How to Sing Like Ricky (formerly ZB1): Vocal Range, Low-Register Tone & the Technique Behind It

Singing like Ricky, formerly of ZEROBASEONE and now active with AND2BLE, is less about having a naturally low voice and more about mastering two specific skills: deliberate chest resonance that lets a low tone project without sounding muffled, and a flexible mix voice that carries that low base smoothly into faster ad-lib and riff work. Once you understand the mechanics behind that combination, his catalog becomes trainable even if your own voice sits higher.

Safety note: None of the techniques here should cause throat soreness, a pressed feeling in the larynx, or hoarseness lasting beyond 24 hours. A rich low-register tone is produced through chest resonance and breath support, not by pushing the voice artificially low or squeezing the throat. If you feel strain, reduce volume and rest. Consult an ENT specialist for hoarseness lasting more than two weeks.

Ricky's Vocal Profile

Ricky first became widely known as a contestant on Boys Planet and a member of ZEROBASEONE, whose group promotional activities concluded on May 26, 2026. He is now active with a new group, AND2BLE. Across that timeline, no verified numeric vocal range for him has circulated the way it has for artists with a longer solo track record, so this guide anchors on his documented tone and technique rather than a specific figure.

What is consistently reported is his voice type: a naturally low voice, described as rich in tone, with a baritone-leaning character that suits R&B and ballad material particularly well. Listeners and fellow performers have also noted the wide range he handles smoothly — meaning his flexibility above that low base is a recurring observation, even without a documented numeric ceiling.

A note on accuracy: because detailed vocal-range data for him is thin, this article deliberately avoids stating any octave or note-level figure. Instead, it focuses on the two mechanisms that define his sound and that you can actually train:

• Chest resonance projection — a low, rich tone that stays clear and present rather than muffled, built through deliberate resonance activation rather than natural pitch alone.
• Flexibility above a low base — the reported ease with which he moves through his range despite starting from a naturally low tessitura, which points to a well-connected mix voice.

Ricky's Signature Songs — by Vocal Challenge

Approaching his moments by what they demand rather than by popularity gives you a training order. Transpose any of these into a key that fits your voice.

Start at the top of the table and move down only as each technique becomes reliable. Sustaining pitch accuracy on an unedited live moment is the destination, not the starting line.

The 3 Techniques Behind Ricky's Sound

Chest resonance activation for a low, rich tone

This is the most consistently reported element of his voice: a naturally low pitch that reads as full and present rather than dark and muffled. That clarity comes from deliberate chest resonance activation — engaging the resonating spaces around the chest and throat so a low tone still carries. The most common mistake when imitating a low-register voice is simply speaking or singing quieter and lower, which loses projection instead of gaining it. The chest voice and head voice guide breaks down how resonance and registration work together in the lower voice.

Mix voice flexibility above the low base

The "wide range he handles smoothly" comes from a mix voice that connects cleanly above his chest register, so he isn't forced to choose between a strained chest push and an abrupt flip into a lighter production. Training this means isolating the transition zone above your comfortable low range and working it slowly before adding tempo. The mix voice practice guide covers the coordination this depends on.

Ad-lib and riff control from a low starting point

Flashy ad-libs in group title tracks ask a low, resonant voice to move quickly through short melodic runs without losing tone quality — a genuinely harder task than riffing from a higher, lighter register, since low-register runs lose clarity faster under speed. This calls for solfege-level interval accuracy paired with clean consonant articulation so the riff stays intelligible rather than blurring together.

How to Train Toward Ricky's Style

Step 1 — Find your comfortable key first

Run a range test from your lowest to highest comfortable note before working on any of his parts. His style is built on chest resonance and registration technique rather than an unusually extreme tessitura, so nearly any part can be transposed to fit your own voice.

Step 2 — Study the low-register tone target, not just the melody

Pick one section — the "Over Me" solo stage is a clear example — and listen three times: once for melody, once for where the chest resonance sits, and once for how clearly the consonants come through at low pitch. Mark whether the phrase relies on sustained resonance or quick riff movement before you try to sing it.

Step 3 — Build chest resonance before tone imitation

A rich low-register tone depends on activating chest resonance deliberately. In Bloom Vocal, E-2 (Chest Resonance Activation) trains exactly this foundation — projecting a low tone without letting it go muffled or pressed. Without this step, imitating a low voice just sounds quiet and unsupported.

Step 4 — Train mix voice flexibility above the low base

Work C-3 (Mix Voice Foundation) so the connection above your chest register stays smooth, then add B-6 (Solfege Progressive Patterns) to build the interval accuracy that ad-libs and riffs demand. Layer in G-1 (Clear Lyric Diction) so consonants stay crisp even as the runs speed up — the combination that keeps a low-register riff intelligible instead of blurred.

Step 5 — Run an AI feedback loop on a single phrase

Choose one 8-bar passage, record it, and use Bloom Vocal's AI coaching to score pitch accuracy, breath support, and register consistency. Compare playback to the original for resonance and diction first, riff speed second. The AI surfaces habits — like losing projection when trying to sound lower — that are difficult to detect by self-listening alone.

Check Your Cover with AI

Imitating a low, resonant tone by ear has a ceiling: you can't reliably hear whether your own low register is projecting clearly or just going quiet while you sing. Upload a recording of a Ricky-style passage — a resonant low verse or a low-register ad-lib run — and Bloom Vocal's AI scores your pitch accuracy, breath support, register transitions, rhythm, and expression on a 1–5 rubric, then recommends the specific exercises to fix your weakest area first. It turns "that didn't quite land" into "your low-register projection dropped out under the riff — drill E-2 and B-6."

For a broader framework on how idol vocal styles map to trainable techniques, see the K-pop idol vocal style analysis. For a companion breakdown of another ZEROBASEONE-era vocal style built on resonance and registration control, see how to sing like Jiwoong. To start from the fundamentals, the K-pop beginner vocal guide covers the prerequisite breath and registration work.

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References

• Sadolin, C. (2000). Complete Vocal Technique. Shout Publishing. [Vocal modes and the laryngeal/resonance configurations behind chest-dominant, low-register production and mixed-voice coordination.]
• Titze, I. R., & Verdolini Abbott, K. (2012). Vocology: The Science and Practice of Voice Habilitation. National Center for Voice and Speech. [Breath support and cord closure mechanics in low-pitch chest resonance and mixed-register transitions; subglottal pressure control for projected low tones.]