sake please let her sing in a lower range! But hearing her in many SNSD songs I have learned to appreciate her voice, but only when she sings soft ballads that uses falsetto rather than head voice. Her cover of the song "Almost" performed during their Japan Concert is awesome. So overall, I still don't like the shrillness (or even the timbre. I'm sorry), but make her sing in a lower singing range and you have a beauty. I will also acknowledge the fact that she sounds the same live, so kudos to her for that.
SUNNY
When I heard her voice in recorded songs, I thought I was going to put her in the 2nd or 3rd place. But when I heard her sing live, it's justifiable that I put her in 5th place. She doesn't sound the same live, though its not bad, its underwhelming, considering how she sounds in studio versions. Its actually very good, slightly higher pitch than Taeyeon, but not as shrill as Jessica. I also love her voice in ballads (almost all vocalists in SNSD actually). She tends to strain her voice when hitting high notes though. One last note: it annoys me when she tries hard to sing cutesy. It just won't do for me. D:
YURI
Here comes the sub-par vocalists of SNSD. They are actually more of dancers, but they are still singers by definition, so I will still critic their voices objectively.
I honestly don't know which voice I prefer, Yuri or Sooyoung, so let's just consider them tied. I have heard somewhere that her only line in Gee was the one line in the bridge part of the song because her voice doesn't fit the cutesy verses of the song. I must agree with this, because frankly, can you imagine her singing cutesy?! Her voice is kinda deep, but there are times when this timbre is a problem. When she sings very low notes, she tends to sound like a man to me (sorry, just have to say that...can't think of anything else to compare to). But there are times, when she's in her A-game, that she will sound wonderful, mostly in ballads. Overall, she's like a hit or miss to me. At least she's almost consistent live.
SOOYOUNG
Sooyoung has the better timbre in my preference, but she has a problem with her singing technique. There are times when she'll sound airy, and during live performances, you can clearly hear those awkward moments of breathing. I like her voice though in the sense that it is easily distinguishable, and again, she sounds good at her comfortable range (at least in the studio version of their songs). I don't really know where her voice stands out, because she and the rest of the dancers barely get three lines in a song.
HYOYEON
She's the main dancer of the group, but unfortunately for her, she lacks something in her vocal ability. One good thing that I noticed when I listen to SNSD songs is that, the moment when Hyoyeon sings her one or two lines, I can always distinguish her voice. There's a unique tone in her voice which makes me think that her voice is like out of place. It's like her vocals is not fit for the singing ranges that SNSD sings. Her line in "Mistake" is quite good sounding, I must admit. And though she sucks live, I've heard her sing in a slightly higher range (in "Snowy Wish" she has the same line as Taeyeon in the chorus. Wait, what???!! Taeyeon?? Are you kidding me? LOL), and I think she is capable of hitting those notes. Most of the time though, her voice just doesn't do it for me.
YOONA
She once admitted that when it comes to singing, she is the least. I may agree with her at some point, but I think the reason she is the least singer before is that she doesn't have confidence in her voice. Actually, I think that her voice is quite good, but in most songs, especially in ballads, I observed that it lacks something, like she is just trying to be in tune with the song. No power, no emotional delivery, just a slightly good timbre with poor singing technique. I don't know with her, but she even goes out of tune live, even if the only line she sang in "How Great is Your Love" was a line in the first verse of the song, sung in a very low range. My conclusion is that, she maybe is the least for now, but everyone can improve their singing you know. When she learns to be confident in her singing, maybe she'll rank higher in my list.
So there you go!^^ My first formal post of this blog. So what do you think of SNSD's vocals?
