What I have learned from this is that Baekhyun has a wide spectrum. And he seems to have a great understanding about R&B. When people think of R&B genre, they would say the genre is limited and it can't be diverse (= they would think the genre is similar, and just looking at people around me, I hear that a lot)
But I can expect that the more Baekhyun's album is exposed to the public, the more likely (that mindset) will be broken. I don't know whether it's the idea of the company or Baekhyun, but the reason is that by mixing the major genre and the minor genre together, it is directed in a way that does not disturb the basic color of the artist, and they made songs that the general public can listen to comfortably, regardless of genre awkwardness (Candy).
In fact, UN Village is a standard genre. It's Hip-hop R&B, so it can be unattractive or unfamiliar when the general public listens to it, but I thought he did a good job when he released UN Village first, then Candy after that.
He appeals with the genre and music he wanted to do with UN Village. Then, Baekhyun can prove his wide spectrum as he is also able to do this kind of music (ballads or genres that the general public wants) through OSTs or collaborations. Thus, I find him smart. People listen to UN Village and other b-sides (his b-sides are also R&B-based music) and get to know the genre that Baekhyun is good at and that he wants to do. And with the ballads that follow after, he can remind people that "Baekhyun is not only good at R&B, but he is also good at this genre."
I think that's how he sketched it, and I think he peaked with this album.
You might have thought that Baekhyun would go with R&B again this time, but this album is composed differently with everything including ballad, pop, R&B, etc. I think it is a good and solid album perfectly based on what Baekhyun has shown before. Simply put, the composition of this album is that he can show his own skills, and he can tell the general public or listeners like "There is a bit of your (music) taste (in this album), so give it a listen."
And speaking of his vocal. Actually, I already thought he sings extremely well since UN Village. But he came back growing up more this time.
He came back after learning the skill to bury his feelings into his voice. Let me take out 2 songs as examples, Underwater = He increased air frequency and mainly used falsetto in the chorus so that he really gave me the feeling of being depressed and crying. And at the part where he sings with low voice and chest voice, I can get the empty feeling in a bathtub full of water, just like the title of the song.
And Love Again, the air frequency is low unlike the song above (I don't hear much of the sound of breathing and it's like he was singing while shaking and holding back from crying as the air is stuck with his voice.)
If the song above (Underwater) seemed to be sung while crying with falsetto and high air frequency, in this song he mainly uses chest voice as a base, and I can feel that as if he was holding back tears and his desperation. Simply put, even when non-experts listen to this song, many of them said this song seems to have been hurt.
In this album, the two songs that I can hear his mixed voice in the clearest way are Bungee and Ghost. He especially illuminates and exposes the unique characteristics of mixed voice very well in these two songs. If you like listening to songs with mixed voice, give these two songs a try and I think you would like them.
And Baekhyun's technique of cutting and pulling sound too. He is extremely good at it. He uses this technique in combination with mixed voice. After singing, the sound of the air left
behind is pulled along together with the note so that lyrics and breathing are well connected.
In this way, that he can express the emotions of a song is one of the evidence of how he is good at music. It can be easy to put emotions in a song, however, for listeners to feel it and to be able to analyze it, I think he did that perfectly.
And mixed voice
I think I have seen a lot of praises for him here that he is called the textbook of mixed voice. I think there is a bit difference between people who have experience and those who sing like that from the beginning.
But among idols I have listened to, his mixed voice is the best. Mixed voice is the way they use chest voice and head voice together. But it's not that simple. Using chest voice and head voice is right, however, singers themselves need to know how to control their chest voice and head voice as well as resonance point (you can understand it as a location of sound), the air frequency and proportion.
Baekhyun does all that and knows how to use it himself. So, Baekhyun is highly recognized and is praised a lot for his mixed voice. And people can use mixed voice if their vocalization is lacking, but Baekhyun's vocalization is solid.
And he changes the resonance point freely and if you listen to Baekhyun's songs, he doesn't sound boring because he does various vocalizations in 3 minutes. He uses more falsetto, he lowers the air frequency, he uses head voice, or he uses both head voice and chest voice. I think that 'he plays with it' is a right expression for this. And he doesn't make it obvious when he changes the sound, but he does it naturally. Baekhyun's voice only is like a one-man band. I think even with only Baekhyun, he can perfectly do a cappella and harmony.
And the last evidence that Baekhyun is good at music is that when he sings high notes, he doesn't do high notes with his throat and doesn't lower his body or head.
Many singers usually bend upward when they perform, but there are also a lot of cases where they lower down because either they are short of breath or they squeeze to sing high note with their throats. It's rare for singers who have good vocalization technique and don't sing high note with throat to do that (only in case it's their habit or they can't help but doing it because they sing a song that's higher than their own key)
If you watch Baekhyun and the way he sings, he lowers his larynx, sings high note comfortably, and as he pulls the sound up from the bottom, his sound comes out loud and strong, and stable. If you hear his high note, you never hear any strangled sounds. After I hear his high notes, I think Baekhyun's vocalization and basic skills are extremely well formed.
I think Baekhyun is good at music, rather than just simply good at singing by looking at these things. His music ability is extraordinary.
(I have always wanted to compliment Baekhyun for a while, and my sister is also a fan, but my friend who teaches lessons also talks about Baekhyun a lot)
I listen to his new songs when they are out, and I thought that I need to write a general analysis or compliments, so I wrote it down and it just happened to be such a long post.
I wrote this when I had a some free time.
The post might be a little disconnected and awkward, but they are my thoughts while listening to Baekhyun's song.
I think Baekhyun can grow bigger from here in the future.
I felt like this album was really the start.
A starting point with this album, he is going to show his true value as "Baekhyun". I think he can build up a good image to the general public.
Comments left by OP in the comment section:
OP: Baekhyun isn't at the level of being recognized in our field, but he is almost at the god? level ^^ his music capability is very excellent and he picked songs so well this time. In fact, there is some parts where he is underestimated because he is an idol, so I wanted to talk about Baekhyun to his fans accurately and easily for once. And as my sister also likes him.
OP: My sister kept telling me to listen to him, so I gave it a try and he does so well. All the songs in this album are good.
OP: It is famous in musical field though. Is UVil Un Village? Mixed voice is rising recently and we are also giving lessons about it. When I talked about mixed voice, I give many examples from Baekhyun-nim. The reason why there are more compliments on his mixed voice is that after UN Village, mixed voice appeared and it is more popular. I didn't feel it clearly when he is in the group, but when Baekhyun-nim released UN Village, mixed voice is more well-heard, so there are more compliments.
OP: There will be more compliment posts for Baekhyun-nim in the future. In our field, many of them say things like "I saw Baekhyun in a new light through this album", "I acknowledged Baekhyun's ability from now on" etc.
OP: I see Baekhyun as a very promising person. He may go beyond god level in the future.
