This is the second in Western Wednesdays, and this time we’ve got an SM artist! If you missed the first one, check it out here.
Henry is known mostly for being a part of Super Junior-M. Having been raised by a Chinese father and Taiwanese mother in Canada, he learned to speak English as a mother tongue. Throughout the years he also became fluent in Mandarin and Korean, with a little knowledge in French, Cantonese and Thai. He demonstrates his variety of languages by releasing his song ‘Trap’ in 3 languages. Korean, Mandarin and English.
This song was part of his solo debut EP album, which showcases his singing talents, and features Kyuhyun of Super Junior and Taemin of SHINee. I’m not somebody who listens to SM artists often, but even I think this is exciting!
Although I was drawn into English version of the song, I still find myself liking the Korean one better. The English lyrics were written by a European lyricist, Geraldo Sandell and compared to the Korean lyrics I feel these are more rushed. Like he’s trying to squeeze as many words as he can into one line, especially in the chorus. Despite this, they have been thought out and the lyrics used in the verses are well written and imaginative, comparing himself to other ‘trapped’ situations. Henry is a very musical person, who can play violin, drums and piano. He proudly shows off his piano skills by playing the instrumental himself.
This is a very catchy song – like any other in K-Pop, with some powerful vocals the three boys. For a debut single, adding these big names to it can quickly gain popularity, but can also take the limelight away from Henry. Hopefully in the future, we’ll see some self composed music from him!
Sadly, there isn’t an English music video for this song, but you can listen to the song below!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8axgqzPkMvY
