Ella Mai Howell (born 3 November 1994) is an English singer-songwriter. Her musical career began at London's British and Irish Modern Music Institute in 2014, during which time she auditioned as part of a trio on the 11th season of '' The X Factor''. In 2015, she uploaded a four-track solo EP of originals to SoundCloud titled ''Troubled'', and was discovered on social media by American record producer Mustard and signed with his record label, 10 Summers Records. From 2016 to 2018, she released three

EPs EPS, EPs or Eps may refer to: Commerce and finance * Earnings per share * Electronic Payment Services, in Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, China * Express Payment System, in the Philippines Education * Edmonton Public Schools, in Edmonton, Al ...

on the label, including ''Time'', ''Change'', and ''

Ready Ready may refer to: Film and television * ''Ready'', a 2002 British short starring Imelda Staunton * Ready (2008 film), ''Ready'' (2008 film), a Telugu film * Ready (2011 film), ''Ready'' (2011 film), a Hindi remake of the Telugu film * Ready ( ...

''. Her self-titled debut studio album was released in October 2018 and featured the singles "

Boo'd Up "Boo'd Up" is the debut commercial single by English singer Ella Mai from her third extended play, ''Ready''. Serving as the lead single for the EP, the song peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States. It was a mino ...

" and " Trip", which charted in the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 5 and 11, respectively. In 2019, "Boo'd Up" was nominated for two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

Song of the Year Song of the Year may refer to: * Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year * Dove Award for Song of the Year * Golden Melody Award for Song of the Year * Grammis Song of the Year * Grammy Award for Song of the Year * Latin Grammy Awa ...

and Best R&B Song, winning for the latter, as well as Mai herself being nominated for

British Breakthrough Act The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

at the

2019 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2019 was the 39th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music show, the Brit Awards. It was held on 20 February 2019 at The O2 Arena in London, with Jack Whitehall as the host for the second year running. Archite ...

. At the 2019 ''Billboard'' Music Awards, she won three awards, including the award for Top R&B Artist.

Early life

Ella Mai was born on 3 November 1994 to a Jamaican mother and an English/Irish father in London. According to the singer, her mother, a lover of American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

music, named her after

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

. Mai moved from London to New York City at the age of 12 when her mother took on a teaching job there. Mai's transition to life in New York City was difficult because she was often bullied for her accent. Mai graduated from

Queens High School of Teaching The Queens High School of Teaching, Liberal Arts and the Sciences (QHST) (26Q566) is a public high school in Glen Oaks, New York, United States. It is located on the Frank A. Padavan Campus, a sprawling landscaped campus, which contains QHST and ...

in Glen Oaks, Queens, before returning to England. She is a fan of

Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inclu ...

and club's legend

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players ...

Career

Ella Mai's singing career began studying at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute London (BIMM London) in 2014. During that time she competed on

series 11 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

of '' The X Factor'' as part of a trio, 'Arize', but didn't advance beyond the initial audition for the judges. The group broke up shortly thereafter.

2015–2019: Self-titled debut album

In 2015, Mai uploaded a four-track solo EP of original recorded songs to

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

titled ''Troubled'' which was produced by Ella’s high school friend Kyle

Dj Kam1 A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

McCullough.. Shortly after the release of ''Troubled'', Mai was discovered on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

and signed to DJ Mustard's label, 10 Summers Records and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

. In February 2016, she released ''Time'', the first in her EP trilogy. The six-track EP included the single "She Don't", which featured Ty Dolla Sign. She released her second EP, ''Change'', in November 2016 and third, ''

'', in February 2017. "

", which was featured on the EP, rose in popularity on social media as well as in nightclubs over the next few months. Ella Mai toured with Kehlani on her SweetSexySavage World Tour. After Mai served as the opening act on Kehlani's tour, her music reached a bigger audience and the song grew on radio airplay in the spring of 2018. Ella Mai 2017

On 26 April 2018, she released a music video for "

