Vocal Style through Stray Kids’ “Lost Me” on THE FIRST TAKE

One thing that I’ll always appreciate is that Stray Kids have multiple First Take videos. It truly gives a snapshot into their vocals that is so much more difficult to isolate from any of their other live performances. This is a precursor to my passion project of the next two years, but I couldn’t resist writing something.

Now I have mixed feelings about the song “Lost Me”, but like the rest of their First Take performances, it’s a great place to start for vocal analysis. Lucky for me, it’s also a vocals only song, so I can really begin to explain what my insights are into their vocal styles and textures. Like their music in general, they are diverse and it’s just fun to look at.

Due to how chaotic the warm up section is, I won’t say too much about it, but I think it’s really interesting to see how they have all chosen different warm up exercises. For example, Seungmin favours warming up his chest voice while I.N is doing something more akin to the siren warm up. Others are also singing through lines that they no doubt have struggled with in the past and want to make sure they have it down. I think Felix was even going for the Side Effects lines to get that deep resonance of his.

Imasaradakedo boku wa dou utsutte n no?
Tsukuriwarai wa narekko iya ni naruyo
[1:43 - 1:53]

Something really interesting about Felix is that in Stray Kids songs, he tends to settle a lot more into his deep and raspy range. As we saw with “SKZ Replay”, he does have fair range and he is capable of clearer vocals in a high range. His comfort zone is definitely taking advantage of how deep his voice naturally is. He’s improved so much since he first started singing in tracks and you can hear the confidence, although he is clearly holding back in an effort to sound softer. There’s a lot of air in his voice that pairs nicely with the growly rasp that is layered in.

Oshi koroshita honne kimochi wa kizudarake
Soredemo sagasu kotae ashita made kitto
[1:54 - 2:04]

I’ve always referred to Hyunjin’s vocals as ‘sticky’ and some of my friends have looked at me like I’m crazy but I think that this is a perfect showcase of that. Hyunjin has a pretty nasal sound, although he does have the ability to mask it — hence why some people have mistaken his and Han’s vocal parts at times — here it is pretty obvious. When he raps, it’s more apparent that it’s ‘sticky’ as the words seem to hesitate in rolling off of his tongue. he holds onto syllables just slightly longer than some of the others do. This particular performance is pretty nasal as well since he’s singing in a slightly higher register than some other songs. Like Felix, he is also making an attempt to be softer and to blend better with the instrumentals. Here, he holds the sound higher in his nose and it results in him sounding just a little congested, especially with how he pronounces words.

Japanese is a language that I would describe as sharp and almost staccato. There are a lot of consonant sounds and the language is typically spoken at a more rapid rate than say, English. This song is very melodic, so the members have to be careful to both maintain the flow of the song and manage their pronunciation. Both are very sharp on their ‘t’s but Felix has just a bit sharper of a pronunciation than Hyunjin.

Subeteshin no naka o ubawaretayo
Shibireteyuku mae ni mitsuketai nda jibun o
[2:04 - 2:16]

Whenever Bang Chan finishes a phrase, he has this unique thing he does with his voice. I always say that Chan sounds so forceful when he sings — it’s like he’s expending great effort. He’s singing like he’ll never sing again. The very end of a sustained note in a phrase has a slight… gasp? You can hear it at the end of “subete” and “kokoro”. It’s effort to get the sound out and his voice almost breaks. It’s deliberate and a style thing. I myself have a similar style and it’s used to convey emotion. He doesn’t always do it, for example “ni” is just a normal sustained note while “jibun o” has the break. If I remember correctly, he is the only one of Stray Kids who does this.

He chooses to not do this at times to better blend with the others and make the splitting of lines within a single verse sound smoother. His voice also carries more air than some of the others. It’s not as heavy as Felix or, as I’ll get into later, Changbin’s.

Ougesa ni mienakute mo hyaku man kai chuu de ichi do
Ayamachi o shiteowaranaide
[2:16 - 2:25]

Han is normally a belter. He uses a really strong chest mix and sings very clearly in songs like Hellevator and District 9. This is softer and more of a ballad, so he has eased into a gentler mix. He introduces some of his own rasp and it blends really well with what we’ve heard from Felix, tying things back together. There’s still a lot of power behind his voice, but it is reigned in.

