THROWBACK #16: HENRY- TRAP

Released: June 7th, 2013

2013 was a fun year full of memorable tunes in my playlist, but it also the beginning of the transition from the 2nd to the 3rd generation, where countless new boy and girl groups out of nowhere started debuting. However, this didn't slow down any of the 2nd generation groups, as many of them soared to new heights that year. Girl's Day saw much success with their catchy hit Expectation. 4MINUTE rose even higher with their infectious-hook single What's Your Name. Sistar released the undisputed song of the summer with Give It To Me. And then out of the shadows came Henry. Although he was mostly kept out of the spotlight as a Super Junior member, Henry did whatever he could to build his platform, participating as a member of the unit Super Junior-M, singing for OSTs, as well as featuring in various collaborations. And then in June of 2013, Henry made his solo debut with the lead single Trap.

This hip-hop track embodies one of my favorite elements in a track; chord progressions. The production is simple yet effective; the chord progression harmony repeats itself as a loop in both the verses and the choruses. These harmonies not only add depth to the melody, but they also establish a direction for it to progress forward, hence the name. All throughout Trap, there is a not a single moment where the song's momentum falters, even in the bridge. It's almost like a continuous flow of air through a medium without encountering any turbulence; the energy just keeps pulsing through. The chord progression as a hook in the intro may not be the catchiest as hooks, but the amount of build throughout the verse is impressive. The chorus absolutely delivers, changing the chords up but relying on the same formula that made the verses progress effectively. I don't know exactly why Taemin was chosen to feature in the song, but its always nice to hear extra vocal layers on top of each other. Once again, although things momentarily calm down in the bridge, a chord progression is still present in the background, setting the fireworks up for the final climax. As expected, the addition of Kyuhyun glorifies the last chorus, adding vocal harmonies on top of the already stacked layers as the chorus repeats itself for another run.

Trap's production is minimalistic, but the energy throughout is still vivid, by relying on smart song-writing. The instruments used also deserve a huge bonus, with the piano aggressively keeping the guitar chord progression intact. The result is a song that is truly one of my favorites of 2013 and a song that also brings back memories back when I exposed myself to Korean media in my home-country of Vietnam in the summer of 2013.

RATING: 7.8/10