" after it started to gain popularity. The song became her first top ten song in the US in the following month, deeming it her "breakthrough hit." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' wrote that the single is "one of the biggest singles by a breakout female R&B singer in the past 10 years." The single peaked at number five on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and broke the record for the most weeks at number one of any song by a woman on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. On 14 August, she joined Bruno Mars on the

24K Magic World Tour The 24K Magic World Tour was the fourth concert tour of American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars that was performed in support of his third studio album '' 24K Magic'' (2016) from March 2017 to December 2018. Anderson .Paak was the opening act f ...

after

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...

dropped out. On 3 August, she released the single " Trip", with an accompanied music video releasing on 18 September. The song peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Ella Mai released her self-titled debut album, a 16-track set featuring "Boo'd Up", on 12 October 2018, with guest appearances from

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

, John Legend, and

H.E.R. Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her", an acronym for "Having Everything Revealed"), is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actress. She has received several awards includin ...

The album sold 69,000 album-equivalent units with 17,000 coming from pure sales. On 22 October 2018, Mai announced her debut tour set to begin in January 2019. In November, she made two guest appearances on JID's song "Tiiied", along with 6lack and on Meek Mill's song "

24/7 In commerce and industry, 24/7 or 24-7 service (usually pronounced "twenty-four seven") is service that is available at any time and usually, every day. An alternate orthography for the numerical part includes 24×7 (usually pronounced "twenty ...

", on the albums Dicapiro 2 and

Championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

respectively. On 18 November, she performed on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' with ''Jezebel'' describing Mai as "Pure '90s R&B Heartthrob". Mai was also nominated for two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

: Best R&B Song and

with "

", winning for the former. "Boo'd Up" would go onto to win the 2019 Billboard Music Award for Top R&B Song. In 2019, Mai won the Billboard Music Awards for Top R&B Artist and Top Female R&B Artist. Apart from her music, Mai also performed a sketch on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's ''

All That ''All That'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by Brian Robbins and Mike Tollin. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 16, 1994, to October 22, 2005, lasting ten seasons, and was produced by Tollin/Robbins P ...

'' (which aired on 27 July 2019) called "Boo'd Up", a paranormal parody of '' The Dating Game'', in which she played herself as a contestant looking for a ghost to haunt her family home, but instead of choosing the three suitors offered, she chose her former ghost who came back and she forgave him.

2020–present: ''Heart on My Sleeve''

In 2020, Mai received her third nomination for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album for her self-titled debut at the

62nd Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Ali ...

. On 2 October 2020, Mai released the single, "Not Another Love Song". On Friday, January 28, 2022, she released "DFMU". On March 28, 2022 Mai announced the title of her second studio album ''Heart on My Sleeve'' which was released on May 6, 2022. the album debuted at number 15 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

making it her second top 20 on the chart.

Artistry

In multiple interviews, Ella Mai names Lauryn Hill,

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

, and

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

as her biggest influences. '' Vibe'' said her "perception of the powerful emotion is kindred to R&B heartthrobs of the '90s, who flooded the radio airwaves with soulful ballads, baby-making tunes, and heart-wrenching break-up anthems." ''

'' described her sound as "a British émigré full of self-confidence and an affinity for classic Nineties R&B."

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

Notes

Guest appearances

Tours

Headlining

* The Debut Tour (2019-2020)

Opening act

* Kehlani –

SweetSexySavage Tour The SweetSexySavage World Tour was the second official concert tour by American R&B singer Kehlani, in support of their debut studio album ''SweetSexySavage'' (2017). The tour began on February 21, 2017, in Montreal, Quebec, at Club Soda, and con ...

(2017) *

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

– Sweetener World Tour (European Leg) (2019) *

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

– Good Morning Gorgeous Tour (2022)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ella Mai 1994 births Living people 21st-century Black British women singers British hip hop singers British contemporary R&B singers English expatriates in the United States English women singer-songwriters English people of Irish descent English people of Jamaican descent English pop singers English soul singers Grammy Award winners Interscope Records artists Singers from London Singers from New York City The X Factor (British TV series) contestants Universal Music Group artists British women hip hop musicians English women songwriters Third British Invasion artists