Jazmine Sullivan
Vocal Type: Lyric-Mezzo Soprano
Vocal Range: 3 Octaves 2 notes and a semitone (A2-C#6)
Whistle Register: No
Vocal Pluses: A dark warm, rich, delicate and characterful voice that is best used at small to medium volumes. The voice has solid agility in all registers and is well connected between A2-G#5.
Tessitura: Eb4-Eb5
The lower register is where the voice shines most, being able to project below C3. The lower register is dark and dense -some may call it androgynous- and can carry rich support down to Bb2, live and A2 in the studio.
The lower middle register carries the same darkness, density and richness of the lower register, as can be heard on song such as
If you Dare,
Veins and
Fear. It can be lightened significantly, hear
Brand New. As we near the first passagio (Above E4), the voice brightens significantly, losing much of its density but maintaining its richness and, to an extent, some of the darkness. The lower middle also can be projected into a solid mid-belt that begins to bloom in size at E4/F4. It is evident in
Stupid Girls during the second verse. The lower middle begins to pick up volume around G4 as demoed in the belts of
#Hoodlove, the sustained A#4 belts in
Stupid Girls, and the B4s in
If You Dare. The lower middle also can be wielded at smaller volumes, in a "half-voice" as heard in
Masterpiece, and
Brand New.
The upper middle is bright, rich in color but fragile. The voice can carry a medium volume with effort but access the upper middle via the mask. Lately, her belts have been placed slightly higher and accessed by a more relaxed form of mixing to achieve more resonance. The sound is solid up to D5 before the voice becomes stringy around the middle passagio. The voice loses size above E5 and the belts from D#5 and above become slightly coarse. As in her lower middle, she has shown great ease singing in "Half Voice" in the upper middle as can be heard in the E5s in
Brand New, the D#5s and E5 in
Let It Burn.
The upper register is seldom accessed but Jazmine has reached C#6 in the studio, sustained a A#5 in the studio and sung up to G#5 live. The highest belted note was a G#5 in the song
Masterpiece was was accessed by a head dominated mix. The upper register is coordinated well but does not retain the quality of the lower middle or upper middle. The true head voice of Jazmine is warm, thick and retains the delicate nature of the voice as a whole.
Vocal Negatives:At times the phrasing in the upper middle can be muddy [
#Hoodlove]. The voice can sound fragile when pushed around the middle passagio (E5s, F#5s and G#5 in
Masterpiece, The F5 in
#Hoodlove.)
