Justin Bieber: Voice Profile and Vocal Range (2022)

Range: A2 – C#5 – F5 (2 octaves and a minor sixth)^[1]https://therangeplanet.proboards.com/thread/1654/justin-bieber

Vocal Type: Light-Lyric Tenor

Vocal Rating: Singer

Analysis: A teen throb turned Grammy Award-winning musician, Justin Bieber is one of the most successful musicians of the millennium. As such, he also has one of the most well-known voices in music. A confident vocalist, Bieber has a light, smoky and warm timbre throughout each register of his voice. It’s agile, capable of melisma, and seamless transitions from chest voice to falsetto. While his reputation as a vocalist was somewhat unjustly damaged by his public vocal transition during puberty, Bieber is a capable musician.

Having begun his career at the age of 15, his voice underwent significant transformation within the public eye. His early recordings are expectedly that of a boy soprano; thereafter he settled into a tenor’s range, as evidenced by his naturally bright, boyish timbre. Given his small vocal output and size, Bieber fits the definition of a light lyric tenor. He demonstrates natural ease all the way up to C5, a good indicator of his fach.

One of the ways in which Bieber achieves his signature sound is by experimenting with his placement. Instead of a standard forward placement that allows the voice to “pop,” Bieber typically places his voice towards the back of the throat, a trait that he developed later in his career as a way to darken (and mature) his sound. He also adds air and vocal fry to color his voice, a recent and noticeable trend in pop music.^[2]Songs From A Suitcase, Vocal Coach reacts Justin Bieber | WOW! He was…

Perhaps one of Bieber’s strongest musical attributes – but also underacknowledged – is his strong internal sense of rhythm.^[3]Sam Johnson, Voice Teacher Reacts to Peaches – Justin Bieber (NPR Tiny Desk) This allows him to perform dance routines and other instruments with low mental focus, and dedicate more energy to other aspects of his performance. In virtually all his live performances he is in the pocket, something many pop vocalists tend to struggle with. This rhythm is a musical pre-requisite for R&B stylings, a genre that Bieber has an adoration for and wouldn’t be able to do Justice without. While he also has demonstrated a good sense of intonation, his occasionally apathetic approach to performance has caused that to waver.

Bieber tends to use his lower register sparingly, opting for softer passages as opposed to ones that require more projection. However, he has shown the capacity to project down to B2. As he ascends, his voice gains a lighter and warmer timbre, while maintaining the same smoky texture seen in the lower register. He has significant ease in the tenor tessitura, showing little effort on his notes up to F4. A light head voice mix brings his mixed voice consistently up to B4 in “Love Yourself.” As he approaches his first bridge, Bieber doesn’t warm the sound as much as he potentially could, opting for a thinner, nasally sound that has become somewhat of a trademark.^[4]Sam Johnson, Justin Bieber ft. Quavo: Intentions | Voice Teacher Reacts Here, he relies more on his nasal resonators to support his sound.^[5]Supra, note 2. He has a light and sweet falsetto which has been gaining stamina over time, although he doesn’t seem to use the entirety of its range. His smoking has caused his voice to lose some colors and thin out, but this hasn’t been a significant issue.

Overall Bieber is a respectable vocalist, with more prowess than may meet the eye. While he still has some room to grow and more discipline to develop, his natural musicality has and will carry him far.

What do you think of Justin Bieber’s voice? Would you add anything to our analysis? Let us know by commenting below!