Musical Analysis of "Blue" by yung kai

Focused Musical Element: Vocal Timbre

by: Carissa Lee

"Blue" by yung kai premiered on Apple Music on August 1, 2024, but a couple months later it became known worldwide. After becoming a viral sensation on multiple media platforms, the song has accumulated over 500 million streams across multiple streaming platforms. Although the song may seem simple or seem to only have a cool electric guitar riff, there is so much more to dive into!

In the song, yung kai maintains a consistent overall vocal style, but the subtle variations in his vocal timbre helps differentiate the verse, bridge, and the chorus. 

When the singer changes vocal ranges, the instrumentation or accompaniment pattern changes as well. As yung kai sings in his chest voice during the verse (shown below), there is a faster accompaniment pattern, playing on each eighth note. But when he changes vocal timbre to his head voice in the chorus, the guitar begins strumming only on the down beat, opening up the space for the vocal melody to resonate. Since the head voice is in a higher register, it stands out more because the wavelengths are shorter and faster. This is how yung kai conveys a dreamy and airy vocal timbre.

	LYRICS	Drum kit	Electric Guitar lick	Guitar eighths 1 la li  2 la li	Guitar  Strums	Bass 1 (2) li 1 2 la li	Vocal Timbre
Intro
Verse	Your morning eyes, I could stare like watching stars I could walk you by, and I'll tell without a thought						Chest
Verse	You'd be mine, would you mind if I took your hand tonight? Know you're all that I want this life						Chest
Chorus 1	I'll imagine we fell in love I'll nap under moonlight skies with you I think I'll picture us, you with the waves The ocean's colors on your face						Head
Chorus 1	I'll leave my heart with your air So let me fly with you Will you be forever with me?						Chest

The singer sings the verse and the bridge in his chest voice, which has a richer tone. He sings the lyrics in a conversational tone, articulating the hard consonants in the words, which makes the song sound less legato and more separated. Although it isn’t a “punchy” vocal sound, it still has a longing feeling. The chest voice timbre blends in the with instrumentation and helps the phrase have a fuller tone.

Verse

Especially during the bridge, the singer elongates the words at the end of his phrases to create a "pulling" sensation in his voice and adds to the sentimental feeling of yearning. These words are shown below by a blue highlighter. The words are held until right before the start of the next line, connecting the two phrases together.

Bridge

Yung kai also slides the pitches of certain words, shown below by the green highlighted words. It creates a "scoop" effect on each of the words, which encapsulates a dreamy feeling of instability and forward direction. It follows the pattern of an ocean wave melodically, where there are intervals and steps up and down the scale. The vocal timbre adds to the contrast between the bridge and the following chorus as the chorus suddenly jumps back to head voice, but with less accompanying instruments. 

Bridge	My love will always stay by you I'll keep it safe, so don't you worry a thing I'll tell you I love you more
Bridge	It's stuck with you forever, so promise you won't let it go I'll trust the universe will always bring me to you

In contrast, the chorus sounds much lighter because he is using his head voice. This creates an airier sound in the vocal timbre, adding to the dreamy effect of the lyrics and the high electric guitar melody. In contrast to the fullness of the chest voice, the head voice seems to float above the instrumental accompaniment. 

Chorus

Yung kai's "blue" demonstrates how vocal timbre can play an important role in shaping the phrases and emotional feeling of a song, whether it may be intense or dreamy. Even though the song may appear simple at first, the instrumentation, rhythm, and vocal timbre intertwine together to create various creative ideas.