Solji is a south korean singer who debuted in 2006 as a part of the duo 2NB and has become widely popular since her inclusion in the girl group EXID as well as in its sub-unit DASONI. Although at first Solji was not regarded as a member of EXID, but instead just as its vocal trainer, Shinsadong Tiger recognized her vocal talents and made her the main vocalist and leader of the current EXID. Fans and non-fans alike have also acknowledged her vocals with some of them calling her one of the most promising vocalists of the nation.
VOCAL RANGE: Eb3 – B5 (2 octaves, 4 notes and 1 semitone)
Supported range: G#3 / A3 – C5 (1 octave and 2 notes)
Despite trying to debut as a soloist right after the disolution of 2NB, Solji only found success after joining EXID as the main vocalist, and her popularity has dramatically raised ever since.
Solji’s style of singing relies a lot in high-belting, as well as projecting her voice in the middle field with a great weight. The progression of her as a vocalist is quite evident when you listen to her earlier presentations in 2006 – 2008 and compare then to her most recent lives. Although placement and support in the middle voice have never been a factor in Solji’s voice, improvement in other issues as her breathing technique, which is not quite developed to date but can be considered as decent, as well as an elongation of her supported range have helped the singer to become more solid over the years.
Vocal positives: The singer is able to control how much weight she wants to put in her voice depending on the performance. She is able to show support up to C#5 although inconsistenly, and voice is resonant until B4 and ocasionally C5. Solji has shown a decent ability when in a good condition, presenting well projected vocal runs as shown in 안되나요. Her lower register shows a decent projection and good support until G#3 and ocasionally as down as G3. The singer possesses a wide mixed register.
Vocal negatives: Tendency of yelling higher belts, as well as shouting notes even inside her supported range. Resonance is not always there. Her vibrato is oftenly not naturally produced due to a raise of the larynx as she ascends up to B4. Head voice has a lack of projection compared to other registers. Chest voice becomes less audible as she descends below A3. Vocal runs might be flat when in bad condition, as shown in Listen. Despite the fact that Solji has a very extensive mixed register, her voice becomes strained and tight in between C#5 and G#5.
- LOWER REGISTER
Projection in this register is not the strongest of the singer, however she manages to show support until G#3 and ocasionally even G3 (see 8282). However, tone might get lost as she descends as shown in her F3s of Don’t Touch Me and chest voice becomes barely audible. Her chest voice can be considered as outstanding as it presents the least issues among all the registers. The singer is able to hit Eb3 with this register. - MIXED REGISTER
The register in which the singer has shown the most improvement, Solji’s mixed voice carries a lot of weight as she ascends, as well as a strong projection until the B4/C5 range. Support in this register tends to be inconsistent since the singer has shown issues with supporting notes that are within her “supported” range, like the B4 in The Reason I Became a Singer, as well as a tendency of shouting notes, maybe due to stylistic reasons. As the singer goes above C5, strain is very present in her voice, although she has shown the ability to support C#5 at times as shown in We Should’ve Been Friends, The Reason I Became a Singer and Said So Often (with Hani), although the note becomes forced and yelled most of the time as shown in every performance of UP & DOWN. One of Solji’s most iconic performances, Maria, pretty much presents this issue as the singer shows a clear inability to support any of the D5s / Eb5s of the chorus of the song, as well as presenting a shouted and unstable F#5 like she did in UP & DOWN and AH YEAH. The singer can hit G#5 with this register. - HIGHER REGISTER
The least used part of Solji’s voice, her higher register shows inconsistencies such as a lack of projection through most of its range. Although she has been able to maintain relaxed muscles up until Eb5 (see Goodbye with Hani) and support until F#5, the voice sounds airy and has a less than desirable connection in between it and the mixed voice. The undevelopment of her falsetto/head voice might be due to a preference of the singer to high belting instead of switching to a head voice in higher notes. She is able to hit B5 with this register.![image]()
Solji singing “Happy Me.”
Being acknowledged by many as a powerful singer, Solji surely owns a “strong” singing voice that makes her join the group of the powerhouse vocalists of k-pop. Her voice has shown a good amount of improvement since debut, despite it still presents many issues to be fixed as the tendency of yelling and shouting the notes of the higher field of her mixed voice, which might cause long-term damage.
Recommended performance(s): “안되나요”, “8282”, “The Reason I Became a Singer”
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