--- title: >- How to Sing Like Sam Kim (Korean-American R&B Singer): Vocal Range, Falsetto Bridge & the Technique Behind It description: >- How to sing like Sam Kim (샘 김), the Korean-American R&B singer behind Goblin OST 'Who Are You' — not the celebrity chef — with his falsetto bridge and melisma technique explained. language: en canonical: 'https://www.bloomvocal.site/en/blog/how-to-sing-like-sam-kim' author: Bloom Vocal Team publishedAt: '2026-08-01' category: kpop tags: - how to sing like Sam Kim - Sam Kim vocal range - Sam Kim Goblin OST - Korean-American R&B singer - K-pop Star 3 Sam Kim - falsetto bridge technique - Who Are You Goblin OST singer - Sam Kim melisma singing --- # How to Sing Like Sam Kim (Korean-American R\&B Singer): Vocal Range, Falsetto Bridge & the Technique Behind It How to sing like Sam Kim (샘 김), the Korean-American R\&B singer behind Goblin OST 'Who Are You' — not the celebrity chef — with his falsetto bridge and melisma technique explained. [Source](https://www.bloomvocal.site/en/blog/how-to-sing-like-sam-kim) Author: Bloom Vocal Team The team writes and edits Bloom Vocal content about singing and vocal practice. This profile does not list individual contributors, credentials, or clinical reviewers. **Singing like Sam Kim (샘 김) — the Korean-American R\&B singer, K-pop Star 3 runner-up, and voice behind the Goblin OST track "Who Are You" — comes down to two trainable habits: a breath-led airy onset and a controlled falsetto bridge, not a wide vocal range.** His most-searched song is "Who Are You" from the *Goblin* (도깨비) OST Part 6 (2016), and it works because of tone color and phrasing, not because it climbs unusually high. This article covers Sam Kim the singer (Samuel Kunge Kim, born 1998 in Seattle) — not the celebrity chef who shares the same name and dominates a large share of "Sam Kim" search results. > **Safety note**: Falsetto bridges and airy onsets should come from breath support, not from pushing air through a loose, unsupported tone or straining the throat to force a smooth transition. If a bridge feels like it's collapsing rather than gliding, add breath support before adding more air. See an ENT specialist for hoarseness that lasts beyond two weeks. ## Sam Kim's Vocal Profile No officially measured vocal range has been published for Sam Kim, in Korean or English-language sources. Neither Namuwiki-style reference entries nor Singing Carrots' own aggregator page list a tested low or high boundary for his voice — this absence is itself notable, since it's one of the clearest information gaps left by existing "how to sing like Sam Kim" content online. Rather than inventing a number, it's more useful to describe where his voice actually lives: a soft, soulful tone built for R\&B phrasing, with what listeners describe as an "explosive falsetto" and frequent use of melisma (stringing several notes across one syllable). No source classifies his voice type either. What's consistently documented is genre language — "soulful," "R\&B," "emotional" — rather than a tenor or baritone label, so this article treats classification as unconfirmed instead of guessing at one. ### Released Catalog vs. Vocal Ability It's worth separating what's actually documented from what gets repeated online. His confirmed catalog spans breathy acoustic verses ("Mama Don't Worry"), falsetto-driven OST choruses ("Who Are You," "Breath"), and R\&B runs built for melisma ("Make Up" featuring Crush). None of that catalog comes with a published range measurement, so any specific note names attached to his voice online should be treated as unverified rather than repeated as fact. ## Sam Kim's Signature Songs — by Vocal Challenge Working through his catalog by technical demand builds the control his style depends on. Transpose any of these to a key that fits your voice. | Song | Release / Placement | Primary Vocal Challenge | Technique to Develop First | | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------- | | "Mama Don't Worry" | 2016 | Keeping rhythm steady while singing conversationally over self-accompanied guitar | Rhythmic subdivision | | "Who Are You" | 2016, *Goblin* OST Part 6 | Starting low and shifting into falsetto for the chorus | Falsetto bridge | | "Seattle" | Album track | Sustaining a strong falsetto through the chorus without it thinning out | Head voice resonance | | "It's You" (feat. Zico) | 2018, album *Sun and Moon* | Locking into a laid-back groove that sits behind the beat | Syncopation | | "Make Up" (feat. Crush) | 2018 | Landing each pitch cleanly inside an R\&B run | Vocal runs | | "Breath" (숨) | 2020, *It's Okay to Not Be Okay* OST Part 2 | Pacing breath across long phrases into a falsetto climax | Snap breathing + head voice | "Breath" is the song that asks for everything above at once — it's a destination to build toward, not a starting point. ## The 3 Techniques Behind Sam Kim's Sound ### Falsetto Bridge Instead of pushing a chest-register note higher, he releases into falsetto and lets the tone color shift rather than forcing volume upward. The common mistake is letting the transition cut out completely — the sound drops to breath with no pitch center — because support disappears exactly where it's needed most. In Bloom Vocal, **pitch-glide exercises (C-1)** and **head voice resonance exercises (E-7)** target this bridge directly. ### Melisma and Vocal Runs His R\&B phrasing frequently strings several notes across a single syllable, a decorative device borrowed from soul and gospel singing. The common mistake is imitating the speed before the accuracy — singers rush through a run and blur the individual pitches together instead of landing each one. Slowing a run down until every note is audible, then gradually speeding it back up, is the fix. In Bloom Vocal, **vocal run and ad-lib exercises (B-19)** and **chromatic mastery drills (B-9)** build this skill. ### Airy Onset with Close-Mic Dynamics Rather than starting a phrase with firm vocal fold closure, his soul-influenced