I kind of have to agree, though I think its mostly because, as people have mentioned before – we're really not in this fandom for vocal talent, to be quite frank. The grand majority of AKG's better vocalists are almost all non-senbatsu members. Even Yukirin isn't that great, and Sayanee, who happens to be one of my major favorites, can barely go head to head with someone like Miyumiyu or Rotteii.
Ooooh oooh I wanna post too XD Personal Favourites 1. Akimoto Sayaka (AKB Graduate) The very first voice I grew to love from the 48Family. What made me interested in AKB was her. When I opened Nakeru Basho, I was so shocked cause I thought everyone in AKB couldn't sing. And a whole bunch of girls sounded so amazing there from Yuttan, Mocchi, Nacchi etc. But no one caught my attention more than Sayaka. There's something really clear and refreshing about her voice. I think it's the Filipino genes I don't like nasal singing at all (lots of Japanese female singers have very nasal voices) but Sayaka's completely differently. Like a breath of fresh air!! Still one of my favourite vocals until now. 2. Yamamoto Sayaka (NMB) One of the reasons I became a Sayanee oshi was because of her voice! As many have pointed out, she is clearly not the most powerful vocalist but there is this really really addictive quality about her voice. Leaves you completely hooked once attracted. I think it's a lot to do with the way she pronounces words when she sings...it's somehow very distinct and pretty. And texture wise, smooth...soothing but yet not lacking in conviction. My personal favourite performance by her is her rendition of 12月31日 at AKB's Kouhaku. I've seen her do many many perfs, also had the chance to watch her perform Jungle Gym as well as Yume no dead body live in concert...but 12月31日 has to be by far her best performance so far. I wish I got to see that live in concert lol. The way you could feel her emotions overflowing as she sang, and as simple as it was, just her and the guitar on stage...it was a beautiful, heartwarming performance. if the video does not show watch the video here 3. Matsushita Yui, Deguchi Aki & Ono Haruka (SKE Graduates) The superb graduate trio from Original Team S. Please listen to the original lineup of Mangekyou and Innocence. In Mangekyou, when Yui starts ahhhhh. Seriously this song is like...*so good* It's kinda mehs to see anyone else perform it now. This is actually my favourite SKE song btw. http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjk4MzgwMjI4.html In Innocence, Yui's the one who starts the song. The next solo lines are by Aki and Haruka respectively. So much eargasm!! There was so much power in SKE Team S back in the day it gives me the chills. if the video does not show watch the video here 4. Kishino Rika (NMB) NMB do sing live occasionally, and when they do, Rika is always huge support for NMB. Sayanee's a good vocalist too, but there are times she isn't as consistent, and thus there is Rika to provide this consistency. Well for her, I recommend either watching her N3 unit or former Team N's rendition of GLAY's Beloved when they helped to produce a surprise wedding celebration. Rika and Sayanee's vocals complement each other's so well, both melody and harmonising. Oh yeah, there's also Glass no I Love You shuffle that she did again alongside Sayanee & Murakami Ayaka & Ijiri Anna lol. Those 2 (Sayanee and Rika) sound so good together. Beloved (the verses were a little eh cause it's too low for them lol but the chorus!!! This song is really hard to sing though haha) if the video does not show watch the video here Glass no I Love You Her N3 Unit that she leads, Kono Sekai ga Yuki no Naka ni Umoreru Mae ni. 5. Furukawa Airi (SKE) Her voice kinda draws resemblance to Akimoto Sayaka. I really really love her Manazashi Sayonara. 6. Kuramochi Asuka (AKB) I like her voice texture, it's similar to Sayanee's but not as expressive 7. Iwasa Misaki (AKB) Only for her enka stuff. I don't think her voice suits idol songs And I think that's it for me. People like Masuda Yuka and SDN's Rachel were really good technically but Idk I guess I'm not that big on power vocals generally. I prefer distinctive qualities and uniqueness lol. There are also many other capable girls like Mieko, Yukirin, Haachan and whoever else I'm missing out, but they aren't very memorable for me vocalwise hence why they're not listed. So yeah lol.
I can't comment on singing technically since I'm an awful singer myself, but my two favourite voices in 48G belong to graduates. For me, Sayaka and Erepyon had the best voices in the group. Erepyon mostly for the incredible range that she has, (which you can hear in her cover of 'Ah, What A Wonderful Cat Life!' below), and Sayaka also has a good range but it's mostly the emotion that she puts into her singing that makes her so amazing to listen to.