Like Hyunjin, Han also has a really strong ability to blend and mask his voice. He is able to conceal some of his more unique vocal texture and style to better match either the mood of the song or the others to make the collective sound seem more unified. Because he’s chosen to not go with his harsher vocals, he blends a lot better with the phrases Chan sang before him. This is not always the case with Stray Kids.

Zankokuna sekai de
[2:31 - 2:33]

This is probably the closest we get to Hyunjin’s ‘rap’ style. You can hear how he puts more force into his voice as he descends the notes. It’s no longer as light and floaty as his previous lines. The farther back nasal sound is also very evident.

Subete no ai ni uzumoretaiyo
Kodoku ni wa kanjitakunai ndayo
[2:34 - 2:39]

Lee Know! He has a very light and pretty sounding voice, although he does have his own kind of power. He is capable of a great deal of projection — as we all know — but to my ear, his mix is a lot more heady. There’s a lot of air and his voice sounds rounder in general. He has a unique timbre that is recognizable in all of their songs and here is no different. Unlike the others, he doesn’t mask this timbre.

Arinomama
Aishitekureru hito ga miataranai
[2:40 - 2:44]

Changbin is just a step harder than Han in this song. When we’ve heard him sing previously, we’ve sing a mix of both his typical rap growl as well as a very clean and clear sound. This time, he chose to go with a clearer sound — something that does change as the song elapses, but because of Lee Know’s very clear vocals just before him, this choice makes sense. Like his appearance on Masked Singer with “No More Tomorrow”, he has a very clean and clear sound. There’s almost no hints of his growl and while I wouldn’t call his sound light, I think it can be considered open and bright.

Mou sekai de ichi nin dake janai
To shinjite
Kizutsukeatte mo
Miushinau kokoro o kizuite
[2:44 - 2:57]

Seungmin also has a very clean and clear sound, although he, like Hyunjin, is a lot more nasal. It’s less congested though and more that the sound resonates in that area. His voice is usually pretty recognizable as well as he rarely hides this nasal texture to his voice. Like the warm up he was doing, he is putting a lot more force into his notes. They are more powerful and utilize stomach and diaphragm. I also think it’s worth mentioning that he is one of the few who utilizes vibrato in Stray Kids music. For the most part, they prefer straight notes without vibrato.

Uh, yeah
Mukashi no risou ni uragirare sou
Omoidouri no sugata ga nai mou
[3:01 - 3:07]

And with Seungmin’s finish to the chorus the energy of the song has picked up, leading well into Felix’s more forceful vocals. He’s definitely very raspy here and you can actually hear the edge of his Australian accent colouring his words. It’s faint but it’s there. He’s gritting out the words in order to preserve that beautiful and unique rasp.

Kaetakute mo kawaranaidarou
Suruu shite ichi nin ni sasero
[3:07 - 3:12]

Changbin matches this energy with bringing back some of his own growl and rasp, particularly in the “nin ni sasero” phrase. This is a lot more similar to his rap style and makes Lee Know’s following part stand out a bit more.

Kisetsu no you ni
Ironna sugata ni
[3:13 - 3:17]

You can hear how Lee Know is switching from his comfortable mix into a head voice on the “no” of the first line, lightening the sound of the overall line. He does this on the second line as well with “iro” being still in that stronger heady mix while “onna sugata” lightens into his pretty head voice before mixing a bit more for the final syllable.

Kawatte mo subete
Boku no san hyaku roku juu go
[3:17 - 3:23]

I.N probably has the most unique voice after Felix. I’ve yet to really hear another voice like his, although it does bear similarities TO ME to SHINee’s Onew if it was a higher sound. There’s elements of nasality, but it’s less sharp than Seungmin and very very round. His voice sounds very trained, and the posture with which he holds his mouth shows that. He has followed his lessons well.

Subete no ai ni uzumoretaiyo
Kodoku ni wa kanjitakunai ndayo
[3:24 - 3:29]

And now we get to see some contrast again as the chorus returns, this time starting with Seungmin. He comes in again with his characteristically strong vocals. He really puts an emphasis on the “yo” syllable at the end of each phrase.

Arinomama
Aishitekureru hito ga miataranai
[3:30 - 3:34]

Like Changbin though, Han follows this part up with a softer vocal, bringing back the sound a bit more from Seungmin’s beltier sound. He loses some of his earlier rasp but maintains the air in his voice. “Miataranai” does come out a bit stronger though

Mou sekai de ichi nin dake janai
To shinjite
Kizutsukeatte mo
Miushinau kokoro o
[3:35 - 3:45]

Han’s softness was well served and helps blend in Chan’s following vocals as they do slightly overlap. “Kizutsuke” is pronounced very strongly here. Chan is also the one who’s the softest on his pronunciation. This could be due to his slight lisp but it’s also a commonality in all of his singing performances and is most likely just how he pronounces words. “Kokoro o” also has that lovely break although more subtly than his previous lines.

