Vocal Coach Reacts Encanto - Surface Pressure | WOW! She was... 

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“I’m pretty sure I’m worthless if I can’t be of service”. That is such a heartbreaking line.

This is lins apology to his sister. Acknowledging that she had a lot more responsibility because she was older ...it's amazing

It's so rare to find an alto singing a solo disney song. Really love that they did that.

the 'growing' part was definitely on purpose i think, a character acting choice, jessica darrow is phenomenal, i think this is my fav song in the movie, it might not have been as dynamic and bombastic as we don't talk about bruno, but it holds its own against that song which is impressive bc unlike we don't talk about bruno which needs the whole ensemble to make it as powerful as it is, surface pressure has only ONE person doing it, and that's what makes it the best song (aside from the message) to me, jessica darrow's range is AMAZING

So you know there was a lot of fighting to make Luisa big. Disney wanted them to be "princess like" but they fought to make her look more like you would expect someone strong to look. It resulted in kids wanting luisa dolls way more than Isabella or mirabell dolls

I always saw the weirdness with the “growing” line as the tone of voice that that someone gets when they’re trying not to cry - it gives the same bubble in the throat 🤷‍♂️ maybe one of those moments where they chose to go with a less musically beautiful noise but a more character-driven sound?

The entire song is Luisa protecting her little sister and the house. Meanwhile explaining how vulnerable she is on the inside. Lin-Manuel with a MASTERPIECE.

In the bridge, she is singing with that lighter, airy voice in connection to the lyrics and how she's talking about relaxing, getting a break, enjoying herself. And then when she starts talking about the "growing pressure" and her voice gets low and rounder again, I feel like the sound change adds weight, so that you can FEEL the pressure, that it's heavy and growing.

So, from other clips I've heard of her singing outside of this film, Jessica seems to have a more jazzy style, where she affects her voice a lot. The strangeness that you pointed out in the "it keeps growing, keep going" measures, to me, sounds like she's rounding that "O" vowel back down to her character voice. Almost like she's floating it on top of a yawn, or like....doing a whale cry? Lol. My guess is that she was adding that dome-like cover as a subtle vowel modulation; trying to return the sound back to the character voice without changing the pitch of the note.

the "growwwwiing" part IS strange, but it's also my favourite part. I feel like it sounds like a deep emotion coming from her esophagus, like that lump you feel in your throat when you're sad. there's something so different about it and I love it.

8:45 "Give it to your sister and never wonder if the same pressure would have pulled _you_ under!" I didn't realize what this line said and how interesting this line was until my 4th time listening, because it happened at the same time as what I think is the most eye-catching animation - her becoming a giant. The rewatch value is just unbelievably high.

7:25 i definitely think it’s an acting choice, it’s my favorite part in the song, that low register is so nice

I think for me the strange sound on the 'growing' section is on purpose. They are falling back down to earth/reality and so its part of that transition from the light airy section up in the clouds to the heavy pull/weight pulling her back down. Not sure if that makes sense...

Hearing a deeper voice for a female character means so much to me, even if its on a female character that displays more traditionally "masculine" traits. I have a super deep voice and people always said it would be good for singing, yet I heard an utter lack of deep voiced singers growing up. This would've been HUGE for me if I saw this as a kid

While pitch-shifting software is certainly being used throughout the soundtrack, in this case, the shift in sound is coming from the singer naturally setting her voice lower as a character choice for Luisa, and the song's producers choosing when to accentuate that and when not to. It's clear she sang some takes of the song in her more natural singing voice, and then a couple in progressively more character voice, and they're splicing them together as necessary to fit the mood of the song. That "growing" line was used to really amp up the pressure again and counter against the lightness of previous part of the song heading into the final choruses. You can also hear a notable shift during the first "Woaaaa-ohhh" and you can hear the transition on the words "I if" in the phrase "Who am **I if** I can't carry it all?" after she sings the higher previous lines in her more natural voice.

"Give it to your sister. It doesn't hurt and she can handle every family burden. Watch as she buckles and bends, but never breaks... no mistakes" Those are my favorite lyrics in the entire film

Every song from this movie has been looping in my head for two weeks. Man.

