single Leigh-Anne - “Don’t Say Love”

[The Slayer]

 

[Testosterone]

Bit weird they are focussing on the US so much, shouldn’t she be trying to establish herself in the one market she was actually successful in.

 

 

[tbhmatt]

We’re waaaay too early in to Leigh’s career to start discussing the possibility of her becoming a faceless DJ hook girl. I know it’s a cheat code to getting some chart success in the UK, but it would be at the expense of any creative vision or direction Leigh has for her own solo career.

 

This might not be a popular opinion, but the whole point of the Little Mix hiatus was for all three of them to explore their own musical identity and creativity. If any of them went down the generic dance collab route for the sake of a few cheap hits, it would render the whole thing ultimately pointless for me. They’re all in a very unique position where they’ve got the success behind them and can now thrive making the kind of music they want.

 

I obviously want them all to be successful, but I’d much rather they carved out their own niche in the market and explored new avenues instead of resorting to generic faceless collabs, even if that means they don’t quite reach the commercial peaks they did together in the group. 
 

Leigh has already teased that the album will progressively get more RnB and showcase more of the music she listens to and is inspired by. That alone is more interesting and exciting to me than the prospect of her jumping on a Joel Corry song. I hope that she and her team follow through with the project as it was intended.

[Robbie.]

Why is she being sent to the US when the song hasn't even been made available for radio over there...

[tbhmatt]

It’s only a small milestone, but she’s now surpassed 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify

 

She’s now on 1,076,459 monthly listeners. Not bad for someone who only has one song that’s been out for 8 days

[The Slayer]

5 minutes ago, tbhmatt said:

It’s only a small milestone, but she’s now surpassed 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify

 

She’s now on 1,076,459 monthly listeners. Not bad for someone who only has one song that’s been out for 8 days

This is pretty standard, Jesy was similar then it'll go down after a while.

 

However, Leigh's will probably remain higher as I see her releasing songs way more regularly with more support.

[tbhmatt]

7 minutes ago, The Slayer said:

This is pretty standard, Jesy was similar then it'll go down after a while.

 

However, Leigh's will probably remain higher as I see her releasing songs way more regularly with more support.

Yes, it’s the amount of unique listeners she’s registered in a 28-day period with each listener only counting once no matter how many times they’ve streamed (I think it’s 28 days); there will be plenty of people who listened on NMF and never listened again, so she’ll drop in listeners at the end of the month 

[The Slayer]

Just now, tbhmatt said:

Yes, it’s the amount of unique listeners she’s registered in a 28-day period with each listener only counting once no matter how many times they’ve streamed (I think it’s 28 days); there will be plenty of people who listened on NMF and never listened again, so she’ll drop in listeners at the end of the month 

I would love to know what her team is thinking right now.

 

I genuinely believe people are writing Leigh off too early, I see her doing collabs that do really well!

 

I can see her solo career being decent, as she has a loyal fanbase that'll attend album signings etc.

[tbhmatt]

6 minutes ago, The Slayer said:

I would love to know what her team is thinking right now.

 

I genuinely believe people are writing Leigh off too early, I see her doing collabs that do really well!

 

I can see her solo career being decent, as she has a loyal fanbase that'll attend album signings etc.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, she needs to release content! To find her audience and build her brand, she needs to just continue releasing music. I’d like to see DSL promoted throughout summer, a second single launched around Sep/Oct at the latest (just before the Christmas freeze) and then a third single early in the new year, followed by the album. 
 

The one thing I *dont* want her team to do is fall down the trap of delaying and pushing things back endlessly in the hopes of trying to get a “smash hit” because that may never come. Let her get the album out there so she can find her audience and then take it from there. 
 

I trust that her team understand this, though. 

[tbhmatt]

242,126 streams on Spotify yesterday. That is pretty abysmal, considering Friday is usually the biggest day for most songs. I actually think that’s the lowest daily total the song has done so far. 

[tbhmatt]

The song was obviously going to suffer from being removed from NMF playlists, however decreasing on a Friday isn’t a good sign at all. The song has decreased in daily streams 4 days in a row, it’s really not looking good at the moment. 

