“Don’t Say Love” marks the debut solo single of Leigh-Anne Pinnock from the English girl group, Little Mix. This solo release stands out as the first musical drop from any of the three active members of the band, who entered a hiatus in May 2022 to work on their individual endeavors.

The UK Garage and Dance-Pop influenced track finds Leigh-Anne asking for sincerity regarding the emotions of a significant other as she doesn’t want to waste her time and instead wants to find something genuine. However, as she explained in her Rolling Stone interview, it’s also about “feeling invisible and unheard for so much of my career,” a topic she previously touched on while promoting her 2021 BBC documentary Race, Pop & Power, which explores racism across the music industry and confronts her own experiences as the only black member of Little Mix.

On June 6th, 2023, a post with the caption “#leighanneiscoming” was published on Leigh-Anne’s Instagram with a preview of a visualizer and the first few seconds of the song. A pre-save link for “DSL” was available on her social media bios. Two days after, the singer shared the cover art and title as well as announcing the release date.

I’ve waited an incredibly long time to say this and I can’t believe it’s actually happening. DON’T SAY LOVE. My debut solo single is coming on JUNE 16 and you can pre-save/pre-add it RIGHT NOW! x