Reading Time: 2 min read

4 out of 5 stars

Ella Mai, "Leave You Alone" [📷: 10 Summers / Interscope]Grammy winner Ella Mae delivers a great preface to her sophomore album, Heart on My Sleeve, with an advanced single, “Leave You Alone.”

Ella Mai, Heart on My Sleeve [📷: 10 Summers / Interscope]

Finally, 🏆 Grammy winner 🎙 Ella Mai is back! That’s right, the 🎵 “Boo’d Up” standout returns after a four-year hiatus with her sophomore album, 💿 Heart on My Sleeve.  Mai has quietly released (or so it seems) singles from the project including 🎵 “Leave You Alone.  Much like she did during her 💿 Ella Mai days, she sounds terrific.

“Shoulda left you on read / I blew it / I’m stupid.” Yep, that tells you all you need to know thematically about “Leave You Alone.” Basically, Ella Mai messes around with a guy that’s a bad boy and can only blame herself – she simply can’t resist.  She’s taken with him, going on to say, “‘Cause every time you say you wanna chill / I end up naked” – uh oh! She goes on to sing, in the chorus, “I just can’t stop / Falling, for you / You a bad one baby / Make this good girl crazy.” Indeed! Besides an easily accessible, understandable theme, memorable lyrics, and terrific vocals, “Leave You Alone” has production (🎛 Meko Yohannes, 🎛 Dijon “Mustard” McFarlane, 🎛 Harmony Samuels, and 🎛 JV) that sounds fresh and characteristic of R&B.  It gives Mai a lift.


Final Thoughts 💭 

quality contentAll in all, Ella Mai makes a strong comeback with “Leave You Alone.” She sounds elite, much like she did back in 2018.  The songwriting and theme are accessible and likely will be relatable to plenty.  Finally, the production is strong. “Leave You Alone” = great preface to 💿 Heart on My Sleeve.

4 out of 5 stars


🎙 Ella Mai • 💿 Heart on My Sleeve🏷 10 Summers / Interscope • 🗓 5.6.22
[📷: 10 Summers, Brent Faulkner, Interscope, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]

 


the musical hype

the musical hype (Brent Faulkner) has earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music (music education, music theory/composition respectively). A multi-instrumentalist, he plays piano, trombone, and organ among numerous other instruments. He's a certified music educator, composer, and freelance music blogger. Faulkner cites music and writing as two of the most important parts of his life. Notably, he's blessed with a great ear, possessing perfect pitch.