Jeremy: Uh wait -- so I just say "hello, I'm Jeremy?"
Umu: yeah
Jeremy: soooo embarrassing
Hugo: I swear I'm not judging you at all
[singing] Hi I'm Jeremy~
[clap]
Umu: Alexis, do you wanna -- wait one second. Okay, it's focused -- do you wanna introduce yourself?
Alexis: Hello, my name is Alexis [laughter]
[copying]: Hi! I'm Ale... [breaks off in laugher]
Alexis: Nice to meet you!
Alexis: Um Gwen: Cut that out; redo it
[laughter] Alexis: That's so rude
Alexis: Um, I'm Ale... [laughter]
Alexis: Hello! I'm Alexis. Um, I am a vocalist
...silence... *help*
Gwen: are you... what voice Umu: freshman, mezzo...
Alexis: I'm a freshman, I'm a mezzo [shrugs] I'm also a music education major, so I can, like, teach all the children.
[music]
Rachel: I know this is gonna bother people; It's twisted
[laughter] Umu: All right, so, we're back. We're starting off today's reaction with another Immortal Songs 2 performance
Umu: Hugo, you've seen Mamamoo on Immortal Songs 2 Hugo: Yeah
Umu: We're about to see two-- Hugo: it's a competition Umu: Yes.
Jeremy: Ohh
Umu: And what you're about to see is, um, two of EXO's main vocalists
Hugo: Oh nice
Umu: ...do a cover of Hugo: Now, are they -- is it within EXO or is it on their own?
Umu: on their own
Hugo: On their own, okay, and are they, like, doing it together or separate-
Umu: [affirmative noise] together Hugo: oh okay
Umu: So the first song that I have pulled up Hugo: This is the original? Umu: ...is the orignal
Umu: So, you're going to listen to like, 20 seconds of that until you get the feel
Umu: and then we'll move on to the performance
Hugo: [laughs] He has no idea
Gwen: One...two...three
Hugo: [laughs] It's so 80s
Jonathan: I thought is was High School Musical for a second
Rachel: I know...or [singing] I can show you the--
[laughs]
Gwen: [laughs] the synthesized voices in the back
[music playing]
Hugo: Ooh
Jeremy: [*o*] Christine Aguilera?
Hugo: [dying]
Gwen: this literally just sounds like spa music
Alexis: this is just like [clicking]
Gwen: this is so hardcore like-- exactly what you would listen to at like a spa or..
Gwen: oh my god, I'm so sorry
Alexis:[laughs] can you contain-- swaying and like [demonstrating] bending like... grass
*aah Mulan*
Hugo: i love the wind chimes XD Jeremy: i know
Hugo: [getting into it]
Umu: okay, you got the feel of it?
Hugo: ooh yeah
Umu: has the vocals come in?
Hugo & Jeremy: [nodding] i think we've got it
Gwen: alright, so very gentle, very...calm and--
Alexis: she got a very nice tone, it kinda reminds me of jazz
Gwen: okay
Umu: we're about to see the kpop idols...perform it
umu: ready...set...loud
Rachel: okay..go
[giggling]
Gwen: [reenacting].. they're like we're ready?
[music starts]
Hugo: i like it more with the violin
Jeremy: me too
Jeremy:.. much less 80s
[vocal riff]
Rachel: awhh
Gwen: he matches the tone of the... the actual original fairly well
Gwen: still that kind of gentle
Jeremy: it's a little raspy
Hugo: a little breathy, but i mean it also suits the style a little bit---
Jeremy: ooh yeah, i mean t-th its a good song for it i guess
Rachel: he's good
Johnathan: mmhm
Gwen: just as always its a tenor... pretty high though
Alexis: yeah
Alexis: They sound very similar
Jonathan: they sound identical
Gwen: yeah but he has a little more earth in it you know... but part of that might just be-- it's louder so..
Gwen: the pitch is impressive for this being live
Alexis: yeah
Hugo: i like his timbre more
Jeremy: [nodding] me too
Rachel: this sounds like a Josh Groban song... yeah but without Josh Groban *XD*
[laughs]
Hugo: i like his higher stuff a little more though
Jonathan: ooh that was deep
Rachel: yeah the both can like go surprisingly low
Hugo: he doesn't have as much resonance in his lower voice... not that it's bad, it's just that he doesn't have as much resonance
Jeremy: his higher voice is much more...
Jeremy: like... clear
Hugo: there's those harmonies I'm looking for
Jeremy: ha, yeah
Jonathan: hmm that harmony
Rachel: its cool!
Jeremy: i wished they'd look at each other
Hugo: yeah
Umu: is that important, singing like... eye contact and like communicating...almost?