With the “growing pressure” line, it sounds throughout that little bit like she’s trying not to cry. Later on, at “all we know is” it gradually ascends and gets louder before suddenly switching to a completely different sound. And if you listen closely when Luisa lifts the house toward the end, both times there’s something heavy she’s lifting, the voice actress adds a bit of growl to the vocals. It give it that sense of conviction and a bit of a tonal difference that stand out if you really listen.

I feel like Stephanie Beatriz nailed the sound of Mirabel’s words being squeezed out of her with Luisa’s strong hug at the end!

Something I and many noticed, and may have been mentioned already- If you watch the song, near the end when she's buckling under the stones and Mirabel LOOKS horrified, she notices it. And AFTER THAT the song becomes abit more poppy. She spins the house, the dnokeys start dancing. It's like even in HER SONG, where SHE is venting HER stress, she sees how scared her sister is and instinctively shoulders that. In a song about her shouldering others burrdens, she shouldered Mirabel's fear and tried to make her feel better.

Jessica Darrow, who voiced Luisa is coming out with her first EP soon and im SOOOO EXCITED!!! 😆😆😆

I absolutely LOVE her transition from the lighter, airy voice to the really deep voice as the pressure she is under increases from the cloud scene to holding the boulders. She is so good at having her voice tell the story along with the visuals!

I think that "auto-tune" "warped" when she sings "growing" toward the end is intentional. Even if it's not, I like it because it's showing how artificial her surface is, because her voice is literally transitioning into that artificially rounded, strong, deep tonality and shape from the beginning of the song in that split second when she remembers I don't have the privilege or the luxury to relax. I need to get back to "reality."

I believe the way she sings the song showcases the direction she was given as a voice actress. The song needed to separate the anxiety of the weight and pressure she carries before going to that “but wait…. if I could…” (that’s a wishful thinking performance) After that we go to the growing pressure which is the reality and it almost feels like sloooww motion. The direction given to Jessica Darrow was PHENOMENAL. Every single part was intentional

Yea but listen to the lyrics this song makes me cry every time because this is my life. I have so much pressure put on me from family that I can barely breath sometimes and this song just feels like it's coming for me

hearing people say that this song is so low has made me realise just how low my range is. The first part is so comfortably in my range I hadn't even thought about it that much, makes me feel pretty cool 😌

The singer Jessica Darrow has an amazing live ‘jazz’ version! You should check it out she’s just as good live, I’m obsessed with her vocal colour!

I love how she shifts from chest to head voice and back again as the pressure lifts and returns.

When pressure gets worse she lowers her tone when she’s relaxed it’s like one big exhale

The increased strain on "this growing pressure" is 100% on purpose. I mean, she's literally singing about "growing pressure" and reflecting it in her voice. The only part where I can hear any obvious auto-tune is "Who am I (if I can't carry it all)" and as you noticed that's a point when she ~rapidly~ shifts to a lower register.

7:40 Luisa: *Carrying all the boulders falling on top of her, and on the verge of tears as her sister watches.* The vocalist: 💃💃💃💃💃

I've seen loads of people saying that this would be perfect for the stage and I completely agree. It's well suited to it.

I love the interwiew where he talked about working from home and he says some thing like sometimes I wonder what my kids think when they come in to my office I belive it would be something like "oh now daddy is sitting therein the corner crying and mumbeling to himself he most be writing something new"

From what I heard Lin the song creator was inspired by Luisa because she reminds him of his sister so he created this song which wasn’t originally planned to be in the movie but the creators once seeing the song decided to change Luisa into being more of a character than we see her now

8:09 oh that's dangerous, I would be absolutely boppin in the crowd, this song gives so much energy for being so depressing and somber, like it instills you with the will to push through.

2:56 Yeah... that's pretty much what went through my head as well. I just recently saw this movie on D+ and i went in relatively blind... i knew it existed and that was about it. Didn't know who did the music until i heard this song and yes, specifically this part... i immediately was thinking "Okay, this has Lin-Manuel Miranda written all over it, this has got to be from him." And yeah, sure enough, of course it was.

I love how in the break her voice lightens up and drops back down when the expectations are back

The changes in her voice are on purpose - her "warped" tone (6:23) begins as the pressure suddenly increases again. It also changes in the section where she talks about preserving her purpose - that's not her "real-self/voice" - it's the facade of strength she puts on to everyone else. Hence, why she's more connected in the other sections.

