Fans of Ennio Emmanuel rejoiced when the pop musician made his long-awaited comeback to the music scene in October 2020, with the release of his new song “Don’t Mean That I Don’t Love You.” His 5-year absence after his sophomore album “Ojalá,” which won him an Artists in Music Award for Best Latin Artist, finally came to an end with the release. The sensuous R&B-inspired pop tune is the ideal backdrop for lyrics that convey the artist’s heavy burden of being separated from family and friends. Though the song sounds like a statement of love to a lover, Ennio wrote it while working and travelling far from home, thinking about individuals in his close circle who may have felt neglected. Don’t Mean I Don’t Love You – which is Emmanuel’s debut English music video – is a declaration by the artist that just because he wasn’t physically present with them didn’t mean he didn’t love them.

“It was around 6 years [previous to the release] that I wrote it,” Emmanuel said. “And it was during this time that I was travelling 4 to 5 days a week, which meant I was away from my ex-girlfriend and family. It was just a point when I felt like I was experiencing tremendous professional success, but in my personal life, when it came to the people I care about, I think they felt like I was abandoning them.”

Emmanuel put his full-time singing career on hiatus five years ago to engage in philanthropy. Now he is back making music and keeping up with his fans on Instagram @ennioworld, where he has more than 23,000 followers.