Jun 26 2008
The Voices of Arashi
Well, I’ve done it. I’ve assembled various clip of Arashi’s members singing in order to look more closely at their individual voices. Arashi presented some different challenges than I had with KAT-TUN (THIS POST). For one thing, I’m afraid that Arashi lip-syncs more often. Also, a surprisingly high percentage of Arashi’s songs either don’t even have solo sections, or they have only one and it goes to Ohno. Finally, KAT-TUN are, on average, much better singers than Arashi. Ohno is better than most, if not all of KAT-TUN, but most of KAT-TUN is better than the rest of Arashi. Anyway, that’s my objective opinion after critically reviewing lots and lots of footage to put together both of these posts. Read both posts, and you can decide if you agree with me or not. Don’t worry about Arashi though. If this were a personality contest, they’d win by a mile. Of course, if this were a sexiness/looks contest I’d have to go back to KAT-TUN, but for dancing it’d probably be Arashi, and I’m getting way off topic here, so I’d better end this train of thought right now.
We’ll go with AMNOS order.
Aiba has the most distinct voice in Arashi. It’s soft, breathy, and somewhat feminine. Personally, I’ve come to really love his voice, but I can recognize that listening to Aiba sing could take some getting used to. However, his voice is very sweet and fits him well, and he’s more often in tune than some of the others. You know how if you get really emotional about something (be it happy or sad) you get choked up and it’s hard to sing and especially hard to sing loudly? I think Aiba’s voice kind of sounds like that all the time. As sensitive as he is, that could very well be what is actually going on. In an interview about his last solo he even said, “While I was recording it I just couldn’t stop smiling, and I think you can hear that in my voice”.
Online Videos by Veoh.com
Matsujun. Sigh. Do you know the pain I went through to make this video? I was looking so hard for clips of him singing that didn’t make me either giggle or cringe. I was only somewhat successful. I’m sorry, but this is the best I can do. I don’t want to be too hard on him, but his nasal tone is just horrible, and he sings off key more often than not. It’s just a good thing he’s so pretty and charming. I will admit that his singing has improved somewhat. Sometimes he sounds like he’s really singing instead of just whining into the microphone. The other reason I can tolerate watching him sing is that he just looks so HAPPY when doing so. He sounds bad, but I can almost forgive him because he’s so darn cute.
Online Videos by Veoh.com
Nino is the second best singer in Arashi, after Ohno. I’d also say he’s the most improved. He can harmonize well with the other members, probably because he has a lot of knowledge of music, being accomplished at both guitar and piano as well as doing a lot of song writing. He has good range and his voice is relatively strong, for Arashi anyway. I’ll subtract points, because when he’s off key (not too often) he’s way off key, and because occasionally he gets into an irritating nasal sound, particularly on upbeat songs, though never near as bad as Matsujun, thank God. I really love him when he sings ballads, because he knows how to put a lot of emotion into his singing. That first clip completely breaks my heart. Oh, and I think it’s important to note that he sang that part in “Rock You” (last clip) immediately after making a mad dash all the way across Tokyo Dome with Ohno in hot pursuit.
Online Videos by Veoh.com
Ohno is a very good singer, indisputably the best in Arashi. Nice smooth tone, good stregnth and range, and to top it all off, he’s amazingly consistent. He can be throwing crazy dance moves all over the place, but you’d hardly know he’s even out of breath when he opens his mouth to sing. With Ohno, it’s honestly really hard to tell whether or not he’s lipsyncing sometimes. Lipsyncing or live, he almost sounds the same. Naturally, he has a lot of exposed, sometimes almost a’cappella, solo sections in Arashi songs. Can I think of a real weakness? Maybe that his sound is a little safe, meaning there isn’t much of an edge to his voice, but that’s just nitpicking really.
Online Videos by Veoh.com
As the rapper of the group, I neither expect nor require Sho to be able to sing very well. He’s not too bad, but he’s not too good either. His voice pretty much stays in the lower range, and he gets to sounding strained quickly if the song takes him out of that zone. Also, he always seems to sound hoarse when he sings, even when he’s not. Weird. Anyway, sometimes he does melodic raps, like in Pikanchi Double (2nd clip), and his voice is just perfect for that, but I think I’m more comfortable with him staying away from straight up singing.
Online Videos by Veoh.com
And that’s the most work I’ve ever put into an entry for this blog. Weeeeee! Oh, and BTW, I’m totally in love with the new single’s B-side “How to Fly”. Here’s the download. You really should give it a listen, ne? How to Fly- DOWNLOAD
~Celestia~
omedeto! you’ve managed complete this project. Are your ears ok? Listening to jun must have hurt your ears. hehehe
This entry have helped me identify their voices. And despite knowing their weaknesses esp. Jun’s I still love them and will support them! Thanks!
