Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock, or Leigh-Anne as she’s going by now, has started her solo career with the release of debut single ‘Don’t Say Love’ today.
The track is co-written by Leigh-Anne with Aldae, Jimmie Gutch, and Jon Bellion and Pete Nappi, who also produced it. Anyone expecting something vastly different from Little Mix is going to disappointed as ‘Don’t Say Love’ isn’t a million miles away from what the girl band has put out in the past. Leaning harder into garage rhythms, the upbeat pop song proves that Leigh-Anne can easily carry a tune without her former bandmates.
By sticking to a sound that isn’t going to alienate Little Mix fans, Leigh-Anne has made a smart move. It’s different enough from the band’s releases but you can be sure if they were still making music, this is the kind of cool pop song that they might have recorded. It’s nice to hear Leigh-Anne’s vocals without the other girls (I know she sang in ‘Boxing Day’ and has released a number of covers on social media) in a slickly produced song that is destined for Top 10 status when it charts next week.
The accompanying music video directed by Emil Nava features Leigh-Anne performing the track to camera while working her way through an apartment block and dancing surrounded by dancers. She looks confident, relaxed and clearly ready to give a solo career her best stab. I recently wrote an article speculating on whether Leigh-Anne could be the breakout solo star of Little Mix, and on the evidence of ‘Don’t Say Love’ she could well be.
At the end of the video Leigh-Anne teases ‘to be continued’, which suggests there’s going to be plenty more music on the way. At the time of writing this article, there’s no confirmation of an album or further releases but the buzz around ‘Don’t Say Love’ should ensure Leigh-Anne has a strong start to her solo career. Don’t be surprised if this earworm of a tune ends up being one of the songs of the summer.
You can listen to the track and watch the video at the top of this article. Let us know what you think by tweeting at @entfocusmusic on social media!
