This post was requested by my BFF, Superbly Bubbly (http://www.asianfanfics.com/profile/view/761242). Since it is a comparison, I will start by critiquing both versions, then I'll compare and contrast them. I'll try not to be biased, but Henry is my favorite artist.

 

Trap (Feat. Kyuhyun of Super Junior and Taemin of SHINee)

The Artists:

Henry:

Praise:

• In this song, his debut as a solo artist under SMEntertainment, Henry does a pretty good job of keeping his voice steady while he sings, even during live performances.
• His dancing is nice because, although it may not be the best dance to showcase his talent, it's somewhat easy for fans to learn.
• He also does a good job portraying the emotions of the song.
• The way he sings the song with his light voice is refreshing because not many KPop artists sing that way.
• Also, he has a nice range and a strong voice good for hitting long high notes.
• Lastly, the way he opens the song in the video with a classical piano solo he wrote is unique from other artists.

Critique:

There isn't really anything I can say other than his Korean pronunciation could still use some work.

Kyuhyun:

Praise:

Although he doesn't sing much of the song, he earns his spot by his impressive range and smooth voice.

Critique:

His range is impressive, but sometimes, high notes can get a little bit too high. He might be pushing it just a bit in this song.

Taemin:

Praise:

Taemin's voice is nice in this song and his dancing is very good as usual. He keeps his voice steady which complements the others.

Critique:

I honestly have nothing.

The Song:

The music:

Trap is a very repetative song when it comes to the music. Despite this, it is still nice because it lacks the harshness Dubstep and synthesizers can bring. Because it's basically just a piano, it has a soft, yet powerful quality to it.

The lyrics:

The song is basically about a guy who is trapped in his ex-girlfriend's heart. He wants her to let him out so he can move on. All he can do is think about her even though she left him and betrayed him. The lyrics are sad and moving, and they don't have any weird lines that make no sense.

The Video:

The dance:

The dance is pretty cool, from the wall of background dancers to the bandanas at the end. It has a macarena-like quality to it that can make the main part of it easy to learn with practice.

The scenes:

Like most SM videos, Trap sports a couple of box sets. The first is a living room with a piano and empty birdcage in it. It looks pretty nice and helps to tie the video to the song, like when Henry grabs the giant birdcage and throws it to the floor, symbolizing his similarity to a caged bird.

The second is pretty much just a box that lights up, but everyone is dancing in those parts so it isn't really that important what it looks like.

It also has a car scene, which isn't something SM does often, so that's pretty cool and manly and stuff.

The wardrobe:

Henry:

Henry starts out in a pretty snazzy pair of dress clothes, a unique tie-pin, and a shiny pair of dress shoes. Soon he moves on to a tiger(?) print track suit with knee-high socks and a black hoodie underneath the other jacket and another shirt underneath the hoodie! Talk about staying warm! Guess he had to compensate for the shorts... He also has a ring for almost every finger, a chain bracelet, a chain necklace, and a cross necklace. But he can pull it off just fine. I personally like the outfit with the shirt with mesh shoulders and the hat with the crown on it best, although the gold jacket is cool too. And he looks great with the leather jacket and sunglasses he's wearing when the piano catches fire (which was just EPIC). I could talk about his other clothes, too, but let's not because there's still a bit to go over.

Kyuhyun:

Okay, so whoever came up with the idea to put Kyuhyun in leggings and shorts was just cruel. It just looks so weird! Aigoo!

Taemin:

Taemin also got stuck in leggings and shorts, but his hoodie and jacket were pretty cool, and so were his earrings. I guess that makes up for it...

 

Trap [English Ver.]

The Artist:

Henry:

Henry's voice stays the same regardless of whether he's singing in English, Korean, or Mandarin. So he was just as consistent and smooth throughout the song as in the Korean version. I will say I had a hard time understanding him, but I do that with other English singers, so...

The Song:

The music is the same, so we'll talk about the lyrics.

Trap's English version is still just as meaningful as the Korean, but perhaps not quite as sad. Yeah, he's still frustrated and tired of loving her, but it lacks the depth of heartbreak the Korean version has.

 

Sadly, the English version has no video, so...

 

Overall, both versions are about the same on every level, but I would pick the Korean version as the winner because the lyrics are a bit more heartfelt than the English ones.

I can't even tell you how many times I've listened to the many versions of Trap and seen the videos (I can say it's a LOT).

 

Thanks for reading and be sure to request a song you would like my opinion on! :)