I’m falling for their How to Fly too. hehehe
I don’t know much of KAT-TUN so I won’t comment about them.
I have hard time deciding who is better between Jin and Ohno. But I totally agree with you on Ohno is better than the most and overall Kattun is a better singing group than Arashi, while Arashi is a better dancing group than Kattun.
As far as the group chemistry goes, I have to give that to Arashi. I feel like they are more together and harmonic. This is just my personal opinion, please don’t get offended in any way.
Thank you for spending so much time making the vids. You are awesome.
lol. i’m not offended. It’s easy to see that Arashi has better chemistry than KAT-TUN. Thanks for reading!
^^* Wow.. I never even thought of Arashi as a “dancing” group..;; Prolly b/c I compare them with Korean groups but.. that’s another story… –a (Plus, I don’t really listen to Kat-Tun so I can’t compare..) Hehe.. I used to think that Sho was the #2 singer after Ohno.. only b/c Nino’s voice kinda annoyed me… but I see what you mean about him sounding hoarse. Hmm… Prolly needs more voice lessons… (or maybe it’s b/c of how he raps.. T.T) Anyways~ Awesome post.. ^^*
as a HUGE fan of arashi, i’d still haveta agree on what you said here. really appreciate the work you’ve put in, btw! i’m so proud of ohno…esp considering how he began as a Jr. and how unpopular he was. i def. love arashi more b/c they have an awesome personality! its so clear how funny and amusing they r, esp on their shows. to me, the fact that they appeal to their audience that way ( not just trying to be sexy all the time) and not trying to be pretentious, is what makes them better than the other groups =]
I COMPLETELY agree with your analysis of all the voices!
Lol, from the very beginning, I couldn’t understand why people fangirl-ed over Jun so much-I really disliked his voice-but his cuteness does make up for it, I guess =]
While Ohno is like a revered being, so…PERFECT, Nino is my favorite of the group <3 I love his ballads, and his personality xD
I could never really understand what made Aiba’s voice unusual; I thought it was beautiful from the very beginning xD Aww, Aiba-chan, <3
And I LOVED Sho’s rap part in Pikanchi Double; that’s my favorite pv, I think, or at least one of them~ He’s a good rapper; I guess since most of his solos during songs have his rapping, I never paid that much attention to his actual singing…
Good job on this project!!
I really like reading your blog!
^Thank you! Nino’s my favorite out of Arashi too.
Thank you
hey there
got here through your Voices of KAT-TUN post. XD
I’m really really glad we had the same opinion about certain things ~ !
As I was reading this, I felt like, FINALLY. I REALLY AM NOT WEIRD. :))
Well…for one thing, A lot of my fangirl friends dislike Aiba and Nino’s voice D:
which was .. yea .. pretty hard for me to accept. and it made me doubt if I really had an ear for what a good voice is. lolololz.
This really was intellectually stimulating
:)) I appreciate your hard work very much ~!
and because I read in one of the comments…
I got surprised :)) Arashi was always the better singing group than KAT-TUN for me. and KAT-TUN the better dancing group than Arashi. weird. :)) I guess for the singing thing it’s because arashi’s voices harmonize better ? and there is more equal distribution I guess? Since yea, in KAT-TUN , akame leads the vocals way too much most of the time. For dancing… mmmm.. I think it’s mainly because of the nature of Arashi’s songs where there aren’t really *~dance~* steps required. I mean. usually too simple steps ? Where as KAT-TUN have a lot more dance/hard songs I guess. XD
Hello got to your post by surfing on Arashi and such.
I think you’re right on the personality. Arashi members win by a mile when it comes to personality. I also like the way they perform on concerts. On variety shows, they are just these down-to-earth guys who you want to hang out and chat with. On concert stage, they are suddenly emitting that superstar aura..
I love the fact that they harmonize better, too. KATTUN members may have good voices and they can do well individually as opposed to being a group as their voices
do not mix that well.
As for dancing, I think that Arashi dances better. Maybe because they always try to incorporate some dance routine even though the song is a ballad (like One Love with Ballerina dance steps, give me a break)
But believe me, I wouldnt be saying the same thing 6 months ago. Something changed within the past few months. ARASHI were given better songs (finally!) to showcase their voices and dance skills. I’m talking about TRUTH and BELIEVE. When I first watched TRUTH, I realized that I am totally a converted fan not because I watched Matsujun in some drama but because I genuinely like the song itself and even the crazy dance steps they have for Truth. BEcause of this one edgy song, they totally changed my perception of them.