On the previous page someone was asking for more a capella videos, I just stumbled upon this one with Wasamin and thought I'd post it here, eventhough she's just doing the singing part, well technically they all are, but you know what I mean. xD if the video does not show watch the video here
Just because you said you never heard Rena singing live, here goes if the video does not show watch the video here It looks like there are parts that are live and parts that are not. I personally like Rena's voice, but I can't say whether she's a good singer or not, is just a matter of favorites. As a matter of fact, this is the only vid I remember from her singing live and it wasn't that good (probably because she was all emotional).... Aside some minor things, can't say I disagree much with you (I would add some more girls though lol, Wasamin for example) I want to reinforce that in No3b, despite Kojiharu and Takamina being way more popular, Miichan is actually the best singer of them all, and I do think she can actually work out things well when performing live (Wasn't this one sang live?) if the video does not show watch the video here
Wow such powerful performance by Rena, I thought it was maybe just an act, but I was shocked when she actually started crying.
^Yup, presence-wise I love this performance of hers ^^ I guess I'll be fleeing from the theme of this discussion, but actually I've yet to see someone doing as good in Kareha no Station as Rena. No doubt that this is her song
^I agree, I think sad songs really suit Rena. I thought her performance of Mujin Eki was great as well, the way she put her emotion into it.
It really wasn't bad. She's not a bad singer I guess. I just don't like her voice that much personally. Props for her being able to sing while crying, most girls just stop because they're too choked up XD
I feel the need to mention Jurina, in particular. I used to consider her "average," on the vocal scale, when it comes to the main girls of the current AKB… but really, she's on the lower end of the spectrum. For sure. I'll just refer to her performance of Heart Eleki from last year's Kouhaku, where there was a live band. The concept sounded amazing. Having Jurina as the singer just sounded perfect. THe band started playing, and Jurina started singing… AND I WAS ABOUT TO BE BLOWN AWAY. But after 30 seconds, Jurina totally lost all control and sounded awful, nasally, and couldn't hold out a note. Just like her solo performance of Plastic no Kuchibiru from the Tokyo Dome senbatsu solo section. That song has never been, and will never be sung totally live. It would take away from the effect of the song completely…I know good and well that mics can have auto-tune and vocal filters applied to them, which I think is what they typically do for performances of this song. But knowing Jurina's faulty stamina and sharp dancing, she sounded a BIT too perfect "singing" Plastic no Kuchibiru, so I guess it was completely prerecorded anyway. Either way, it could have been great…but only part of it was. With Heart Eleki, the overall momentum and feeling of the performance was perfect… And with Plastic, her dancing and stage presence was overwhelmingly captivating. But her vocals? Hardly even worth mentioning. She has the all the potential in the world, but I don't really think vocal is her priority at the moment. We all know that she's an amazing dancer and more than anything, she's one of the top PERFORMERS of the group. I think that's what she's riding on, therefore, I'm willing to forgive her vocal shortcomings. What I can't forgive, however, is how awesome that performance of Heart Eleki could have been had someone GOOD been singing. Yukirin did a really good live-band version of Heart Eleki in her 3rd solo concert, but her stamina was obviously running low since it was at the tail end of the entire setlist.
I think Jurina's vocals are horrible, but I'm not sure whether that isn't also affected because of the mount of energy she spends on dancing (after all, it's not everyday that you see a actual singer dancing and singing at the same time, there are really a few that can hold the notes while dancing). Even though, that isn't totally it, and I don't even think she's at average level (she's still above Tomonaga Mio's level though lol, but if we compare how much time each of these girls have been on the entertainment industry... well Tomonaga's bad vocals can be forgiven). We could compare Jurina with Tomochin, I think along the years you actually saw a stable improvement on Tomochin's vocals. I don't think she'll ever get to be the best singer in the world, but she's surely improving (I actually enjoyed to see her live performances of 1% and little). On the other hand, if we compare both Jurina's and Tomochin's dancing hability.... well Jurina wins, and with a long margin. I couldn't agree with you more. I always thought that Yukko might be a good singer (a good average singer ), even before they started singing live. Then she began performing Nakinagara hohoende live over and over again, but since she sang it all the time, people could say it was because she was accustomed to the song.But then, that performance on Kouhaku of Give me Five, and her live performance of Scandalous ni Ikou were awesome! She has so much energy and yet she still can give us a good song! And that grad song performance was awesome, she was perfect in it!