Hugo: yeah, they're both are kind of like having their own separate performances at the same time...to the same song [laughs] that is also a duet
Gwen: that was a high falsetto up there, i just got chills
Rachel: [nodding] this was a good song choice
Umu: okay
Gwen: especially comparing to the original, they are riffing in and out of things which obviously didn't happen but--
Alexis: that's my favourite
Gwen: yeah the audience shots are the best part
Jeremy: they sound really good together..ooh they are looking at each other.. perfect
Alexis: ohh
Gwen: here we go
Alexis: break int- ooh wow
Johnathan & Rachel: *o* ooh okay
Jeremy: wait which one is it...ooh yeah i had a feeling--
Hugo: Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Rachel: [reenacting]
[laughing/dying]
Hugo: he got there... the high note started off a little flat but he got up there
Jeremy: yeah he made it
Alexis: that's really in tune.
Gwen: yeah that vowel is actually-- i'd want that "O" vowel jeez (gwen what)
Jonathan&Rachel: [laughing] ooh she is feeling it
Hugo: this is a rock ballad, man, they've turn this into a full on rock ballad
Jeremy: yeah, this is really good
Gwen: yeah... actually now that i've think about it, when he was just singing "O", he had a very classical, pure vowel
and then you listen to the rest of it and they are mixing vowels and you know.. bringing stuff forward to make it more resonant
...so i guess that is probably why that note stood out..because it was so pure
Hugo: ooh i wanted him to go up so bad
Rachel: i really like this song
Umu: how is it compared to the very first..?
Jonathan: i think its better
Rachel: yeah, i can't- i didn't hear enough of the first one to see if there's like-- the arrangements are the same
Johnathan: [laughing] mouthing the words.. me
Hugo: i'd be interested to hear the--
Jeremy:ooh key change!
Jonathan&Rachel: Oooh! Rachel: who's on top?
Hugo & Jeremy: [fliping out] ooh that high note though!
Hugo: damn!
Jeremy: it was-- it sounded really good, he just used more breath, you can see him straining
Hugo: yeah i know those neck veins like--
Jeremy: yeah they were popping out
Gwen: [realising] i think we just missed a really high note, we gotta come back and find that later but--
Hugo: But he knows how to use his voice
Jeremy: Oh yeah
Rachel: Yeah, we couldn't do this
on like America's Got Talent
Gwen: I think a requirement to be a Kpop singer
is just be a very high tenor
Alexis: Yeah
Hugo: There we go
They got a little out of sync with the band tune was
And then they clicked back in
Gwen: They're showing, like, that it's high and impressive
but the actual voice doesn't sound like it's forced or-
Alexis: Yeah, I thought it was very well supported
which is nice
[Chen proceeds to kill it] Jeremy: ooo~
Hugo: Wow
Jonathan: His cheekbones man... Rachel: I know
Rachel: he might combust
Jeremy: That was intense Hugo: I'm not hitting that note any time soon
Hugo: [hits the note]
Jeremy: Not like that anyways
Jonathan: [does the note too] Rachel: They're really talented though, like-
Umu: You're getting out you're phone? Ha!
Jeremy: Yeah only I want to know what that-
Hugo: I know. I wanna know what pitch that is.
Hugo: [hums]
I'm guessing an- NONONO
Don't do it! Don't do it!
DON'T DO IT!
Alexis: [applauds]
Gwen: It was great; that was awesome.
Jeremy: It's A♭
Hugo: I'm betting money that it's A or A♭.
Jeremy: No, she just played an A and it's an A♭.
Umu: No, I didn't!
Jeremy: Oh you didn't?! UMU: NO~
Jeremy: I totally just heard that from my ear. Umu: [Laughs]
Umu: Is it done??
Hugo: Yeah it's done Umu: Okay!
Hugo: [hums the mystery note]
I'm guessing A♭ too.
Hugo: No, it's higher than A♭!
[phone reveals mystery note]
Jeremy: [le gasp] Hugo: [mindblown] IT'S A B!
Hugo: THE BOY GOT UP TO A FUCKIN' B!
Jeremy: Okay. He needs to chill out a little...
Umu & Hugo: [Laughs]
Jeremy: That was intense.
Hugo: Holy fuck...
Rachel: Woohoo!
Gwen: We're gonna go back to, like-
try to figure out that note. Alexis: Was it on, like, 4?
[replays the high note]
Gwen:[beautifully sings the note] [piano tings]
Gwen: Yeah and that was- what is that?
Umu: [plays piano again] F♯
Gwen: Yeah, that's good.
I mean an F♯5, right?
Yeah.
That -- yeah. That was -- for being that high of a note -- I mean it was obviously falsetto, but it was still...
...full and strong.
Umu: Can you tell which singer had better technique at all, or...?
Gwen: I think the first guy who sang Alexis: [agreeing] The first guy who sang
Alexis: The second guy like -- I mean they both sound pretty well supported Gwen: I think the one... the one wearing the like
grey, versus the black.