I think it's kinda cool how she alternates between the round character voice and probably her normal singing voice, she specifically leaves the round voice as Luisa shows more vulnerability and weakness, so the song gets less round and tough as the song goes on. The attention to detail is incredible.

my favorite part about the hug at the end is that Mirabel doesn't say something like "you're crushing me" or ask Luisa to let her go (even though she's definitely being crushed lol) she just lets her hug her because she knows she needs it :'D

I like that you can feel the pressure listening through in certain parts

it's so funny for the longest time i was 100% sure i couldn't sing at all and im not a big fan of my voice, but i can actually sing this song quite well! i can hit the low notes i was really impressed with myself haha. my favorite part to sing is the part that starts with "but wait" and ends with the "cause all we know is"!

This song literally made me cry the first time I saw Encanto. It's exactly how I felt growing up as the oldest if not one of the oldest in my family (blended fam, I was first of 4, first of 6, or third of 10, depending on what perspective you were looking from). Still makes me mist up because I still (in my late 30's) feel that pressure to be more successful in my career, passions, education, and constantly feel as if I'm falling short of the mark... usually because I'm trying to do too much at once that I overload myself.

I tend to agree. this "I want" song doesn't quite have the key change "push button" moment that other Disney princess/heroine ballads have. I think LMM tends to favors those kind of moments for the big ensemble numbers (some of which are "I want" songs), like 96,000, My Shot, Bruno, or Mambo Cabana. However, Dos Orugitas, which is the "grief song" sung by narrator does have that push button moment, and changes the key and lyric from Orugitas (caterpillars) to Mariposas (butterflies), and is the song Disney put up for Oscar consideration, but they probably should have submitted Bruno as well (they just don't like to split the vote).

The way she was dancing at the end while I was bawling my eyes out💀

Personally I live for the "keep growing" low part! It makes me feel some type of way! 🙌🏽

I feel that the growing part is intentional instead of autotune, it sounds to me like you can hear in her voice the growing pressure of expectations slowly crushing her down which is the theme behind the song. Luisa is being crushed under the expectations of her family and the town but she is afraid to show any signs that it may be becoming too much because she is afraid of disappointing Abuela, the family, and the town. She doesn't dare relax, even though just the thought of relaxation removes the pressure for just a little bit. But it comes rushing right back in and starts crushing her again and you can hear it in her voice.

I love how her vocals get higher and a little brighter the more vulnerable she is, and then drops back down when she's pulling that 'strong one' facade back around her, trying to hold it together emotionally.

She starts so defensive/tight, then slowly gets weaker/softer in tone through the song until the bridge and you see the full softness (within character), it then starts to constrict and build this pressure in my chest that makes me hold my breath! then it releases and grows back tough. This song makes me feel so much, that you have to appreciate the vocals!!! Seriously an amazing performance!

Her Jazz version singing just with a stand up bass is amazing and sooo different.

The "growing" part is done like that, to emote a building pressure and weight.

Basically, the song her literally unveiling the layers of herself & becoming more vulnerable. That’s why it begins to sound so different. And then it kind of doubles down and bleeds back into her heavy exterior. The deep ‘growing’ & ‘breaks/no mistakes’ is definitely intentional and I fall apart every time 😂 then we get back into like a nice balance of tough but it’s a lot lighter I think than the beginning of the song. I love this vid, you’re great lol. New obsession

It's not just you imagining it, there are definitely points throughout the soundtrack that you can hear very obvious audio warping due to auto-tune. In this case with the "growing" I think she actually did it as a character choice, but you can hear it in parts of the song "What else can I do", and a tiny bit in "Waiting on a miracle" (also at 4:58, as you said you can hear it, its a little warped). I agree with what you said about the bit at 5:02. It's like she became someone completely different during those few lines, she dropped part of the 'accent' she's doing for Luisa which definitely threw me off, because she snapped right back to it at 5:23-ish.

That weird “keeps growing” is classic Lin-Manuel’s voice! He always makes that kinda weird transition with his singing voice.

I like how she clearly has an extensive musical knowledge about different kinds of singing choices (I would have never thought an operatic technique was being used) instead of mainly just talking about the musical key like most singing reactions do. Also, the one part does give Aladdin vibes. Great reaction video!

