I’m In Love was SECRET’s last Korean single before their premature disbandment last year. If they had to end—and in my opinion, they didn’t—I’m glad they went out with this one.
There were two sides to SECRET’s coin: the energetic, brass-filled side exemplified by I’m In Love, Madonna and Poison—and the kitschy, cute concept they started experimenting with a few years into their career, starting with Shy Boy in 2011 and continuing with Starlight Moonlight (their most successful release) and YooHoo.
As someone who prefers the former style, and were disappointed in their gradual swing toward the latter as the group matured, I’m In Love represents what SECRET does best: a fast, danceable beat wrapped up in a package of confident sexuality. Oh, and the brass. Good heavens, the brass!
SECRET’s end would not be the cleanest, as it so often is when idols reach the end of the line. While the group would technically be extant for four more years following 2014's I’m In Love, they would have no more new releases, with the individual members focusing on solo albums and acting work. Their agency was also working on debuting a new girl group—SONAMOO—and fans started grumbling that SECRET were being left in the dust.
One of the members, Sunhwa, would announce her departure in 2016. The remaining members would follow in 2018, and you bet there were lawsuits involved.