I hope they continue to get better songs like Believe and Truth. I really love the more mature sound they have lately.
yah!!! I agree most of it…but not at all….!!!!
I think this over and over again but for me ARASHI wins in huge margin in comes to vocal…why do i say sooo…coz I listen to them everyday…and I also do that to kattun and other JE grp. for not being biased… but Arashi’s combination of voices stand all most to me!!!…..kattun have nice song…yes,truly that I’m addicted to some of their song but Arashi has balanced voice
Aiba- breathy voice( i don’t know if you will like it…but it grews to me…it’s cute..he’s voice fits techno music)
Matsujun- soo much Nasally
Nino- has tiny trembling voice…(and yah first time I heard him…it irritates me)
Ohno- I think he’s the best from JE not to mention his dancing skills kills me…He balanced Arashi’s voice…esp. matsujun’s nasally voice
Sho- has a low voice and he’s the best rapper for me among JE…not being biased but the way he deliver his rap impressed me and his rap are soo meaningful and aspiring!!!..he’s one of the reason why I got into JE coz he gives Arashi’s music diff. or above others Je’s music
Plus….I really think Arashi’s Ohno can blow all kattun..It only takes 1 member of Arashi to outburst them all….!!!(but it’s true..I’m saying it as a listener)
kame and Jin can sing but they’re not that good singers…esp. with their LIVE performance at least Arashi can hold their Notes well…and kattun’s dance messed up most of the time…they’re not synchronized…!!!
and BONUS (I know that I’m off Topic but I’ll just want to put some info. why I prefer them out of other JE grps.)..gomen!!!!
Arashi members have great Actors of Japan’s generation
and their FRIENDSHIP are one of the reason why I’m still following them….I think you will really heard that to their music coz their voices produces refreshing Souls!!!….You will feel it!!!…that they’re United!!!
First, I really like Oh Nos voice. Everyone is equal after that.
I don’t understand how people keep on criticizing Jun’s voice though. I love to sing and modesty aside, I can sing. I’m very picky about male singing voices. Jun doesn’t have good control over his voice. But the nasal tone doesn’t bother me. I can easily recognize his voice and I don’t know why but I seem to always look forward to it (like I melt when I hear it) hehe just like i do when it’s Oh No’s turn ^_^v
Well everybody has preferences I suppose. ^_^
i can’t see the videos (my laptop’s working up again).
but i more or less agree with your analysis.
i don’t know bout KAT-TUN, but so far from the songs I’ve heard their vocals are pretty good.
Aiba: I love his voice. There’s something about his voice that is somewhat enchanting to me. and he is one of those who is more often in tune. (i don’t really remember him going out of tune except when he was singing kinki kids’ aisareru yori aishitai for a bit.) plus he can sound really sexy like in “right back to you” or “believe” or “tokei jikake no umbrella” even. and even though people say that he is a bad dancer because of the many mistakes he makes, i actually think he’s really good. if you pay attention you’ll see that he often twist and turns which makes the dance moves more complex than how the other members do it.
Nino: what should I say? sometimes I love his voice, other times i really dislike it. I can’t exactly categorize which type of songs he sings well at or bad at. good would be “be with you” “niji” “gimmick game” “everything”(I especially loved his solo here). bad would be “blue” “pikanchi double”
Ohno: ohno’s the best singer (though aiba’s voice is my personal fav). but i does amaze me (a lot) at how he can dance and sing and still sound perfect. he’s wonderful nuff said.
Jun: sometimes i wonder how it’ll sound like if ohno sang “hyakunen saki mo ai wo chikau yo” in One Love rather than Jun. There are times when his nasal voice sound good such as the case with Pikanchi double or LIFE. or even in One Love when (in the rare case) he manages to sing it in tune. but most often he’s off key. but anyway he’s an amazing actor and he can dance pretty well too. (trust me i have no problem over his voice. It’s the off-key thing that makes it a problem).
Sho: deep. that’s my impression. but he better stay off high pitched vocals. but i do have a problem with his acting. which i think is super stiff. the other members are great actors. but i have some sort of problem with his.
wahh I love your compilation!! I think that Ohno is probably the best singer in Arashi ^_^ just wondering, what is the first song that you used for Sho’s? it sounds really good!
I was just searching google and saw this!
I love all of the voices in Arashi. What I don’t understand is that people find Jun’s voice annoying. Honestly, I really really love that voice! Especially his solo parts in “I Want Somebody”. Just check that song out (Live, if you can find it). Or listen to La Familia by Jun.
I might be weird for loving his voice, but I really love it.
And I also love when Sho sings, high or low, I find his voice calming!
Anyway, I find all of the boys as very good singers!
But I guess it depends on the listener, really