I totally agree, about the Jurina-Tomochin thing. Tomochin was HORRIBLE for years, but she ended up getting decent as the years go on. She'll never be a "great," singer, but her recent single "Little," definitely showed such much improvement. 10nen go no Kimi e showed that she really does have some potential. Similarly, I think Jurina has potential. But where Tomochin put a lot of effort toward honing her vocal skills (I remember her mentioning lessons), Jurina doesn't seem to be making the same leaps and bounds that Tomochin did. Jurina's bigger focus has always been dancing, after all. Jurina's biggest problem is that she lip-syncs too much, so she doesn't get good practice with singing live. As I've said, she has enough potential to be a completely all-around powerhouse. She's still really young, so I'm looking forward to her next few years. Don't get me started on Mio and Sakura I think they're both god awful singers. HKT doesn't really seem to be about good singing anyway, so I guess they're fine since they're cute as can be. The thing about Yuko is: she's a bad singer, but has a good voice. Her voice has always had a really nice, interesting, warm texture to it. It sticks out a lot in Kyou Made no Melody. Her strongest suit was always her showmanship, so it always worked well that there was a nice voice behind it all. She just wasn't technically a good singer. It's the same thing with Miyazawa Sae. Her voice is really interesting and has a nice texture, and she has such a shining personality when she performs…but she's a terrible singer.
I think she's the best singer in JKT48 team J. I don't know too much but her voice is very wonderful *-* if the video does not show watch the video here if the video does not show watch the video here
AKB definitely has a lot of singing talents but most of them are ignored. Sadly most of the best have graduated So in my opinion: Best : - Akimoto Sayaka : Her voice is consistent and full of emotions. When i heard her sing Mushi no Ballad at her graduation concert, i actually cried. Her voice really moved me to tears. And Uhohhoho is never the same without her energetic voice. -Yamamoto Sayaka : Sayanee knows how to control her voice and her voice is also distinguishable. She is able to pull off the songs so well. Some NMB members have good vocal skills < i don't remember their names > but their unit songs somehow end up in a mess because seemingly they don't know how to mix their voice together. I watched several concerts of NMB and their unit songs sound horrible. Maybe they are just not excellent at singing live... -Iwata Karen : She definitely has potential. Too bad after AKB0048, the staff have forgotten her... The rest sound pretty much the same to me... Worst -Kojima Natsuki : I heard her once on AKB!SHOW in the Heart gata Virus unit. KojiHaru with her sweet voice as usual. KojiMako is also fine. But Nattsun, i have to say her voice is really annoying. Seriously, it ruined the song... -Tomogama Mio : All explained above. Plus, her voice usually shakes, maybe because she's nervous...
Been receiving a bit of vocal training for the past few months and its gotten me a bit interested in vocal pedagogy I am in know way qualified nor do I pretend to know anything a professional does. Just thought it'd be a fun thing to do in my spare time especially since this is about Idols who like singing as opposed to dedicated vocalists so its best not to take it seriously lol. A lot of people tend to think that vocal color or ones tone = singing ability when they are 2 very separate things. Voice is subjective and there are people who like high dolphin like voices and people who like deep bass like voices. Personally I've met people who have majestic amazing voices to me....but sound like crap singing. I'd like to judge singing like Archery. Voice is the bow and you could like any type. Singing ability is how well the shots are. If Archer A shoots 75-90 out of 100 bullzyes successfully and under all conditions consistently and Archer B can only hit around 20-40 consistently. Then Archer A is currently better than Archer B no ifs ands or buts, doesn't matter how better or more expensive the bow is on B. Like with singing technique. If Singer A hits all her notes that are open-throated to resonant, well projected, healthy and with a 3 1/2 octaves scale consistently, as opposed to Singer B who's notes are all strained, tense or nasally on a smaller scale inconsistently. It doesn't matter if Singers A has a plain voice and Singer B sounds like Barry White on steroids, Singer A is a better singer based on fact. Doesn't mean you have to prefer her though. If you