Every now and then a cover comes along that feels like a full masterclass in vocal technique, and the American Boy duet between Stacy Ryan and Leiland Skyler is exactly that. Stacy’s performance is packed with small, intentional choices that give the song its personality, from whispered falsetto openings to powerful belts in the bridge. Let’s break down what she is doing and why it works so beautifully.
The opening: falsetto with Stacy Ryan
The very first thing we hear from Stacy is a soft falsetto quality with very little breath flow pushing through. Falsetto naturally carries a breathy sound because the vocal folds sit stiff and raised, but the trick is to keep the volume down rather than force more air. That restraint is what makes the opening of American Boy feel intimate instead of airy or loose.
A few things are happening in this moment:
- Stiff, raised vocal folds creating that light falsetto quality.
- Very low overall volume, with Stacy sitting close to the microphone.
- Minimal breath flow, which keeps the tone controlled rather than sloppy.
Speaking on pitch in American Boy
Moving into the first verse, Stacy shifts into a chest voice quality that almost sounds like she is speaking on pitch. This is a deliberate choice. The beginning of American Boy should not feel overly sung, and this conversational tone gives the lyrics that casual, laid-back energy. She sprinkles in tiny moments of slack vocal folds to add color, which adds to the “I don’t give a damn” attitude before the song builds into its chorus.
Flipping from closed folds to falsetto with Stacy Ryan
One of the most satisfying moments in the cover is the transition from closed vocal folds into falsetto. When you briefly add constriction through the throat muscles and then release all of that tension at once, the voice naturally flips up into falsetto. It is not something you muscle through, it is something you let go of. Stacy does this cleanly and consistently across the whole track.
Coloring techniques on American Boy
Stacy layers in several small coloring techniques that keep the melody interesting without ever tipping into overperformance. A few to listen for:
- Quick flips between registers used as ornamentation.
- Vibrato added as shimmer, not as a sustained wobble.
- Mouth shape changes that bend and color the ends of phrases.
- Staccato phrasing that punches out short, sharp beats in key sections.
These are the choices that make a cover feel personal rather than paint-by-numbers.
Thyroid tilt and the sung sound by Stacy Ryan
A lot of singers complain that their voice sounds boring, or that it sounds like they are just speaking on pitch. What they are usually missing is thyroid tilt, which is what gives the voice that rich, sung quality. You can hear Stacy adding more thyroid tilt as the song builds, especially through the choruses. Strip it out and the phrasing sounds flat and detached. Put it back in and the melody comes alive.
Thinned vocal folds and semi-mix in American Boy
When Stacy moves through faster phrases in the chorus, she thins out her vocal folds to get that speed without sacrificing tone. The result is something between full chest voice and a light mix, a semi-mix quality that lets her move quickly through the notes while still sounding grounded. It is also why the chorus of American Boy does not feel like she is shouting, even though the energy clearly lifts.
Twang and constriction with Stacy Ryan
As the song climbs, Stacy adds twang, which is a tightening of the area above the larynx, along with a little helpful constriction in the throat. Traditional singing advice often says to keep the throat wide open at all times, but contemporary music genuinely needs these narrower, more compressed sounds. As long as you are not scratching, catching, or coughing, these techniques are fair game, and they are what give pop and R&B vocals their characteristic edge.
Building to the belt in American Boy
Toward the peak of the song, Stacy opens into more of a trumpet shape with the tongue forward in the mouth. This is where she uses chest voice higher in the range, very likely with some belt mixed in. You can hear a strong, straight tone with just a touch of vibrato creeping in as she eases the volume. You can also see her engaging the larger back muscles, and even lifting her arm, which helps activate the pec muscles that support a belt.
A quick note on belt: this is not something to practice cold on an open “ah.” Stacy is a highly trained singer, and her belt is built on years of careful conditioning. It has to be developed slowly and with the right support.
Mixed voice and release with Stacy Ryan
In the final section, Stacy blends mixed voice with a little extra twang for the higher notes, then releases the constriction to drop gracefully into the lower phrases. That release of tension is what lets her flip back into falsetto cleanly, and it is why the ending of the cover feels both effortless and completely intentional.
Why American Boy works as a masterclass
What ties all of this together is that Stacy is not just showing off technique, she is choosing the right tool for each moment. The whispered falsetto, the speaking-on-pitch verses, the staccato phrasing, the thyroid tilt in the choruses, and the controlled belt in the bridge all serve the song. That is what makes American Boy by Stacy Ryan and Leiland Skyler such a rewarding cover to study, and it is also why it feels like a real masterclass in contemporary singing.
If you want to learn more about how you can learn to implement these singing techniques into your own voice, let’s sit down for a chat and discuss if the vocal academy is the right fit for you. You can join us here.