Haha, remember when miss A was a group? I'll be saying this a few more times before this ranking is done, that's for sure. Suzy jumps up spots but she's still last. And not much has changed. There's no new group material to look at, plus she is more of the actress than the singer now. But it's not all bad. "Yes No Maybe" was a pretty good song that utilized her voice well. I dunno how that possibly makes up for miss A being dormant but the solo debut did at least exist. Her delicate voice is serviceable but one expects the disbandment news to arrive any day now.
24. Yeonjung (--)
Being as unfamiliar with Cosmic Girls as I am (sans Exy), you could imagine my confusion when I discovered there are three main vocalists in the group. So I went with Yeonjung as she ate up the most lines in their most recent comeback songs. "Happy" and "Kiss Me" are cut from the same cloth that most WJSN's songs are, which is to say they are very poppy and don't really give her a lot of chance to shine. This is a recurring trait that you see in a lot of the younger groups nowadays because the innocent pop phenomenon is still very generic, very popular, and very influential.
23. Siyeon (--)
Dreamcatcher is electric and their instrumentals aren't the only part of their newfound success. Siyeon spearheads a sharp vocal attack. While it can be hard to hear her voice through the crazy guitar and drums, she's still got a good voice. My problem with Siyeon is she doesn't really stand out. And I'm not even talking about in comparison to other main vocalists, but within her group. If you rearranged their lines - which they have done between releases - you could easily mistake another member as the main vocal. Or worse, you might think she's just a support player. Given their previous lackluster reputation as Minx, I can't realistically expect any older songs to really push her out of bottom tier.
22. Jihyo (+4)
Alright so being honest, Twice's last two songs have been awful. There's no doubt about that. The question is, how has Jihyo sounded in those bad releases? The answer is: more or less the same from before. I do think she has separated herself some from Nayeon and Jungyeon. Prior to "Knock Knock" I had the three of them at the same level so there's that. Jihyo's ability to go low (which separates her from the other two Twice vocalists) has yet to be used effectively in Twice's music and that's not really her fault. However, with title tracks acting as the bulk of the grading / ranking she's forced to remain towards the bottom until otherwise.
21. Raina (--)
The poster child of main vocalists suffering from inactive groups, here's Raina. She reprises her spot from last year due to the awkward numbers game of newcomers and departures, After School and Orange Caramel's nonexistence and her solo comeback with "Loop." Her voice is delicate and sweet, which is a contrast from the wacky styles of Orange Caramel or clouded by the dance pop themes of After School. Last year's "Sugar & Me" joint effort with San E also produced similar sweet tunes. She'd absolutely be a middle tier vocalist if her group wasn't buried under 500 feet of inactivity and sadness.
It's almost better to ignore the movement and just look at where the singer places on the list. Alice is 20th but is on the upswing, though not as much as the +8 jump would suggest. Hello Venus will have another comeback this year following the uneventful but solid track in "Mysterious." I hate to say that there isn't anything particular special about her voice but it's true, and tends to be the case for most of the vocalists in this range of the rankings.
19. Hyemi (+8)
Just like last time, Hyemi and Alice are joined at the hip. Also like last time, I'm going to pick veteran Hyemi over newcomer Keumjo, though both are credited as the main vocalists of 9MUSES. With the roster set in stone for the foreseeable future, she'll continue leading the group in the vocal department. "Love City" and "Remember" were great examples of what she can do. Both songs let Hyemi be effective with a more upbeat tempo and although the former was mediocre as a song, it still played to her strengths. Plus "Remember" will be one of the top songs of the year.
18. Rose (--)
In many ways, Rose is a new version of Park Bom. She's got a nasal voice to the extreme, giving her a unique and distinguishable voice. This results in serious duality. When Rose is off, she sounds really off. But when she's in her element, she has one of the most attractive voices of the new generation period. Thankfully, what we get from her in Black Pink is more of the latter than the former. She's almost always sounding comfortable in the audio and even though I think her forte is in slower songs ("Stay"), the recent "As If It's Your Last" showed she has improved in the dance genre since debut as well.
