Ailee Gifts Fans Spring Vibes in Lovin’

After seven months, vocal powerhouse Ailee is back with the single and music video “Make up your mind” from her pre-release mini-album Lovin’. She dropped this pre-release as a gift to her fans ahead of her third studio album scheduled for release later this year. With this pre-release, Ailee aims to showcase her unique vocals and charm in a spring-inspired tracklist. 

Let’s Talk Music! 

Tracklist: 

  1. Tattoo 

  2. Make up your mind (title)

  3. 525

  4. Lose myself to you

  5. Ain’t talkin’ about me 

  6. Spring Flowers 

“Make up your mind”

The track “Make up your mind” is a modern soft-pop song about love at first sight and wanting a potential relationship. Her lyrics detail her resolution that she’s fallen in love with “the one” but also how she is exhausted of waiting for him to make a decision. By repeating the lines “You take your time,” and “Don’t waste my time,” Ailee makes it clear that she doesn’t want to wait anymore to fall in love. To add to her eagerness, she warns the object of her affection with lyrics that say, “If you keep acting complacent, you’ll lose me.” Even though there is this heightened expectation on Ailee to showcase her expressive and memorable vocals, she wants fans to enjoy this song for its soft and subtle tone. 

The music video is a vlog-inspired video that was filmed on an iPhone to keep consistent with a casual and playful concept. The video features well-known actor Park Eunsuk, and his character brings her lyrics to life by showcasing their beautiful chemistry together. They display small acts of love like going to the beach, taking photos of each other, riding on a motorcycle, and simply enjoying each other’s existence. In small instances throughout the video, we see single shots of Ailee wearing a white feathery gown radiating with beauty, set against a wall of flowers. It’s clear that this video focuses on enjoying the little things when falling in love at first sight with someone. 

B-Sides 

“Tattoo” is a soft, acoustic-styled track that starts the album off with a warm energy and aura from Ailee’s soothing vocals. With lyrics that say, “I wanna wear you forever” and “Tattoo your love on me,” Ailee says she doesn’t want to forget her past lover and that she wants to keep those memories forever. Since this track transitions to the main title “Make up your mind,” it’s clear that she wants to enjoy every instance of love, whether past or present. 

As the album transitions to “525,” you can hear the tempo change in comparison to the previous tracks. This track gives off a nighttime vibe with her light, whisper-like vocals throughout the verses and the synth mix in the background of the track. As her vocal energy increases approaching the chorus, fans get a taste of her elegant vocals echoing through their speakers. 

The beginning of “Lose myself to you” sounds similar to a music box, giving an antique and nostalgic introduction to the track. The light sound of the music box blends well with her vocals, creating a dream-like tone for the song. The golden moment in the track lies in the bridge where the song slows and you only hear fingers snapping along to Ailee’s falsetto. 

“Ain’t talkin’ about me” is the modern pop song you’ve been looking for on this album. There’s certainly something different in this track as it gives off a more emotional aura compared to the rest of the tracklist. In her lyrics, Ailee repeats the lines, “Why you doin’ this to me,” and “Why you turn your back on me,” giving off feelings of betrayal and hurt. It only becomes more obvious that she’s angry as she says, “Talkin’ about her, not about me.” 

Lastly, the album comes to an end with “Spring Flowers,” a welcoming track for the season of spring. The sound of guitar strings paints a majestic springtime picture, leaving you to imagine an open field full of flowers. Even though this song ends the album, it’s only a minor pause for fans as we await Ailee’s next comeback. 

In an effort to treat fans with a small gift, Ailee accurately matched the spring season we’re enjoying. The album paints a picture of happiness, love, and flowers. There’s still more to come from Ailee this year, but while you wait, slow down and enjoy the season with Lovin’

“MAKE UP YOUR MIND” TITLE SCORE: 9/10

“MAKE UP YOUR MIND” MV SCORE: 8/10

LOVIN’ ALBUM SCORE: 8/10

TOTAL SCORE: 8.3/10