Believe it or not, there is an art to creating background vocal in any song. Be it pop, rock, country, R'n'B, Hip hop, whatever-the execution and production of these vocals requires a bit of thought to properly arrange.
I will show you a technique that I incorporate in many pop songs.
Instructions
1. In most pop music, the lead vocal is considered king. Everything else is there to accentuate this component. If you begin by recording the lead vocal, then it is now time to add the backgrounds.
2. I tend to add the lead double next. In the event that the lead is incredibly demanding for the vocalist, then I may elect to construct one from any of the outtakes that have been amassed. Otherwise I will have the vocalist perform the lead parts again.
The purpose of the double is to support the lead by fattening it a bit, and in some cases as an effect. The double can make the lead sound bigger and fuller.
Sometimes I may even add an additional double to both the left and right sides. This will create an even wider stereo image that makes the lead vocal huge. At this point your lead will consist of four tracks, a lead, double and sides.
3. Unlike the lead vocal, which has all the inflections and nuances that make it special, the ancillary vocals do not demand the same treatment. In which case the vocalist can perform these track more easily and not have to focus so much on the lead stylings.
Again, the background vocals are there for support of the lead and should neither compete nor distract from its function.
4. The same stylings apply to all subsequent orchestrations of other background vocals. Perhaps you have a chorus vocal that incorporates a "stack" of harmonies. You may be surprised to realize how effective and more "pocketed" the backgrounds can be by not accentuating the hard consonants. Though it may seem a bit odd to avoid singing the song in it's usual way, it works well to begin on a soft vowel instead.
For instance, if the lead vocal is singing the lyrics, "Oooh, baby I love you," the backgrounds could read like this: "Ooooh, aby I ove ou." As silly as it seems, it works. Just removing the beginning consonants of each word will allow the lead to pop and the backgrounds to create a giant backdrop.
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