[The Slayer]

25 minutes ago, tbhmatt said:

The song was obviously going to suffer from being removed from NMF playlists, however decreasing on a Friday isn’t a good sign at all. The song has decreased in daily streams 4 days in a row, it’s really not looking good at the moment. 

I'm just so surprised! 

[tbhmatt]

31 minutes ago, The Slayer said:

I'm just so surprised! 

All we can do now is hope that people respond positively to hearing the song on the radio as airplay increases. I’d say give it another few weeks or so, but if this hasn’t budged on streaming by then there isn’t much more that can be done in terms of chart peaks. Hopefully we’ll at least get some more promo and live performances so we can enjoy the content.

[Xpress2019]

Not surprised at how this is performing tbh. I love Leigh but this is too GENERIC. I know some times generic works on the charts but LM have already done a song like this…No Time For Tears and that is superior to DSL. 
 

I still think she needs to lean into the U.K. RnB vibe. Go the Ella Mai and Cat Burns route in terms of tone and build an urban audience and consistent airplay on BBC radio 1xtra for example. That audience will consistently stream her music but they’ve hardly played DSL as it’s not the sound they tend to play. 

[tbhmatt]

Whoever runs this account is so ev*l dddd, this dramatic teaser making people think a remix is dropping when it’s just a “streaming party” that’s going to have Anitta songs on the playlist ddd

[liquiddiamonds]

2 hours ago, Xpress2019 said:

Not surprised at how this is performing tbh. I love Leigh but this is too GENERIC. I know some times generic works on the charts but LM have already done a song like this…No Time For Tears and that is superior to DSL. 
 

I still think she needs to lean into the U.K. RnB vibe. Go the Ella Mai and Cat Burns route in terms of tone and build an urban audience and consistent airplay on BBC radio 1xtra for example. That audience will consistently stream her music but they’ve hardly played DSL as it’s not the sound they tend to play. 

Agreed. Yeah I didnt say anything during the first week because Leigh’s fans deserve the joy of celebrating a debut and making it work (and y’all did put the work), but this is way too faceless. It just has a garage/2-step beat, but it doesn’t go anywhere interesting with it. The pre-chorus needed more work, the prolonged higher note sounds out of place; the chorus lacks that OOMP that could hook pop-dance audiences (the people that really consume garage). Instead it comes off a bit too Disney Channel/RuPaul-ish and very overworked for radio. But the biggest crime of it all is how lacking in dynamic this beat is…. Its kinda shocking how basic the beat is
 

Honestly if she had delivered a Jorja’s On My Mind level of garage BOP we would be having a different conversation. That one came from a place for clubs and knew its audience. Leigh’s heart is in the right place, but I need more feeling and personality from the music

Edited June 25, 2023 by liquiddiamonds

[Xpress2019]

7 hours ago, liquiddiamonds said:

Agreed. Yeah I didnt say anything during the first week because Leigh’s fans deserve the joy of celebrating a debut and making it work (and y’all did put the work), but this is way too faceless. It just has a garage/2-step beat, but it doesn’t go anywhere interesting with it. The pre-chorus needed more work, the prolonged higher note sounds out of place; the chorus lacks that OOMP that could hook pop-dance audiences (the people that really consume garage). Instead it comes off a bit too Disney Channel/RuPaul-ish and very overworked for radio. But the biggest crime of it all is how lacking in dynamic this beat is…. Its kinda shocking how basic the beat is
 

Honestly if she had delivered a Jorja’s On My Mind level of garage BOP we would be having a different conversation. That one came from a place for clubs and knew its audience. Leigh’s heart is in the right place, but I need more feeling and personality from the music

YES!! Totally agree. 
 

Hopefully the 2nd single is better sonically and more interesting. If not, all this “stepping out on my own” thing is so pointless if even subpar to what they did in LM. 

[tbhmatt]

Down to #42 on Apple Music…

[Hustler]

A bit surprised at the underperformance because I still think the song is radio candy.

We need live performances. Radio promo can only do so much for playlisting purposes. And once again: THEY NEED TO FOCUS ON EUROPE. US ain’t gonna give her ish at the moment.

[Cbreezy]

13 hours ago, Xpress2019 said:

Not surprised at how this is performing tbh. I love Leigh but this is too GENERIC. I know some times generic works on the charts but LM have already done a song like this…No Time For Tears and that is superior to DSL. 
 

