Trap (EP) explained

Trap
Type:EP
Artist:Henry
Cover:Henry_Lau-Trap-Album_Cover.jpg
Released:June 7, 2013 (Korean version)
August 14, 2013 (Chinese version)
Recorded:2013
Studio:S.M. Studios, Seoul
Genre:
Length:28:33
Label:
Producer:Lee Soo-man
Next Title:Fantastic
Next Year:2014

Trap is the debut solo extended play of Canadian singer and Super Junior-M member Henry. It was released on June 7, 2013, by S.M. Entertainment in South Korea.[1] The tracks "Trap"[2] and "1-4-3 (I Love You)"[3] were chosen as the lead singles for the promotional cycle.

Background

A video teaser for the title track of Henry Lau's debut EP, "Trap", was released on May 31,[4] followed by a highlight medley video of the tracks included in his first mini-album.[5]

The title track and EP's lead single was composed and arranged by a group of European music producers including Svante Halldin, Emilh Tigerlantz and Geraldo Sandell. The lyrics were penned by Misfit who has also contributed to many other songs of various SM Town artists. The piano instrumental was performed by Henry himself. The accompanying choreography was put together by Shaun Evaristo, who has previously worked on many other songs with other artists of SM Town, including BoA for "Not Over U", Super Junior for "From U" and Super Junior-M for "Go".[6]

The EP's second promotional single was "1-4-3 (I Love You)". In the song, 1-4-3 represents the breakdown of how many letters it takes to write "I love you". Using this specific number sequence became popular in the 1990s with the advent of pagers.[7] The song also mentions the number sequence of 4-8-6, which represents the breakdown of how many strokes it takes to write 사랑해 (the Korean phrase for "I love you") in Hangul.[8]

Releases

The album was officially released in South Korea on June 7, 2013, along with the music video of "Trap".[9] An English version of "Trap" was released as a part of the digital single "1-4-3 (I Love You)" on August 23, 2013.[10]

The Taiwan edition of Trap was released on July 5 in Taiwan.[11] The album is the same as the Korean edition except a raffle ticket is included inside for Henry's Taiwanese promotions.

The Chinese version of Trap was released on August 14 and it includes a Chinese version of "Trap" and "1-4-3 (I Love You)."[12] Both versions of "Trap" (one featuring Super Junior member Cho Kyuhyun and one featuring Shinee member Lee Taemin) were also included in this album.

Promotions

Trap and title track

The music video of the song featured fellow labelmates Cho Kyuhyun and Lee Taemin. The video starts with Henry playing the grand piano and after whispering "I'm trapped" as he joins the background dancers in a B-boy styled choreography. The video ends with Henry going back to and playing the piano once again. A Chinese version of the music video was released on August 13.

Henry promoted the album on many music shows, including Music Bank,[13] and Arirang Simply K-Pop.[14] His first overseas performance was at the Hong Kong Dome Concert on July 1, 2013, in Hong Kong.[15] A short performance of the Chinese version of "Trap" was filmed and shown on Hong Kong's TVB program, Jade Solid Gold. He was also the presenter for an award on this program.

Henry started overseas promotions in August, starting with Bangkok, Thailand and Taipei, Taiwan for his album launch. He stayed in Taiwan for seven days to attend several TV programs as a guest and a radio show. He also held a fan signing event with over 3000 fans in attendance.[16] He also attended Super Junior's Super Show 5 in Taipei that same week as a member of Super Junior-M.[17]

"1-4-3 (I Love You)"

On August 14, 2013, SM Entertainment announced that Lau would have follow-up promotions for a re-release of his song "1-4-3 (I Love You)" as a digital single featuring his label mate, Amber Liu of f(x).[18] The single was released on August 23.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the official homepage.[19]

Chart performance

The song "Trap" peaked at number 28 on the Gaon Digital Chart and number 18 on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Weekly singles.[20] "1-4-3" reached number 35 on the Gaon chart.[21]

Album chart

CountryChart Peak
position
South KoreaGaon Weekly album chart[22] 2
Gaon Monthly album chart[23] 5
Gaon Yearly album chart[24] 47
TaiwanG-Music Combo Chart10
United StatesBillboard World Albums[25] 3
Billboard Heatseekers[26] 45

