Vocal Type: Lyric Tenor
Vocal Range: 3 Octaves 2 notes and a semitone(F#2-B5)
Whistle Register: No
Vocal Pluses:Justin Timberlake possesses a light, youthful and warm voice that is agile and capable of executing vocal runs [Hear: Pop, Gone]. Thanks in part to its lightness, as well as the varied textures that are found throughout its range, the voice lends exceptionally well to harmonising both with itself and with others. Not just restricted to singing, he also is able to manipulate the voice to recreate percussive instruments, demonstrating this "beatboxing" on various tracks [Hear: Pop, Cry Me A River ].
Timberlake's lower range extends into the second octave and he demonstrates surprising comfort while navigating it. Here the notes are of medium weight, but can be hit with a smooth, soft texture [Harmonies: LoveStoned], or with an almost vocal fry, guttural like ring to them [Harmonies:If I] .
In the third octave the voice begins to lose weight rapidly, and brighten significantly. Its lower half is smoky and rounded, but as it rises it takes on the thin, nasal, almost metallic sound that is characteristic of the voice as a whole.[Hear: (Another Song) All Over Again]
In the belting range the voice becomes stringy, lighter and even thinner. Though not particularly powerful, the voice has a piercing quality that allows for it to remain at the forefront of the track, stopping it from becoming lost or overpowered. In live settings, Timberlake's belting voice can gain a raspy edge, but whether this is due to the voice not being in peak condition at the time or it simply being an artistic choice, is unknown.
Timberlake is perhaps best known for his abilities to sing in falsetto; which starts at the beginning of the fifth octave [C5]. His comfort in this part of the range means he can sing for long periods within it without fatigue, execute melisma here and hold notes without issue. Unlike other male falsettos, which are often airy and light, Timberlake’s has a solid form that shares many characteristics- such as the brassy tone- with the belting range. He is also able to play with the dynamics of falsetto, which adds to the versatility of how he can apply it. [Cry Me A River]
Vocal Negatives: Nasal tone and falsetto heavy singing isn't to everyone's liking. Also there is a disconnect between his modal voice and falsetto which limits how he can navigate these two parts of his voice.
I was never the biggest fan of Timberlake but there was never a doubt he could sing. What I admire about him is his stamina in his head voice. He can sing for extended periods of time sliding easily in and out of Falsetto. For those of you that dont know, that tends to be very tiring for male singers. He comes from a generation of "Powerhouses" and was the most famous out of them all and was actually the complete opposite of them! XD He knows how to use his instrument and he has a good one, if only some other divas could do the same...
ReplyDeleteGreat. Thanks for doing this. I wanted to see this. Predominant falsetto singing is a forgotten art. It was so big in the 60's, 70's and early 80's with Motown and Philadelphia Soul artists (Smokey, Ron Isley, Phillip Bailey, Eddie Kendricks, Russell Thompkins Jr. etc.). Justin's falsetto has a different timbre than those soulful ones. I am glad he's doing it and hopefully more future (or present) artists start expressing themselves this way.
ReplyDeleteHe reminds me of Shayne Ward; or vice-versa. I think J.T. and Shayne Ward are very much alike, both of them prefer to sing with their falsetto, but let's say I like Shayne's voice more.
ReplyDeleteVery much envious over their control of their voice too. :\
Love me some J.T.
ReplyDeleteAdore his voice and his songs are just so damn catchy. *Runs off to Youtube*
Great review! I agree with everything, except his whole range is connected, the choice to sing in falsetto is an artistic choice and not because he cannot mix chest and head. However I don't hear him singing high notes with full voice a lot. Maybe that's why it's confusing.
ReplyDeleteOMG THANK YOU SO MUCH DIVA FOR THIS PROFILE!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAbhorred this man since "Sexyback". Hated him even more after "Carry Out". "The Golden Rule" was the last straw.
ReplyDeleteI can't sing for more than 5 minutes in head tone or head voice without being about to pass out...I can belt all day though...
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to the day, which I'm pretty sure will come, Justin will leave the chart crap behind.. Dude can sing for real and he seems to have the talent, musicality and attitude for a lifetime career in music.
ReplyDeleteI'm hearing good things about his new album, I need to check it out soon.
