"Clap" () is a song by South Korean boy group Seventeen. It was released as the lead single from their second studio album '' Teen, Age'' on November 6, 2017.

Background and release

In October 2017, Pledis Entertainment revealed that Seventeen would be releasing their second studio album titled ''Teen, Age''. The full track list was revealed on October 28, with "Clap" serving as the album's lead single. On November 7, Seventeen first performed "Clap" on a special broadcast by Mnet, alongside other songs from ''Teen, Age''.

Composition

The lyrics for "Clap" were written by Seventeen members Woozi, Jeonghan, Hoshi, Mingyu, DK and Seungkwan, alongside regular collaborators Park Ki-tae of Prismfilter and Bumzu. "Clap" has been described as a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

song, with a "gritty" guitar riff underscoring the song's chorus. It was composed by Woozi, Bumzu and Park, in the key of G♯ major with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 100 beats per minute.

Music video

The music video for "Clap" was released on the same day as ''Teen, Age''. It was directed by VM Project Architecture, and features the members of the group planning and editing their own music videos. Within one month, the video had reached 10 million views on YouTube, a milestone that Seventeen celebrated by releasing a commentary video breaking down the behind the scenes content of making the music video. In 2021 it became Seventeen's second music video to surpass 100 million views, after " Don't Wanna Cry", four years after its release.

Reception

Critics noticed the return to Seventeen's earlier sound with "Clap", in contrast to the group's previous release "Don't Wanna Cry". Jung Yu-na reviewed the song for '' IZM'', describing it as having a "masculine and powerful aura", and commended the use of guitar riffs during moments without singing or rapping.

Accolades

On South Korean music programs, "Clap" won two first place awards.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the ''Teen, Age'' lyric book. Location * Recorded at Ingrid Studio and 4420AZIT * Mixed at Pledis Studio * Edited at Ingrid Studio Credits and personnel * Bumzu – lyrics, composition, arrangement, chorus, synthesizer, recording * Woozi – lyrics, composition * Jeonghan – lyrics * Hoshi – lyrics * Mingyu – lyrics * DK – lyrics * Seungkwan – lyrics *Park Ki-tae – lyrics, composition, arrangement, guitar, synthesizer *Lee Dong-hyeok – bass *Jeong Eun-kyeong – recording, digital editing *Woo Min-jeong – recording *Kim Dae-young – mixing

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Seventeen (band) 2017 songs 2017 singles Seventeen (South Korean band) songs Songs in Korean