"(Not) The Love of My Life" is a song by Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna, released as the fourth single from her fourth international album (her seventh overall), Rouge. The song was co-written by Yuna, Alexandra Govere and Robin Hannibal and released on August 22, 2019 by Verve Forecast Records.[1][2][3] It samples the 1981 song, "Mensaje De Dios (Message from God)" by jazz pianist Rodney Franklin.[4]
Music video
""(Not) The Love Of My Life" tells a story of a bride in the midst of getting ready for her wedding but is second guessing her decision to settle down. I went back to Malaysia and wanted to collaborate again with my friend and traditional Indian choreographer Harshini Sukumaran whom I’ve worked with in the "Forevermore" music video.
— Yuna on the making of "(Not) The Love Of My Life"[5]
The official video for "(Not) The Love of My Life" was premiered on Yuna's official YouTube and Vevo account on 22 August 2019. The video features Bollywood-theme with Yuna herself served as a director.[6] In the video, Yuna wears Indian costumes and traditional folk jewelry from head to toe.[7] The video also marks Yuna’s second collaboration with Indian traditional choreographer, Harshini Sukumaran after "Forevermore".[8]
Critical reception
In a retrospective review of Rouge, Skylar de Paul from The Daily Californian said: "(Not) The Love of My Life" continues following Yuna’s emotional growth. Each lyric is enunciated like spoken word, showing she wants to make her message clear: The person she’s singing to is not really "the one"".[9] Adriane Pontecorvo from PopMatters described the song "has gorgeous color to its melody, in no small part due to Yuna's dulcet scorn".[10]