BTS's Jungkook Doesn't "Like" His Natural Voice

BTS‘s Jungkook has repeatedly been praised for his “flawless vocals,” and it’s even earned him crowning as “best vocalist.”

Jungkook's last note and adlibs in Boy With Luv are chef's kiss. King of live vocals and adlibspic.twitter.com/3o8CiKQY1l

— Jungkook SNS✨ (@Jungkook_SNS) March 13, 2022

No wait… he swallowed a stack of CDs. Yeah, that's more like it.

— Lea Salonga (@MsLeaSalonga) March 10, 2022

Yet, he still has insecurities about his own voice.

Following BTS’s anthology album PROOF, Weverse Magazine has released individual interviews for each member. In the interview with maknae Jungkook, he talks about his hesitancy to release solo music, his English skills, The GRAMMYs, and more.

Interviewer Myungseok Kang began the interview by discussing Jungkook’s contribution to Proof. He asked, “Did you have to do anything special when recording each song?”

I mostly just listen for the mood of a song and then sing it—there’s no exact way to define what I do. But to put it simply, I’d say I sang ‘For Youth’ in a very sorrowful way, ‘Run BTS’ in a way that sounds like we did a long time ago and ‘Yet To Come’ with a similar feeling to ‘Life Goes On.’

I kept thinking I wanted to try recording again. I think I could do better, just that things were a little hectic when we recorded.

— Jungkook

Jungkook explained that he adapts his voice depending on the song. None of it is his natural voice usually. So, Myungseok Kang pointed out that Jungkook often speaks about his singing approach even in live broadcasts with ARMY.

You spend a lot of time on V LIVE talking about your approach to singing. Were your thoughts on vocals reflected in the way you recorded yours?

— Myungseok Kang

| BTS/VLIVE

Jungkook revealed that he actually made a discovery after recording the new songs. He believes that “the feeling is more than your vocal technique.”

It turns out I discovered something new after I finished recording them: When you’re recording, the feeling is more important than your vocal technique. I consider what makes my voice sound good when it’s heard live versus when it’s recorded, so the live version and the studio version are a little different, too.

— Jungkook

Myungseok Kang noticed that Jungkook’s “voice seems a little denser than it did when” he sang the English lyrics for recent releases “Dynamite,” “Butter,” and “Permission to Dance.”

You make ‘Yet To Come’ sound passionate right from the beginning, for example. Why the change?

— Myungseok Kang

The maknae is still very much trying to “find his voice.” Rather than embellishing, he is trying to be more sincere in his singing.

I used to make recording the studio versions my focus, but lately I’m trying to make my voice sound better without embellishing it too much, even just using my speaking voice. So I’m reflecting that in my voice. I think I was trying to embellish less and convey more sincerity.

— Jungkook

Jungkook’s covers of Park Hyo Shin‘s “Chilly, Windy Night in 1991” and Golden‘s “Hate Everything” posted to Instagram were mentioned in that it portrays a different style than we’re used to hearing from him. Myungseok Kang commented that it “felt like something entirely new.”

Your vocals sounded like your speaking voice, so I thought maybe you became more interested in that style of voice.

— Myungseok Kang

Jungkook reiterated that he attempts to come out of the embellishment when singing but instead focuses on his natural voice. So, no matter what style he sings, people will recognize he is a “good singer.”

I kind of feel like I want my singing—my voice—to sound better. When it comes to vocal technique, I always used to embellish my voice, so I thought it would be nice if I could sing well even when it’s with a more natural voice. I want people to consider my voice good even when I’m singing in a way that emulates casual speech, so these days I’m mainly practicing singing in my speaking voice. I mean, I’m practicing using my voice just as it is.

— Jungkook

He was then asked, “Do you like to sing in your natural voice?” Jungkook surprisingly answered that he doesn’t really. Yet, he has become “turned off” by his original more “polished” sound after time.

To be honest, there’s a lot of times when I don’t like it. Even I think I sounded a little over the top or tried to make my voice sound extremely polished in my old performances when I hear them, but after trying to only sing with my natural voice for some time, I’m starting to feel sort of turned off by it. I know I can make a prettier sound, too, but I’m just trying to sing that way.

— Jungkook

Myungseok Kang noted Jungkook’s range, including natural voice, in collaboration with Suga for 7FATES: CHAKHO OST “Stay Alive.” He said, “You sang ‘Stay Alive’ closer to your natural voice, with some parts undeniably sounding like SUGA’s, and you also challenged yourself on some parts to sing in a higher pitch.”

Yoongi didn’t ask me to do it that way or anything. We were really happy the recording came out as well as it did (laughs) but it was difficult, to be honest.

— Jungkook

Jungkook revealed the hardships countered when recording “Stay Alive.” He felt like it “wasn’t perfect.”

Recording it was really tough. It was hard because it wasn’t perfect, and because I still couldn’t do it despite trying it so many times. I more or less blamed myself. The song was a good choice, and the recording went well, but things didn’t go that smoothly.

— Jungkook

The maknae revealed his perfectionism when it came to music throughout the interview. He even imagined what it might be like to sing one day without any worries.

How freeing and fun would it be to get up on stage and be able to sing the perfect song? Completely worry free, just like in my imagination.

— Jungkook