17. Subin (+7)
Subin has an underrated and unexpectedly versatile voice. Dal Shabet tends to stay in the realm of dance pop so there's not much room to experiment there. Thankfully, she's had a plethora of solo releases that showcase her versatility. "Circle's Dream" is almost folk-like in its therapeutic rhythms while "Strawberry" was more of a traditional ballad. Both songs were slept on by the public (at least on Youtube) and that may be because of her group's popularity (or lack thereof). I almost put her below Rose but I can't ignore the quality of her solo work, despite Dal Shabet having stalled out.
16. Linzy (-5)
With no new songs since "Apple Pie," Linzy finds herself overtaken by many youngsters and that's a shame. She's probably one of the most underrated singers out there, but has no chance to prove herself because FIESTAR hasn't been promoting anything. She did see some action this year, featuring in Hanbyul's (ex-LEDApple) "Dumb Love" but a feature is nothing compared to the resumes of other main vocalists in that same timespan. Linzy could end up as the next Uji if she's not careful.
Not gonna lie, I didn't know about Somin's past with April. Of course, it's the Somin in KARD that we're all excited about. She has an extremely stable voice (listen to KARD's live performances you'll see) and the latest "Hola Hola" had her go surprisingly low in range. But she sounded really good so I'm all for more of this. Somin is like the backbone of the team with her vocal presence and their style of music really suits her voice. It would be nice to see her sing some other genres soon! Like her group, her trajectory as a vocalist is only going to go upwards.
14. High.D (+8)
Even though Sonamoo has released a variety of songs and styles, one thing has remained constant: High.D and Minjae are gonna crush those high notes. Their latest comeback was no different. "Friday Night" had her nearly belting in the choruses, let alone bridge sections. I've yet to hear her strain which is a good thing - there are many instances where someone sounds uncomfortable and that's no good. I think there's supposed to be another Sonamoo song in the works, so I'll look forward to more of High.D in that. Please be something badass please be something badass...
13. Kei (+10)
Don't let the +10 fool you. Kei is still 13th on a list of 25, which places her in the middle of the pack. She's really talented and her voice is a personal favorite out of the newer idols / groups. It always sound bright and clear, but Lovelyz are always in their comfort zone: bubblegum pop is all they really do. She doesn't sound bad (just listen to her in "Now, We") but some diversity wouldn't hurt. "Beautiful" with The Solutions is a taste of what she can do outside of pop. The second you see Lovelyz go a new style you'll have Kei climb even higher in the rankings.
12. Yooa (--)
Yooa is the highest ranked newcomer, so that's pretty cool. While there hasn't been a single Oh My Girl song to impress me since the days of "Closer," I can't just ignore the quality of Yooa's voice. It's so high and clear, to the point where it's almost child-like? I'm not sure how to accurately describe her voice. Nonetheless Yooa is generally in the same vocal branch as Minah, Jieun, and Kei: crystal clear voices that work wonders in ballads. Unfortunately, she's mostly singing pop tunes like those in "Coloring Book." I think she really shines in songs like "Windy Day" and the aforementioned "Closer."
11. Wendy (+9)
Most of the ranking shuffles have been due to the departures and necessity to place people in the mid-teens. Not Wendy. Since I last talked about her in the first edition, I've done a near 180 in perspective. This is mainly because the recent string of Red Velvet has had her sounding fantastic. She previously strained or sounded strained in past hits but "Rookie," "Red Flavor," and "Russian Roulette" did wonderful things for her. Just listen to the chorus in "Russian Roulette," and the prechorus in "Red Flavor." They've essentially given her the perfect notes, and shifted the higher ones to Seulgi, whose voice is better suited for those. All in all an excellent year for Wendy as Red Velvet continue to climb the charts.
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