I hadn't thought of the connection to Aladdin for the scene with Luisa's biceps! When I saw that scene I thought it might be referencing "You're Welcome" from Moana with Maui's little-Maui tattoo.

Notice that when she is showing her vulnerability, her voice is higher and softer. When she is trying to keep her "strong" facade, her voice is low and deep.

This song is one of my favourites from film.

This song gives me all the feels.

I feel like the worping of that "growing pressure" part was on purpose because usually when something or someone gets bigger in a cartoon their voice literally gets deeper like that so I feel like it was just a metaphorical representation of the pressure itself literally growing bigger and bigger for her. I could be wrong though, it's just my 2 cents.

I feel like some of the comments made don’t take into account that this is a character voice not the voice actors singing voice, she has to differentiate for sure

Love this reaction. I've seen other people react to it without really listening to the lyrics, but it has such a deep meaning.

I thought that the growing part was on purpose to symbolize her falling out of her airy fantasy world back into her deep real voice.

Thanks for telling me how to sing this song. It's the first Disney movie I've ever watched that had a song i could sing along with, without straining my voice to hit the high notes 🤣

You need to do the Song “What else can I do?”! That song is so great!

"I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service" gave me insane chills the first time I heard it

I love that Disney made loads of dolls featuring the flower sister but Luisa was the character that they loved. So they had to make a shit tonne more Luisa dolls. Lol

THIS IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE SONG IN THE ENTIRE MOVIE! And when Luisa fixes Mirabel's glasses! 🥺

I really recommend the Brazilian version of this song (Estou Nervosa) !!! It turned out so amazing!

Low voice at the beginning and then her vulnerable high voice was everything.

Honestly, this song gets me more emotional than most other Disney songs other people talk about. There are days where it’s really hard to listen to. It’s wonderfully done, but can just be too real sometimes.

I think every time I hear this song that it's two different people because she sings either high and soft or dark and heavy. All in all it's just a beautiful song.

"Growing and growing" was definitely a choice and I loved it. My fav part of the song. If you take some time to listen to lyrics you will understand why she made the choice there. It was to convey a build up of of pressure so her voice mimics the sound of something about to boil over.

This song makes me so emotional. I feel all her pain, and fear as she sings. The singer nailed the fusion of character voice and singing. I absolutely love every song from this movie and how well thought out, I'm sure they took so long just to chose the perfect voice actors that could also sing.

So I get where you are coming from with a lot of the deeper drawly segments... but I frankly did.. and still do, hear them as deep expressions of emotion. The tone the character use keeps drifting between several recognizable... facades? Emotional states? And the character is sort of roller coastering between them much like somebody trying to keep it together, but slowly cracking up. You have the bold confidence, the upbeat attempts at reassurance, the brazen confidence... the very rounded almost wobbling concern, a very tense kind of enunciation... the airy breathyness you point out the ONE time she talks about what she'd like really nailing home how little she really wants... but just how incredible it would be to her... then dripping back into that more rounded, almost desperate and pleading voice... then trying to sound strong again... just weaving in and out of each much like someone would in a conversation like this. Her every insecurity and desire are reflected in this song as she's basically asked 'You okay? You seem not okay...' and the levy breaks. She can't STOP talking about it now she's started, and it just keeps cycling. As someone who has gone on anxious rambling fits when their 'everything is fine' facade cracks, only to immediately afterwards, before any comfort can be offered, just kinda snap back to that mask like nothing ever happened and go on with whatever I was doing..... this is painfully real.

i think my favorite part of this video was your delighted laugh at the end when Mirabel goes "Yep" XD

The 'Growing' is meant to sound 'weird' in that they are trying to emphasize what she's talking about, the growing pressure.