Release history

Country Date Format Distributing label
South Korea June 7, 2013 (Korean version) SM Entertainment, KT Music
Taiwan July 5, 2013 (Korean version) CD Avex Taiwan
August 14, 2013 (Chinese version)
Philippines October 8, 2013 (Korean version) Universal Records Philippines

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Super Junior-M's Henry Revealed to be Mystery SM Solo Singer. mwave.interest.me. May 30, 2013.
  2. News: Super Junior-M's Henry Has Got Us Trapped. Eun, Elizabeth . Hong, Grace Danbi . amp . CJ E&M enewsWorld. June 7, 2013. July 6, 2013.
  3. Web site: 헨리 '1-4-3'으로 컴백, 에프엑스 엠버 피처링 지원사격. News.nate.com. August 23, 2013.
  4. News: SM Releases Henry 'Trap' Teaser Feat. Super Junior's Kyuhyun and SHINee's Taemin. June 7, 2013. Lee, Nancy. CJ E&M enewsWorld. May 31, 2013.
  5. News: Super Junior-M's Henry Piques Interest with Album Highlight Medley. June 7, 2013. Hong, Grace Danbi . CJ E&M enewsWorld. June 4, 2013.
  6. Web site: Henry's ′Trap′ Gathers Attention with a Unique Performance. June 6, 2013. July 6, 2013. M! Wave.
  7. Web site: Henry to Promote New Song ′1-4-3 (I Love You)′ with Amber. mwave.interest.me. August 10, 2013.
  8. Web site: Henry Releases "1-4-3 (I Love You)" featuring f(x)'s Amber. billboard.com. August 21, 2013.
  9. News: Super Junior-M's Henry Has Got Us Trapped. June 7, 2013. Eun, Elizabeth . Hong, Grace Danbi . amp . CJ E&M enewsWorld. June 7, 2013.
  10. News: Henry 1st digital Single 1-4-3 . September 6, 2014.
  11. News: Henry首張迷你專輯「Trap」台壓版【宅配附海報】. August 8, 2013. Avex Taiwan. July 2013.
  12. News: Henry首張迷你專輯「Trap(中文版)」. August 8, 2013. Avex Taiwan. August 2013.
  13. News: Super Junior-M's Henry to Perform 'Trap' with Super Junior's Kyuhyun and SHINee's Taemin. June 6, 2013. Grace Danbi Hong.
  14. News: Simply K-Pop Ep70 Henry - Trap / 심플리케이팝, 헨리 . July 9, 2013.
  15. News: SM Artists Heat Up 2014 Hong Kong Dome Festival . July 19, 2013.
  16. News: 「SJ-M」Henry緊擁「老婆」10秒 3000名小三緊盯. August 14, 2013. ETtoday. August 14, 2013.
  17. News: Henry successfully concludes his first solo promotions in Thailand. August 3, 2013.
  18. News: Henry recruits Amber for follow-up song promotions with '1-4-3 (I Love You)'. August 14, 2013. Allkpop. August 14, 2013.
  19. Web site: Henry's Official Homepage. October 10, 2013 . SM Entertainment. September 6, 2014.
  20. Web site: [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=shinee|chart=Korea K-Pop Hot 100}} Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Music Chart ]. February 28, 2013. Billboard. July 6, 2013.
  21. Web site: 국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!. gaonchart.co.kr. July 16, 2016.
  22. Web site: Gaon Album Chart Weekly (9/6/2013-15/6/2013). Gaon. July 7, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141018032051/http://www-new.gaonchart.co.kr/chart/album.php?f_chart_kind_cd=T&f_week=25&f_year=2013&f_type=week. October 18, 2014.
  23. Web site: Gaon Album Chart Monthly (6/2013). Gaon. February 2, 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141018031514/http://www-new.gaonchart.co.kr/chart/album.php?f_chart_kind_cd=T&f_month=06&f_year=2013&f_type=month. October 18, 2014.
  24. Web site: 국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!. gaonchart.co.kr. July 16, 2016.
  25. World Albums (June 22, 2013). Billboard.
  26. Heatseekers Albums (June 22, 2013). Billboard.
  27. Web site: 국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!. gaonchart.co.kr. July 16, 2016.