ReplyDeleteAn exceptional talent! He really does have the full package. He's hot, can sing and dance his ass off and writes, produces and releases music that's always on the money! Did I mention he was also HOT! lol
ReplyDeleteWhile you're at it, maybe a JC Chasez profile might be nice! The guy can sing his butt off.
ReplyDeleteI have never understod why folks love Justin Timberlake so much, it never really seems like he brings that much to the table to me. His vocals are ALWAYS a bit dry in my opinion, cute but dry... or maybe the word I'm looking for is moving.
ReplyDeleteBut he is a good entertainer, I liked his residency at Jimmy Kimmel.
hey
ReplyDeleteI knew he was a tenor before I came to this site to find out. he was an easy guess
ReplyDeleteTenors are so easy to recognize. If the man gets higher then C5 I'd probably say right away that, that one must be a tenor. Even though we have 'dem High baritones there you can easily recognize the difference between high baritone and tenor. High bariton= uses falsetto to get higher and sounds more masculine, tenor= usually mixing the head voice and falsetto and sound more female kind.
ReplyDeleteThat's why they love him, because he's a fun guy and a good entertainer with catchy music. Oh, and good-looking of course.
ReplyDeleteThat's far above whistle-tone range - it IS the whistle register at that point. You'd be hard-pressed to find a soprano able to use head voice above G6, much less a baritone.
ReplyDeletecoloratura sopranos usually can sing to G6 with much ease than a Lyric Soprano
ReplyDeleteColoraturas come in all sorts of different flavours, but by G6, even someone like Ingeborg Hallstein is using a whistle register. She's using a fuller, more connected version than most people are used to, but it's still a whistle - there's a slight switch around E6-F#6 for most HIGH sopranos, and the switch can happen as low as A5 for baritones (i.e. my voice type).
ReplyDeleteMine too, I'm Lyric. can sing high to C5. trying to develop a whistle but my voice teacher told me It will be very difficult and damaging to my voice and I should just forget about it.
ReplyDeleteWell, I have a pretty messed up voice, so whistles could be especially difficult if it's not screwed up. I do the Mariah 'sing through my voice' thing, otherwise, my voice tires out in ten minutes. However, Adam Lopez and Brett Manning added some pretty awesome ways to get into whistle register on Youtube - they're men, and both of them sing very well in their late 30s/early 40s. So, it's not damaging when done right - it's just really hard to do right.
ReplyDeleteYour voice will tire out easy because you sing with chest voice and not the mask voice, singing through the mask takes away the strain on the vocal cords. you will feel a strong ringing vibration in your facial cavity like the shaking of a jackhammer tool. the buzz feels nice and makes your singing effortless with ease of vocal runs and styling of any sort. You literally feel like a real instrument and when you hear your true voice you will feel a little emotional, proud and confident in your singing. you know about the mask cause there's so much I could say but it's online even with the exercises. I can however use my falsetto to imitate the whistle register but I think it would be viewed as too girly when guys use it so It's not needed much in singing anyways but good for ending a song on a high note to reprise the audience
ReplyDeleteI use the mask to sing ANYTHING...my old choir director said that the first time he sang correctly was when he felt his teeth vibrate, and that was the standard state for me. My voice is honestly messed up because for a number of years before I learned how to sing correctly, I developed some nodules that mean my voice is going to tire out quickly for the rest of my life. It lets me do a LOT more tonally and range-wise, but it sometimes strips me of a mixed belt and makes my tone airy if I've been singing a lot that day or that week. It's not a big problem - a day or two of vocal rest, and I'm at the top of my game again. The real disadvantage is simply that I legitimately can no longer use pure chest voice above D4, having to go into middle voice, which is probably a good thing more than a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I understand what you mean, it was terrible using the wrong technique and vocal attack for years, I just found my mask voice recently and when I felt the ease and less restriction it took me to sing a clear note I realized I was doing a long of damage then. for now it feels like blowing feathers through a pipe rather than rocks and I can feel the air pressure pass through my nostrils. I can speak properly, easier and longer. The mask is very important. I try not to argue with anyone, shout, or over-speak cause those things can damage your voice if you see it as an asset for a career in music
ReplyDeleteJustin's vocals in 'Holy Grail' are amazing imo
ReplyDeleteHe sings in head voice, not falsetto.
ReplyDeleteFalsetto and whistle register do not count as part of a singers range, he has a standard tenors range of 2 octaves to c5
ReplyDelete