delivery often lets breath lead the tone in, paired with the intimacy of close-mic dynamics rather than pushed volume. The common mistake is letting too much air escape, which drops breath support and lets the pitch sag flat under the phrase. In Bloom Vocal, **glottal vs. airy onset drills (C-16)** and **appoggio breath support exercises (A-10)** train this balance. The [male passaggio and mix-voice drill guide](https://www.bloomvocal.site/en/blog/male-passaggio-mixvoice-drill) covers related transition control for voices working through this same register-bridging territory. ## How to Train Toward Sam Kim's Style ### Step 1 — Build a breath-led airy onset Start a mid-range phrase by letting air flow slightly before the vocal folds close, keeping the tone soft and unpressed rather than sharply attacked. ### Step 2 — Practice a falsetto bridge transition Slide from a chest-register note up into falsetto on a single vowel, aiming for the tone color to shift smoothly instead of cutting out or cracking. ### Step 3 — Slow down a melisma run to isolate each pitch Take a short run of 4-5 notes and sing it at half speed, checking that each individual pitch lands cleanly before adding speed back. ### Step 4 — Combine the onset and bridge across a full phrase Sing a verse-to-chorus phrase that opens with an airy onset and climbs into a falsetto bridge, the way "Who Are You" moves from a low verse into its falsetto-driven chorus. ### Step 5 — Run an AI feedback loop on a bridge phrase Record the phrase from step 4 and use Bloom Vocal's AI coaching to score pitch accuracy, breath support, and register transition. The AI can surface a habit like the falsetto bridge losing support exactly at the transition point — the kind of detail that's hard to hear while you're the one singing it. ## Check Your Cover with AI A falsetto bridge and a fast melisma run are both hard to self-diagnose by ear — you can't easily tell whether your chest-to-falsetto transition dropped support or whether your run actually hit five distinct pitches instead of a blurred slide. Record a verse from "Who Are You" or a run-heavy phrase from "Make Up," 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 exercise to work on first. It turns a vague "that run felt sloppy" into "you hit three of the five notes clearly — slow the run down and add a chromatic mastery drill before rebuilding speed." For more on Korean R\&B and soul-influenced vocal styles, see [Crush](https://www.bloomvocal.site/en/blog/how-to-sing-like-crush-singer), [Zico](https://www.bloomvocal.site/en/blog/how-to-sing-like-zico) (his collaborator on "It's You"), [Baek Yerin](https://www.bloomvocal.site/en/blog/how-to-sing-like-baek-yerin), [Eric Nam](https://www.bloomvocal.site/en/blog/how-to-sing-like-eric-nam), and [Paul Kim](https://www.bloomvocal.site/en/blog/how-to-sing-like-paul-kim). *** ## References - Sadolin, C. (2000). *Complete Vocal Technique*. Shout Publishing. \[Onset types, falsetto/curbing register transitions, and breath-supported airy phonation underlying soul and R\&B vocal delivery.] - Titze, I. R., & Verdolini Abbott, K. (2012). *Vocology: The Science and Practice of Voice Habilitation*. National Center for Voice and Speech. \[Breath pressure regulation and register-transition mechanics relevant to falsetto bridging and melismatic phrasing.] ## How to Sing Like Sam Kim in 5 Steps A practical method for building a breath-led airy onset, a controlled falsetto bridge, and clean melisma runs in the style of Sam Kim. Duration: PT30M 1. **Build a breath-led airy onset**: Start a mid-range phrase by letting air flow slightly before the vocal folds close, keeping the tone soft and unpressed rather than sharply attacked. 2. **Practice a falsetto bridge transition**: Slide from a chest-register note up into falsetto on a single vowel, aiming for the tone color to shift smoothly instead of cutting out or cracking. 3. **Slow down a melisma run to isolate each pitch**: Take a short run of 4-5 notes and sing it at half speed, checking that each individual pitch lands cleanly before adding speed back. 4. **Combine the onset and bridge across a full phrase**: Sing a verse-to-chorus phrase that opens with an airy onset and climbs into a falsetto bridge, keeping breath support steady through the transition. 5. **Run an AI feedback loop on a bridge phrase**: Record the phrase from step 4 and use Bloom Vocal's AI coaching to score pitch accuracy and register transition, surfacing exactly where the bridge loses support. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is Sam Kim's vocal range? No officially measured vocal range has been published for Sam Kim (singer, K-pop Star 3), on Korean or English-language sources. What's documented instead is a soft, soulful R\&B tone built around falsetto and melisma rather than a numeric span. ### Is the singer Sam Kim the same person as chef Sam Kim? No. This article covers Sam Kim (Samuel Kunge Kim, b. 1998), the Korean-American singer-songwriter who placed runner-up on K-pop Star Season 3 and sang the Goblin OST track 'Who Are You' — not the celebrity chef of the same name. ### What is Sam Kim known for singing? His best-known placement is 'Who Are You' from the Goblin (도깨비) OST Part 6, released December 2016. He also sang 'Breath' (숨) on the It's Okay to Not Be Okay OST Part 2 in 2020, and 'It's You' featuring Zico, a 2018 track from his album Sun and Moon rather than a drama placement. ### Is Sam Kim a tenor or baritone? No source classifies his voice type. Korean and English descriptions consistently use genre language — soulful, R\&B — rather than a tenor or baritone label, so this article treats his voice type as unconfirmed rather than guessing. ### Can a beginner learn to sing like Sam Kim? Yes, by starting with a breath-led airy onset and a controlled falsetto bridge before attempting his melisma runs at full speed. His style rewards phrasing and tone control, which are trainable at any range, more than it rewards raw high notes.