I’ve watched the Secret members since before their debut. I’ve seen Secret grow over the years to become what it is today.I’m really proud of Secret these days. Housed under TS Entertainment, one of the smaller talent agencies, Secret has slowly climbed its way to the top, without stirring up any trouble, to become one of the most sought-after girl groups of 2011. And the girls did it within two years of their debut.
The Secret members, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, looked incredibly busy. The girls were scheduled for back to back interviews with various members of the media every hour to talk about their first official album Moving in Secret.
“We’re so busy these days,” said Han Sunhwa. “We haven’t been able to rest for even a day. The most we’ve rested is a quarter of the day on Chuseok. They say our schedule is packed until the end of the year.”
Member Song Jieun said, “We recorded the Japanese album with this album, and while recording two songs per day, we felt the limitations of our efforts. I felt pathetic recording a song I didn’t understand. I pushed myself and just managed to wrap recording.”
The girls, who share a dorm, still do not own cell phones. They’ve lived without cell phones since their debut. “It’s okay now because we’re used to it,” said the members with a laugh. As a result of their busy schedules and not having cell phones, the girls don’t have very many celebrity friends, and, now that I think about it, the girls have never been at the center of a scandal or malicious gossip. Although they sing love songs, they don’t have much dating experience.
“It’s difficult to sing because we’re so emotionally drained,” said Sunhwa. “While recording the ballad Don’t Laugh on this album, I thought of my mom to get the emotions out. My mom came up from Busan, and I only got to see her face before she went back. I thought about that and the emotions just poured out.”
This release is the group’s first official album. All of their previous hits were released in mini albums, and compared to other idol groups, Secret’s album is a late release.
Hyosung said, “We were a little embarrassed because junior singers released their official albums before us. That’s why we welcomed this album. We recorded nine tracks and put a lot of work into it.”
While Love is MOVE, the retro dance track with a disco feel, is strangely reminiscent of Secret’s previous hits Magic and Madonna, it has its own charm. Its distinctive feature is the intensified retro feel.
“We worried about whether we’d be able to pull the song off,” said member Hyosung. “People who listen to it for the first time say that it’s chaotic, but the more you listen to it, the more exciting it gets. I like it because it’s filled with Secret’s healthy image, which is our strength.”
While shooting the album photos, the girls displayed a mature sexiness distinct from the innocent sexiness of their Magic and Madonna promotions.
Hyosung said, “It’s somewhat of an awkward concept. We wanted to show a transformation, and I think it will come across well.”
With the release of the official album and going on three years since their debut, the burden on the group weighs heavier on the girls as their popularity continues to rise.
“Our thought now is that we can’t make a mistake or show that we’re lacking,” said Sunhwa. “When we were rookies, even though we were lacking, there were those who cheered us on, saying we were working hard, but now if we make a mistake, they push us harder.”
Hyosung added, “Because there are higher expectations for the album, we felt a greater burden. When we recorded Magic, [people told us] we had nothing to lose. If it doesn’t do well, we can try again, but if it does well, than that’s great. But, now we feel burdened because we wouldn’t know what to do if [this album] doesn’t do well.”
I asked the girls if they were interested in dabbling in other areas. Sunhwa said she wants to appear on a talk show like Come to Play, while Jieun said she would like to do a reality show. Member Zinger hopes to be a radio DJ and Hyosung dreams of becoming an MC.
Their eyes shone as the members talked about the things they wanted to do. However, they quickly snapped back to reality and said, “Our promotions as singers come first.”
“Because we received so much love in the first half of this year, I almost feel bad asking [the fans] to love us more,” said Hyosung. “Still, through Love is MOVE, we want to receive even more love. It’s a war out there in the music industry. I’m so happy just to be a part of that competition. I want to receive an award at the end of the year and end 2011 on a good note.
Although it had been a while since I had last seen them, we were only allotted one hour. The members said with a laugh, “We didn’t say everything we wanted to say. Come by our office sometime.” We decided to continue the conversation later at the office and wrapped the interview. The Secret of today is the same as that of 2009: bright and cheerful.
Photo credit: TS Entertainment
Translation credit: Nancy Lee via enewsWorld
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