care more for Singer B's voice and songs then thats fine. Someone like Nana's voice does my head in but she's a decent singer. Anyway enough pointless rambling from me. I was gonna just do a personal top 10 from each group but I'll try and have more fun a experiment and do it by generations (keep in mind I don't know everyone). Purely technique cause including vocal color is far too subjective. Current members only as it'll take quite a bit of time to do all. Difficult when quite a bit of members don't have solo lines to judge on still I'll give it a go. Oh and 'Rest' equals 'remaining members'. AKB48 Gen1: Miichan>=Kojiharu>Takamina Gen2: Umeda>Sae>>>Kana Gen3: Hacchan>Yukirin>Mayu=Tanabe Gen4: Mochi>>Chisato>Oya Gen5:Miho>Uchida>Haruka>Chikano>Rie>Sasshi Gen6:Takajo <_____< Gen7: Wasamin*>>Mariya>=Ami=Sakiko=Suuchan Gen9: Miyu>Mariko>>Suzuran>Oba>Yui>Shimada=Mari>Paru Gen10: Don't know much about them to comment, but they don't seem to have a standout singer, info would be appreciated. Gen11: Ayaka>=Wakana>Shiori>Kawaei>>Natsun Gen12: Karen>Miyupon>Tano>Hilary=Tomu>Juri=Yukari Gen13: Haven't heard much to comment but Saho seems to be the only one with a well controlled stable vibrato so Saho>rest so far. Gen14: Nana>>rest Gen15: Don't know much to judge yet as they're still too green. Though I'd keep my eye on the 2 performer orientated ones Manami and Yuami. Wasamin got taught a non contemporary way of singing (Enka) which changes the oscillations into more of a wobble vibrato. Reason why she'd slay in an Enka competition as no one else is well equipped as she is as its a different ballgame, but in a more normal contemporary style of singing (99% of idol songs) her strong foundations are still there but others can more than match up. SKE48: Gen1: Mieko>>Nakanishi>Oya=WMatsui Gen2: Airi>Churi=Anna>Rumi>Tomoko>Rest Gen3:Yukiko>Miki>Yuria=Risako>Suda>Kaori Gen4:Mai,Yukari,Rikachu and Mei seem decent, just don't know where to put them. Gen5:Nao>Tsugumi>Ami>Rest Gen6:Rion>Rest (don't know much about the others though apparently Kumazaki is great but haven't heard her yet) NMB48: Gen1:Sayaka>Rika>Keichi>Nana>Momoko=Udon>Aapon>Macchun>Miru>Rest Gen2:YuiPon>Mao>Sae>Rest Gen3:Chuba>Rinacchi>?? (unsure of the rest) Gen4: Aika>Nagisa> (unsure of the rest) HKT48: Gen1: Serina>Chiori>Madoka>Shimono>Anya>Anai>Rest Gen2:Naopon>Yuka>Tani=Jiina>=Riko>Izumi>Piichan>Rest Gen3: Hazuki>Yuna>Rest And cause I'm bored I'll try to arrange them via teams: TeamA: Nao>Haachan>=Kojiharu>Takamina>Karen>=Mariko>Chiori>Ayaka>Rest TeamK: Sayaka>Wasamin>Myao>Uchida>Haruka>Tano>Yui>Rest TeamB: Miyu>Mochi=Yuki>Mayu=Tanbe>Maachun>Hilary>Rest> Team4:Miichan>Miyupon>Nana>Saho=Nagisa>Rest TeamS: Mieko>Rion>Miki>Ami>Sae>Suzuran>Mai>Rest TeamKII: Airi>Nao>=Churi=Anna>Yukiko>Nana>Tomoko>Yukari>Rest TeamE: Rumi>=Tsugumi>Tani>Mei>Rest TeamN: Sayaka>Rika>Keichi>=<Chuba?>Aika>=<Yukirin>Rest TeamM: Nana>Momoka=Udon>=Yuipon>Aapon>Rinnachi>Miru>Rest TeamB2:Umeda>=Churi>>Nagisa>Rest TeamH: Naopon>Yuka>Jiina>Riko>Izumi>Piichan>Rest TeamKIV: Serina>Madoka>Shimono>Rest Bonus Nogizaka one. Erika>Rotteii>Kazumin>=Misa>Ami>Reika>Rest Again I don't know everyone, this just included girls I've heard have a solo line at least a couple of times for me to hear for the past 3 years in the theater or on a stage or even just singing on a random G+ vid. Honestly if we had a recent Karaoke competition or a talent comp for the newer girls (and more improved older girls as well maybe) then it'll be a lot easier to gauge (Talent show instead of Janken please Akimoto Sensei....well that or a Battle Royal survival of the fittest game <__<) Anyway this is my unqualified non-properly researched opinion. For idols though vocals aren't really important. Hell it's just one component of preforming and being a good performer doesn't mean that much to an idol. If someone as good as Beyonce showed up and became and Idol that person could be an incredibly unpopular member, at the same time she could become really popular, her being mega talented will probably have very little to do with it for 'most' wotas. Stan whoever entertains you in their own way and whoever makes you happy. That's the main priority for an idol anyway.....and yes I do have plenty of time on my hands today having a cold will do that to you....curse this Brisbane winter that's much colder than last years grrr.
^ Some of the girls mentioned on your list don't have consistency (as in having less off-notes on LIVE performance) though, for example Furuhata Nao and Okada Nana. As for 13th gen, I think Murayama Yuiri and Kitazawa Saki have decent vocals (I've only heard Yuiri's live singing though).