Gwen: yeah, he had slightly--
Gwen: he just felt
stronger, and more supported
Alexis: yeah, but the other guy like, I wouldn't be very concerned
but no
Alexis: they both sounded good.
Gwen: especially for this style, it's impressive technique because you can get a lot of the sounds they were getting,
Almost exactly, with like, really bad technique
Gwen: But they were thinking about it, and they added
the support and they made it just a little bit better and that difference is impressive.
Jonathan: I mean, they sounded kinda identical.
Rachel: Yeah they sounded very freakishly identical
Jonathan: The guy in all black had a much higher-- not like, much higher but kind of a higher range than the other one
Jonathan: But that could be just because of the parts in the song
Rachel: Yeah... And it sounds kind of a little... more there?
Ish? But, in the beginning I thought the first guy was a little bit better
Umu: Okay.
Umu: how are their vocals?
Jeremy: They sound really good together.
Hugo: [sneezes]
Umu: [laughs]
Hugo: I thought they sounded super good together
I'd be interested to hear the first guy's voice in a different... style of music?
Jeremy: Yeah
Hugo: Which I mean, I have heard before, but just specifically him so um...
But I love the second guy's timbre
Jeremy: Yeah same, I think the guy with the flatter hair-- I don't know...
Hugo: [laugh] It was definitively (inaudible)
Jeremy: The guy with the flatter hair was like...
Insanely good.
Hugo: Yeah.
Jeremy: I mean, like, they both have very poppy voices but that's what they're going for.
Hugo: Exactly.
Jeremy: There's no problem with that.
Who knows if they could last very long singing like that.
Umu: Yeah, 'cause it is really straining on your vocals
Hugo: It was very straining, and that's okaaaaay
But just not for a long time.
Jeremy: Yeah, they could only last like... 5 or 6 years like that.
Umu: They debuted in 2014 I-- wait.
Hugo: You just-- You need to be careful about how you use that if you're not doing it properly.
Alexis: It depends
Gwen: Yeah, it depends on how you do it.
I would-- I mean--
Alexis: It's just the belting.
Because I don't know how they sound without amplification?
Like, I can't tell from just like, this,
Alexis: whether or not they're like
doing it in the most supported way possible?
Gwen: And we did pick out that one note where there was obvious tension, that is never great; but, um...
We're only hearing like, what they put through the speaker
Gwen: We're not hearing any of the direct mic feed
And you always sound worse in the direct mic feed.
Gwen: But it's also a really good way to tell technique
because it is exactly what comes out of your mouth with no help from the...
Gwen: the room. So, I don't know.
I mean, I wouldn't be surprised, Hugo knows a lot more about male (vocalist) technique than we do.
For obvious reasons.
[gwen what]
Hugo: That's why Sam Smith will often cancel
Concerts.
Jeremy: Also Adele.
Both: yeah.
Hugo: Cause they're going up to those crazy high notes and it's causing really big strain on their voices.
Jonathan: I think one of them has much healthier technique than the other.
Rachel: Yeah! The second guy?
or the first?
Jonathan: Hmmm...
I can't remember now [laughs]
Rachel: It didn't sound like they were straining, but it definitively is.
Jonathan: I think if anyone's most likely to lose his voice first it's probably him. [points]
Umu&Rachel: Yeah!
Umu: He did most of-- like, the
[emma what]
Jonathan: It felt like it was not supported in the way that you would normally--
The way they were getting the notes are [gesture]
push it out.
Umu: [agrees]
Rachel: And you could see like, physical tension, too.
Jonathan: Yeah.
Rachel: Just like [demonstrates]
Rachel: 'Cause they might, like, jut their jaw forward.
Rachel: Or (their) face, or...
Umu: Oooohhh...
Rachel: ... Any of those things.
Rachel: But like, the sound works, so like...
Specially if you have a-- Yeah, if you have a--
Jonathan: That sound you were talking about, the spaghetti sound you were talking about
That sounded like the sound of someone trying to muscle through the note rather then like
Pop out.
Jonathan: So, he has them, it's just the way he's doing them is not sustainable for like...
Long time purposes youknowwhatimsayin
Umu: yeah
Hugo: I think it would be helpful for every pop singer to take at least a couple years of classes
Jeremy: Like classical music
Hugo: 'cause then you really learn to activate your like--
Breath, breathing mechanism,
How to support, how to actually get up there.
Jeremy: And like, how to control your voice.
Hugo: Oh, yeah, which is important.
Jeremy: Yeah, of course.
Hugo: It's just fricken crazy. What are we looking at?
Umu: Okay. So, I was searching for-- 'cause you wanted
to see more of Baekhyun.
There's this live performance of Miracles In December that the reactors already reacted to
Umu: So I'll have that on-- yeah
Hugo: Oh, sorry, I'm just gonna [demonstrates]