I still think she needs to lean into the U.K. RnB vibe. Go the Ella Mai and Cat Burns route in terms of tone and build an urban audience and consistent airplay on BBC radio 1xtra for example. That audience will consistently stream her music but they’ve hardly played DSL as it’s not the sound they tend to play. 

 

10 hours ago, liquiddiamonds said:

Agreed. Yeah I didnt say anything during the first week because Leigh’s fans deserve the joy of celebrating a debut and making it work (and y’all did put the work), but this is way too faceless. It just has a garage/2-step beat, but it doesn’t go anywhere interesting with it. The pre-chorus needed more work, the prolonged higher note sounds out of place; the chorus lacks that OOMP that could hook pop-dance audiences (the people that really consume garage). Instead it comes off a bit too Disney Channel/RuPaul-ish and very overworked for radio. But the biggest crime of it all is how lacking in dynamic this beat is…. Its kinda shocking how basic the beat is
 

Honestly if she had delivered a Jorja’s On My Mind level of garage BOP we would be having a different conversation. That one came from a place for clubs and knew its audience. Leigh’s heart is in the right place, but I need more feeling and personality from the music

Really interesting insights. I also have been ruminating on what's not connecting. 

 

There still is definite room for this to grow/chart (or for them to do a cheap price slash to snatch one week in the top 10), but with all the promo and tactics this should have been an easy top 10. 

 

That said, I don't agree that Cat Burns, Jorja Smith, or Ella Mai are the best angles for Leigh. 

 

None of those names chart consistently enough / at all to stand as examples. And that's not to do with the quality of their music, but the state of R&B in the UK.

 

The market there doesn't really give R&B a proper look-in unless it's from an American act. The UK Urban scene more broadly is so jarringly linear that unless you're MALE and named Stormzy, Central Cee, Fredo, Dave, J Hus, Burna Boy or similar, they just don't give it an adequate push. Even the female rap acts don't get a fraction of the promo the males get (see: Stefflon Don, Ms Banks, Lady Leshurr etc). Which comes to my main point...

 

Leigh needed/needs a feature. 

 

I get the nobility of wanting to come swinging on her own, but as others have pointed out:

 

a) Little Mix left on a "high" narratively speaking (Sweet Melody going #1, tour etc), but commercially Confetti is not their best seller and those Between Us singles struggled. All fine/understandable in context, but gives insight into why Leigh isn't smashing out of the gate.

 

b) She was never the "main" girl in the group

 

With that, she would benefit from the added lift from a feature from a Stormzy, Central Cee, Dave, or Burna (like Jorja's Be Honest). 

 

IMO, in general she's actually doing the music that makes the most sense for the audience she has. Basically "Little Mix-lite". I agree it could and should be better, but let's not over-estimate the embrace she'd receive from UK R&B listeners. For example, during Jesy-gate, I have friends that follow music and social media shenanigans heavy and only "found out" Sweet Melody existed (speak less it being a #1) when it was brought up during the back and forth. This really woke me up to how "in a bubble" we all are with the music/artists we like. In "my" world, LM have this huge following, snatch hits left and right, etc. Yet, right next to me, there are people who don't have a clue. 

 

When framed in this lens, it's wiser IMO for her to cater to her established mass of fans (aka Pop listeners) and slowly, surely, and strategically expand to a broader audience. Features would really help with this too. 

Edited June 25, 2023 by Cbreezy

[The Slayer]

First performance, really surprised she mimed.

 

 

[sickoagb]

2 hours ago, The Slayer said:

First performance, really surprised she mimed.

 

It's always like this at these US release parties tbh. I guess for continuity sake between it and the other music played throughout the night.

[WERKER]

I really enjoyed reading the last page of everyone’s takes on the songs performance in the charts. 
 

I just want Leigh’s vision to continue to play out and my worry is that the label will see this investment as a underperformance and a mistake and will push back her releases - ruining the vision Leigh has. Fingers crossed that doesn’t happen. 

[The Slayer]

DSL is officially out of the Top 20 in the first look.

[tbhmatt]

Unsurprisingly this fell out of the UK Spotify Top 200 again on Saturday