Why is Takamina NEVER able to get the "AKB~~~~" line from River right when she does it live? She either lip-syncs it, or sounds DREADFUL. I just don't understand I know she can sound good, because I've heard it… but for the most part, her live vocals are just plain awful. I've seen Kojiharu do better. I'm interested that Yamada Nana was included in your list! I consider her a good vocalist, and I totally adore her unique voice. It stands out… BUT, it also happens to annoy people, which is part of the reason I haven't yet seen someone include her I'm glad you did! As for Nao, I really think she's the center-hold of underdeveloped talent in KII, along with Yukko. Nao has a deep voice, but it's shaky… in a controlled environment, like in the SKE solo PVs from their first album, she sounded AMAZING. But that shakiness is what she needs to work on a bit, much like Airi struggles with as well. I remember watching a performance of Manazashi Sayonara with Airi and Yuko, and Airi was just dreadful because she was shaky and off key compared to Yuko who had better control. Even though Nao and Airi aren't consistent, I think they're both fabulous And Yukko has ALWAYS sounded great, when I've heard her sing live. Her dancing is top notch, her voice is unique, and she has good vocal control when singing live. So I would definitely put her in the "Best" category
On Nao, well I haven't really watched that many perfs with her but from the few I've seen they been really impressive. Good projection, nice transitions through supported notes and a nice stable vibrato. Though maybe they were her good ones and her less then stellar performances were the ones I haven't seen. Though generally if they were OLD performances then they can be disregarded if her consistency has been strong lately unless her current self hasn't shown any improvement to how she was before. (Still hoping for a Karaoke comp or a talent showcase for the girls, so it'll be easier to compare) Nana's voice actually does annoy me somewhat, but that holds no meaning to how skilled one is. Nana can do more with her annoying voice (to me, cause tone is subjective and other might love it.) than others that have a voice with depth. Basically Nana is a soldier with a only a small pistol and a knife but was skilled enough to take out a whole brigade while others were in tanks but made errors and were quickly wiped out. It's not always about what weapon you have but how you use it (though it can be an advantage). Nana can use hers well. Though even though I don't personally like her tone I think she sounds great harmonizing with someone else, it's a nice molder. Now on the opposite end of the spectrum there's Yukko's tone which I adore, one of my most favorite amongst all of the 48G. Honestly she could sing me the alphabet backwards and I'll like it. She's a great singer but doesn't tend to finish her notes properly (unsupported), she starts of the note strong and open-throated but it doesn't connect all the way to the end. This can be fixed somewhat easily with the right trainer. It's mostly her breath control that needs a little improvement then she'll be able to support her notes better. Others like Mieko, Airi, Churi, Anna etc tend to not have this problem. Other than that though she's fine. Watching that Karaoke live of a short haired Yukko years ago makes me happy seeing how much she's improved since then. I still think Yukko (and Anna) is one of the most well rounded performers of the 48G being 1 of the best dancers if not the best, and being a decent vocalist as well but she's got room to grow, considering her past improvements she'll grow nicely.
^ Of which Anna are you speaking? And I love your assessment of Nana's voice Sometimes it tends to make me cringe a bit, but she has really done some great things with it. I especially love what she brings to Bokura no Eureka and Kitagawa Kenji, how her voice blends in with the others. Yukko is perfect. I wish we got more opportunities to hear her sing. When I learned she had a [short] solo version of Omoide Ijou on the SKE album DVD, I freaked out because I love that song. She did an excellent job centering Itoshisa no Defense with Team E, as well. She's one of those that really makes SKE the performing force of 48G, in addition to members like Jurina.
I'm betting it's Ishida Anna. She does sing her unit songs live for the most part, she's got a pleasant voice and good control. I liked her Kokoro hashi no Sofa and she's great singing Cross (as is Yukko). For the purposes of recollection I watched 3 or 4 stages including one with her in a Team S stage at the Akihabara theatre and I think one reason why more people don't sing live at that particular theatre is that the acoustics absolutely suck. Nana's voice really blends well with others, especially with Sayaka, they complement each other well. I thought she was pretty good on Kinjirareta futari when N were doing the Seishun girls stage, her voice suited it really well. However, I can't stand her version of Manazashi Sayonara. She softens the last note in every phrase and it ruins it. The Ogiso part in that song really suits a raspy voice because it's the "male" role but Nana's interpretation is all wrong imo. I can't recall seeing her mentioned yet on this thread but I'm going to throw a name out there. Paruru. She doesn't have much range but what she does within her limitations is good. She's got some power and projection, in some ways she reminds me of old french idol France Gall Spoiler if the video does not show watch the video here