The reason i love this is because through the song you can see your coming out and mixing her emotions. It starts out as rough "im the strong one, im not nervous" then transition into a sort of cry for help. "pressure like a drip drip drip" but that is a softer more feminine side, but still rounding her voice to give that feeling of her still in control. (but the visuals pick up showing its getting chaotic) Then she goes back to the round voice "under the surface i hide my nerves and it worsens". while protecting maribel this whole in the visual. Showing that she cant be vulnerable. But she has already proved she can be so she's nervous about her vulnerability. It's why her voice gets nasally, a true half and half of rounding and airy voice. Still trying to be strong but also letting maribel into her fears. Then she goes straight airy, "but wait, if i could shake. this crushing weight". Her voice changed that high because she knows it's time to actually fully let in emotions. But the "keep growing, keep going" is her finding her balance before she again is snapped back to her reality of keeping the family. But this time its more pop, upbeat light. Less round and rigid showing that she has accepted the fact that she can be emotional and strong and brave but scared. All this, all this THROUGH THE SHAPE OF HER SOUND. You can listen to this without the visuals and get the same thing. Its crazy.

i love how this track goes back and forth between powerful / strong and vulnerable. i feel it’s echoing Luisa’s range of emotions so well! this song is perfect!!! i also love the difference between the forced seeming strength in the beginning versus the confident strength at the end. beautiful!

I like that all the songs seem to be set in a lower octave.

Her voice is closer to low pitch than high pitch in real life. The low parts that she did in the song is probably more natural for her to do

Girl. I'm a 30-year-old white woman with no children. I've watched this movie multiple times and SOB!! Everything about this movie is brilliant. You should watch the movie itself instead of just the music parts

This was told me by a comment in a similar video. Notice how the dancing style gets more free and the donkeys show up when Luisa sees Mirabel is getting more scared or worried for her. It reflects the sibling love storge between them in a subtle way.

The way your face lights up at 7:34 just made my week. I miss being that passionate and excited about something.

Hello. Just found your channel bc I was looking for videos of vocal coaches reacting to this song. I’m a lyric contralto vocal fach and it is always interesting to analyze a song written for a lower female voice. If my ear is correct, the lowest low note here is an E3 (“the crust of the EARTH IS”) and the music quickly progresses through two octaves until we get to an E5 on “what breaks the camel’s back.” I suspect that Jessica Darrow - the voice actress for Luisa - might actually be a mezzo-soprano because she still sounds like she is “mixing” (is in her first passaggio) when she is singing that E5, whereas I would be in second passaggio when singing the same note. (My transition into second passaggio occurs at Db5.) Its still so interesting to have ANY Disney character song represent a lower female register and I am super obsessed with this track!!

This is the perfect song for what it’s like being a first born daughter

This song is a bop, but it’s also heartbreaking when you really watch and listen to it. A lot of the songs in this movie are just heartbreaking when you contemplate the deeper meanings. Even the first song. Mirabel doesn’t say anything about herself not only because she has no gift, but she’s been taught that she has no worth to the family because of something out of her control.

in the middle of her fake ad with the "Not sure if you're a good singer?" I got an ad that literally started out with "You want to be a good singer?"

"Could you imagine this on a stage with dancers?" Yes... I could... it's called Encanto at the hollywood bowl :P

i feel like, when she gives us the line, “i hide my nerves and it worsens, i worry something is gonna hurt us”, she’s less “boulder”-sounding and more deflated and nasally because she’s speaking more vulnerably and from the heart, less humorous than the hercules vs cerberus joke and the ship and the iceberg joke. genuinely nervous, possibly feeling emotional, ready to cry.

Jessica Darrow has sung this live at the hollywood bowl and it sounds the same. She didn't use auto tune :)

I'm pretty sure the airy tone is on purpose to signify Luisa essentially detaching her from the stress of holding all the responsibilities but as she refocuses back into the stress her voice drops back down as if the pressure's weighing down on her.

Okay. The best reaction I've watched so far. A legit singer commenting on technicalities not on lyrics per se.

This would DEFINITELY make a great Broadway musical!! I hope they do that.

Wow, I love your breakdown on her tones!

I really liked her ad lol. Didn't even wanna skip

I don’t think this voice actress has the best voice technically but I freaking LOVE the tone of her voice. It’s so different, I could listen to it all day.

I am obsessed with this reaction! You can really feel the emotions she is dealing with through the lyrics and tone and how the VA had such a unique way of capturing these emotions while also keeping her voice true to the character and still really deep and embracing is so magical and intense! I love seeing the representation of Females- with these deep,low toned voices! Such a unique and interesting way to grow and add more development to movies! Especially in disney! You done so good with this reaction and i would love it if you listened to more disney/encanto songs: maybe fan-made songs?! 🌸

I feel like the bridge was so light and airy because it represented what it looked like with all the weight off her shoulders. When she sings growing, it's the pressure coming back.