Jorja Smith (6,687 views)

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Jorja Smith
Vocal Range: E3 – E♭6
Summary: Undeniably one of the strongest voices in modern soul nowadays. Her first album Lost & Found, released in 2018, was critically acclaimed, and gave her a Grammy nomination. Smith has a naturally rich and girly tone and an incredible ease with head voice, being able to hit the lower sixth octave with no struggle. Her lows are weak and she rarely uses them, as she prefers staying above the third octave. She manipulates her voice by making it darker and her belts are heavy, which implies it’s forced, but it helps her producing the soulful sound that many legends have used in the past. Although the use of that bad technique can lead to vocal fatigue, she never stops improving and somehow, finds a way to healthier vocals. Despite her young age, she has established herself as a talented woman, whose music is very reminiscent of the early 2000’s.

Significant High Notes:
E♭6 ("Let Me Down")
C6 ("Lost & Found")
B♭5 ("Something’s In The Way")
G♯5 ("By Any Means", "Imperfect Circle", "Tomorrow", "Wandering Romance")
G5 ("Lost & Found")
F♯5 ("By Any Means", "On Your Own")
F5 ("Don’t Watch Me Cry", "Follow The Leader", "Imperfect Circle", "Kiss Me In The Morning", "Lost", "Tomorrow"), "Where Did I Go?")
E5 ("February 3rd", "Goodbyes", "I Am", "Lost & Found", "On My Mind", "Something’s In The Way")
E♭5 ("Beautiful Little Fools", "By Any Means", "Let Me Down", "Man Down" live in the Lounge, "Reason In Disguise")
D5 ("Blue Lights", "Imperfect Circle", "Kiss Me In The Morning", "Loose Ends", "Lost & Found", "A Prince", "Rose Rouge", "Something’s In The Way")
C♯5 ("Don’t Watch Me Cry", "February 3rd", "Go 2.0", "On My Mind", "People", "Reason In Disguise", "Wandering Romance")
C5 ("Come Over", "Cry Me A River" live in the Lounge, "Get It Together", "Goodbyes", "Let Me Love You" Radio 1's Piano Sessions, "Lost", "So Lonely", "The One")
B4 ("Be Honest", "Blue Lights", "I Am", "Kiss Me In The Morning", "Location (Remix)", "Loose Ends", "Slow Down", "Teenage Fantasy", "Tomorrow", "Where Did I Go?")

Significant Low Notes:
A3 ("Be Honest", "Blue Lights", "Carry Me Home", "February 3rd", "Goodbyes", "Loose Ends", "Something’s In The Way", "Teenage Fantasy", "Where Did I Go")
G♯3 ("All The Stars" live in the Lounge, "By Any Means", "Don’t Watch Me Cry", "Get It Together", "Man Down" live in the Lounge, "On My Mind", "On Your Own", "Tyrant", "Wandering Romance")
G3 ("Be Honest", "Follow The Leader", "Goodbyes", "Killing Me Softly" live for Like A Version, "Let Me Down", "Let Me Love You" Radio 1's Piano Sessions, "My World", "Lifeboats (Freestyle)", "Lost & Found", "Slow Down", "So Lonely", "Teenage Fantasy", "Tomorrow")
F♯3 ("By Any Means", "February 3rd", "I Am", "Location (Remix)", "Tyrant", "Wandering Romance")
F3 ("All The Stars" live in the Lounge, "A Prince", "Get It Together", "Let Me Down", "So Lonely", "Teenage Fantasy")
E3 ("Cry Me A River" live in the Lounge, "Slow Down")
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• Underlines mark notes that are obscured in the song mix.
• Blue marks head voice notes or high falsetto.
• Bold marks impressive notes or passages.

Vocal condition: With the release of her first EP Project 11 in 2016, Smith was already showing a mature and soulful voice, it was healthy, but her runs were poor. Even though they’re a bit better now, she still needs to work on them to be consistent.
In 2018, as the result of an extensive touring schedule, Smith's voice started sounding tired and worn. Voice cracks became more frequent, and her upper register often appeared to be strained and hoarse, implying she was pushing her voice too much without getting proper rest. Because she was overusing her voice, it also became harder for her to stay on key.
After Smith started working on a better technique, her performances in 2019 have shown noticeable improvements in agility and support, and vibrato has started to show up in Jorja's upper fifth octave. She's definitely on the right track.

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{Notewatching Credits, Special Thanks & Other Info}
_{Thanks to BananaBaritone , who wrote parts of the the vocal condition, and searched for live notes.}

SPOILER: Click to show

{Vocal Range Timeline}
_{Project 11 (EP) (2016) : F3 - B♭5
Lost & Found (2018) : F3 - C6}