This week we’re diving into EastWest’s Hollywood Backup Singers, a continuation of their line of vocal sample libraries. If you’ve used EastWest’s choir or solo voice instruments, this one sits in the same family, but focuses on the classic “three-piece” backing vocal sound you’d expect in pop, rock, gospel, and soul productions.
(Updated January 2025) EastWest’s Hollywood Backup Singers promises to deliver that classic three-piece backing vocal sound you hear on everything from gospel choirs to rock stadium tours. Recorded with legendary session vocalists Durga McBroom, Lorelei McBroom, and C.C. White, the library aims to bring serious pedigree into your productions without booking a single studio hour.
It’s part of EastWest’s vocal range that also includes Hollywood Choirs and Voices of Soul. Think of this one as the middle ground: intimate enough for pop productions, but still rich and polished enough for film or big arrangements.
Installation & Engine
Hollywood Backup Singers runs inside EastWest’s Play 6 or the fantastic new OPUS engine (AU, VST, AAX, and standalone). If you’re a ComposerCloud subscriber, you get it as part of your plan, otherwise it’s available as a standalone license.
The full library weighs in at just over 9GB installed – not enormous by today’s standards, but big enough that you’ll want a solid SSD for smooth loading. On my mid-tier machine (i7, 32GB RAM, SSD), patches loaded fairly quickly, though layering mic positions noticeably increased CPU and RAM use.
Mic Positions & Sound
The library was recorded in EastWest Studio 3 in Hollywood, a room famous for its vocal acoustics (Pet Sounds, Lady Gaga, Frank Ocean). You get three mic perspectives:
- Close – U47, Telefunken 251, SM7 for intimacy and detail
- Rear – KU100 binaural dummy head, RCA 77, Sennheiser MKH800 for natural body
- Room – Classic Decca Tree with M50s and U67s for lush space
Mixing these gives you a lot of control. I found Close + Room to be the sweet spot: upfront enough for pop, but still spacious. The Rear mics add extra warmth if you want a “retro” soul or gospel vibe.
First Impressions
I spent a good amount of time experimenting with the library, trying to create convincing phrases across a few different projects. My approach was a mix of using the pre-made phrase presets and programming custom lines through the WordBuilder.
Getting started was surprisingly straightforward. For a Broadway rock track I was working on, it was easy to throw in some “oohs” and “aahs” to quickly fill space, and the pitch control added a touch of realism. Nudging things slightly sharp or flat really helps break up the sterile, “too perfect” sound you can sometimes get from samples.
Where I hit some roadblocks was in trying to lock the singers into a proper melodic line – essentially mimicking what a real backing vocalist does when they double a lead. While typing phonetics into WordBuilder wasn’t too bad, getting the groove right was another matter. Real singers instinctively sit in the pocket; software doesn’t. Timing phrases often became trial and error, adjusting sample lengths and fiddling with ADSR envelopes until something finally clicked.
Like most sample instruments, you pick up little tricks the longer you use it, and you start to anticipate how the software will interpret your phonetics. It’s almost like learning a new language, you have to think phonetically rather than literally.
To say I was frustrated at first would be accurate, though no fault of the software, more my underestimating the level of proficiency required to get quick results. Straight ohhs and ahhs are quick and easy to get, but more complex word structures take time and practise.
Day-to-Day Use
Out of the box, the vowel sustains are the stars. Hold down an “ahh” or “ooo” chord and you instantly get that polished backup section. The three singers blend beautifully, and pitch detune adds human imperfection in a very musical way.
The crossfade patches are brilliant, you can morph from “oo” to “ah” with the mod wheel mid-phrase, which breathes life into otherwise static parts.
Where things slow down is when you want actual words. The WordBuilder is powerful, but it’s not point-and-shoot. You’ll be typing phonetically (“luv” instead of “love”) and adjusting timing endlessly. Short words with plosives (“b,” “p”) can sound clunky unless you line them up carefully.
Pro tip: Layer a simple vowel sustain underneath your custom WordBuilder phrase. It smooths out the edges and makes the diction less exposed.
Comparisons
If you’ve used Hollywood Choirs, you’ll notice this feels less forgiving. A 60-piece choir can hide bad diction; three backup singers can’t. You’ll need to be more precise.
Compared to Voices of Soul, this is less about solo fireworks and more about layered support. In fact, they complement each other perfectly – Voices of Soul for the lead, Backup Singers for the lift behind.
WordBuilder & Presets
The star of the show is, of course, WordBuilder. EastWest has included a bunch of preset phrases that lean heavily into gospel, where these voices really shine. When you nail a phrase, it can sound fantastic.
That said, WordBuilder here doesn’t feel quite as forgiving as it does with EastWest’s larger choir libraries. With choirs, slight mispronunciations get lost in the wash. Backup singers, being more intimate and exposed, demand cleaner diction, so your phonetic programming needs to be much more precise. Simple words can sound off if you’re not careful, which can be unintentionally funny at times.
The Bigger Picture
Like many of these advanced vocal libraries, you have to weigh up whether the time you’ll spend programming is worth more than just hiring a singer to lay down the part. For producers who can’t bring in live talent – or for quick demos and production sketches -Hollywood Backup Singers is a lifesaver.
Its closest in-house competition is Voices of Soul, which covers more lead and solo vocal duties. In fact, the two pair together quite well: one for powerful lead lines, the other for lush backing harmonies.
Conclusion
Hollywood Backup Singers is one of those libraries that rewards the patient. If you’re just after lush vocal pads, you’ll certianly be smiling within minutes. If you want word-perfect harmonies, though, you’ll need to invest time learning WordBuilder and working with phonetic spelling.
Once you understand its quirks, the results can be excellent. This isn’t a library for anonymous choir ahhs and oohs, but for moments where you need specific phrasing, articulation, and character in the vocal lines. For producers who can’t simply call up a trio of world-class vocalists, it’s about as close as you’ll get to having a professional backing section on speed dial.
For full details on Hollywood Backup Singers or EastWest ComposerCloud, visit the website on www.soundsonline.com
