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 The British and Irish Modern Music Institute, now styled as the BIMM Institute, is a group of eight independent colleges which specialise in the provision of creative education in Brighton, Bristol, London, Dublin, Manchester, Berlin, Birmingha ...

in 2014, during which time she auditioned as part of a trio on the 11th season of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

''. 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 Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...

and signed with his record label, 10 Summers Records. From 2016 to 2018, she released three EPs 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), a Telugu film * ''Ready'' (2011 film), a Hindi remake of the Telugu film * "Ready" (''New Girl''), a television episo ...

''. 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 min ...

" and "

Trip Trip may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Trip (''Pokémon''), a ''Pokémon'' character * Trip (Power Rangers), in the American television series ''Time Force Power Rangers'' * Trip, in the 2013 film ''Metallica Through th ...

", 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 pr ...

s: Song of the Year 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. 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 m ...

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 in

Glen Oaks, Queens Glen Oaks is a neighborhood in the easternmost part of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 13. Location Glen Oaks lies between Grand Central Parkway and Nassau County to the north, Union ...

, 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 player ...

Career

Ella Mai's singing career began studying at the

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 ''

'' 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 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 Dijon Isaiah McFarlane (born June 5, 1990), known professionally as Mustard (also known as DJ Mustard), is an American record producer and beatmaker. He is a frequent collaborator of fellow California-bred artists YG and Ty Dolla Sign; among var ...

'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 ...

. 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 Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

. 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 Kehlani Ashley Parrish (born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Kehlani is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen group Poplyfe in 2011. In 2014, Kehlani released the ...

on her

SweetSexySavage World 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 co ...

. After Mai served as the opening act on

'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, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' 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 R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...

chart. On 14 August, she joined

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...

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 (service), Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, ...

dropped out. On 3 August, she released the single "

", 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 contempor ...

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

, and H.E.R. The album sold 69,000

album-equivalent units The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditio ...

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 Ricardo Archibald Valentine Jr. (born June 24, 1992), known professionally as 6lack (stylized as 6LACK, pronounced "black"), is an American singer and rapper. He initially gained notable recognition following the release of his single, " Prblms ...

and on

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his music career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group, ...

'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 ...

'' 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 pre ...

: Best R&B Song and Song of the Year 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 Award The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of t ...

s 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 channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

'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 ...

'' (which aired on 27 July 2019) called "Boo'd Up", a paranormal parody of ''

The Dating Game ''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it ...

'', 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 The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors ...

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 ar ...

making it her second top 20 on the chart.

Artistry

In multiple interviews, Ella Mai names

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

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 w ...

as her biggest influences. ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...

'' 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

–

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 ...

(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 The Sweetener World Tour was the fourth concert tour and third arena tour by American singer, songwriter and actress Ariana Grande in support of her fourth and fifth studio albums, ''Sweetener'' (2018) and '' Thank U, Next'' (2019). Led by Live N ...

(European Leg) (2019) * Mary J. Blige – 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