Subeteshin no naka o
Hakidasetara
Dare ga mikatana no ka
Wakattekuru kamo
[3:45 - 3:56]

I.N doesn’t really switch much up here, but he is building back the energy with a small crescendo in this bridge section. I don’t think Genius quite has the right thing here but I’m gonna leave it. As his voice strengthens, his texture and timbre don’t actually change which I think is interesting since most of the others do.

Ogesa ni mienakute mo
Hyaku man nin no ichi nin demo
[3:57 - 4:02]

Hyunjin’s back to that softness from the start of the song, but he eases up on the rasp that comes with his more nasal sound. He has a slightly rounder sound than Han here, but not by much. “Demo” sounds a lot more like Han here which I think is interesting. Out of all of them, those are the two that are capable of sounding the most alike. This makes them both rather versatile which is really cool. It’s also worth mentioning that like Chan, Hyunjin’s voice breaks on the final moment of the “o” in “demo” — conveying strong emotion and almost desperation.

Tonari ni itekurerunara
Sore dake demo ureshīyo
[4:03 - 4:08]

Changbin is also back to his clearer vocals!

Kowareta sekai de
[4:11 - 4:14]

Felix sings this rather forcefully! He really emphasizes the “de” syllable and has sharp consonants. Still maintaining a consistent sound with his other parts.

Subete no ai ni uzumoretaiyo
Kodoku ni wa kanjitakunai ndayo
[4:14 - 4:19]

And now we start of the chorus with yet another member switch! This time it’s Han. His vocals are a lot stronger, closer to his normal belt style but still with measured restraint to not overpower the instrumental track. He puts less emphasis on the “yo” at the end of each phrase than Seungmin, and instead performed more like Lee Know did.

Arinomama (Arinomama)
Aishitekureru hito ga miataranai (Ataranai)
[4:20 - 4:24]

HARMONIES. Lee Know is the melody but Seungmin — pulling back a bit from his microphone due to the beltier nature of his high notes — has this beautiful top melody. I’m always devastated when I come back to Kpop to see a criminal lack of harmonies despite them literally having small choirs. If they do have harmonies, they are usually kept to backing vocals which is a tragedy. Lee Know and Seungmin had a good sound together, combining Seungmin’s sharper belt with Lee Knows forceful but airy vocals. I also just love this particular harmony. It’s just really pretty.

Mo sekai de ichi nin dake janai
To shinjite
Kizutsukeatte mo
Miushinau kokoro o
[4:25 - 4:35]

Back with Chan for that chorus finisher. Still holding strong, still maintaining the elements that make his voice more unique. Hearing him after Seungmin and Lee Know makes it more apparent how he balances airiness with clear and strong vocals. “-atte mo” also has some vibrato! Chan does it too, but it’s definitely more selective, especially when “kokoro o” has that ending break and the “o” is a straight sustained note.

I lost, I lost me
[4:36 - 4:42]

Finally, I.N’s closing line with the title. He is really sharp on those ‘t’s here! It’s funny, you can hear him battle whether or not he should pronounce the “me” as “may” to create that more open sound for an easier sustain or just really double down on the “me”. It sounds like he started to go for the “me” before realizing he probably shouldn’t do that and opening up the sound a bit more for the the vibrato trail off.

All in all, yet another beautiful performance on First Take. I always enjoy them and when I saw that this video had come out I was unable to resist commenting on it. Their live vocals are always great, but it’s nice to be able to isolate them in a studio setting instead of a radio show or while they are dancing. I don’t always have the best ear for their televised performances and some members tend to project a little less then. That’s perfectly understandable, it just makes it a bit harder for me to pick up on some of the nuances that make them so unique.

References:

THE FIRST TAKE. (2023, March 8). Stray Kids - Lost Me / the first take. YouTube. Retrieved March 8, 2023, from https://youtu.be/VnOB8JqTJ1c

Genius romanizations – stray kids - lost me (romanized). Genius. (2023, February 22). Retrieved March 8, 2023, from https://genius.com/Genius-romanizations-stray-kids-lost-me-romanized-lyrics