"Boo'd Up" is the sleeper hit and debut commercial single by English singer

Ella Mai Ella Mai Howell (born 3 November 1994) is an English R&B singer and 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 ...

from her third extended play, ''

Ready Ready may refer to: Film and television * ''Ready'', a 2002 British short starring Imelda Staunton * Ready (2008 film), ''Ready'' (2008 film), an Indian Telugu-language film by Srinu Vaitla ** Uthamaputhiran (2010 film), ''Uthamaputhiran'' (201 ...

'' (2017), and as the eighth single from her debut studio album ''

'' (2018). 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 minor hit in her native UK, peaking at 52 whilst peaking within the top 50 in Australia and Canada. A remix featuring

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

and

Quavo Quavious Keyate Marshall (born April 2, 1991), better known by his stage name Quavo (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the now-defunct hip hop group Migos. Formed with his nep ...

peaked at number 8 in New Zealand. The song was written by Mai, Joelle James, Dijon "Mustard" McFarlane and Larrance Dopson of

1500 or Nothin' 1500 or Nothin' is an American musical ensemble composed of record producers, songwriters, musicians and music videographers, formed in 2006, in Los Angeles, California. With headquarters located in Inglewood, California, 1500 or Nothin' is comp ...

, and produced by the latter two. It was nominated for Song of the Year and won

Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record five times, while Ba ...

at the

61st Annual Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...

Background and release

American singer-songwriter Joelle James first wrote "Boo'd Up" in 2014 originally for herself. She later looked for an artist to give the song to, eventually giving it to Ella Mai after feeling that "synergy of it would be perfect for her." Mai originally released the song in February 2017 as part of the ''Ready'' EP. "Boo'd Up" rose in popularity on social media as well as in nightclubs over the next few months, notably in the Bay Area and later in Dallas, Texas. After Mai served as the opening act on

Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish ( ; born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. She is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen pop group PopLyfe in 2011. Kehlani's debut mixtape, '' ...

's tour, her music reached a bigger audience and the song grew on radio airplay in the spring of 2018. The song became her first top 10 song in the US in the following month, deeming it her "breakthrough hit". ''Rolling Stone'' wrote that the single is "one of the biggest singles by a breakout female R&B singer in the past 10 years." In support of the song and its commercial success, Mai announced a US concert tour titled after the song, during the month of August.

Critical reception

In December 2018, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine ranked "Boo'd Up" as the third best song of the year. ''

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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' listed "Boo'd Up" among the 100 best R&B songs of the 21st century, commenting that "it has a piano refrain reminiscent of

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

’s “These Three Words.” But it also sounds wholly contemporary. Mai settles into the music with a warm and inviting voice and treats romance as a source of domesticated bliss. As she rhapsodizes about her partner, she confirms that yes, zoomers need love, too."

Music video

An accompanying music video for the song, directed by Nick Walker, premiered via Mai's

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

channel on 26 April 2018. It features

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

s from singer Khalid, rapper Kamaiyah, and YouTube personality Alissa Ashley. Model Donnell Blaylock Jr. plays Mai's love interest in the video. As of August 2021, the music video has over 460 million views.

Remixes

American rappers

T-Pain Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...

Fetty Wap Willie Junior Maxwell II (born June 7, 1991), better known by his stage name Fetty Wap, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He quickly rose to mainstream prominence after his 2014 song " Trap Queen" peaked at number two on the ''Bil ...

, Plies,

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), known professionally as Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's WQHT, Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed ...

Dave East David Lawrence Brewster Jr. (born June 3, 1988), known professionally as Dave East, is an American rapper. East began his career in 2010, and gained attention in 2014 for his eighth mixtape, ''Black Rose''. Its release caught the attention of fe ...

, Vado, and

Young Dro D'Juan Montrel Hart (born January 15, 1979), better known by his stage name Young Dro, is an American rapper. Best known for his association with fellow Atlanta-based rapper T.I., Dro signed with his label, Grand Hustle Records, an imprint of ...

released remixes to the song.

Live performances

On 17 November 2018, Mai performed the song on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', with ''

Jezebel Jezebel ()"Jezebel"
(US) and

'' describing Mai as "Pure '90s R&B Heartthrob". It comes on the heels of

’s critically acclaimed performance at the

BET Awards 2018 The 18th BET Awards were held at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, on June 24, 2018. The ceremony celebrated achievements in entertainment and honored music, sports, television, and movies released between April 1, 2017, and March 31 ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Nicki Minaj and Quavo remix

A remix of "Boo'd Up" with rappers

and

was released 4 July 2018. The remix version of the song features newly added verses and lyrics by both

and Minaj and marks the second collaboration between the two. Its music was also slightly modified with several parts being reorganized and changed.

Composition

The music of "Boo'd Up" is mostly kept the same as the original, with the sound being slightly altered and several parts reorganized. The remix also contains a reference to Minaj's 2011 hit, "

Super Bass "Super Bass" is a song by Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj from the deluxe version of her debut studio album, ''Pink Friday'' (2010). It was sent to American rhythmic radio stations as the album's fifth single on April 5, 2011. The song was writ ...

Migos Migos () were an American hip hop group founded in Lawrenceville, Georgia, in 2008. The group was composed of rapper Quavo, his nephew Takeoff, and their "cousin" friend Offset. Quavo is from Athens, Georgia, while Offset and Takeoff were bo ...

member Quavo drops an ad-libbed verse of his own. The remix comes to a close with a faux recorded phone conversation between Quavo and Minaj. She asks him to be picked up from somewhere but he's actually already outside.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2018 singles 2018 songs Ella Mai songs Interscope Records singles Nicki Minaj songs Quavo songs Song recordings produced by Mustard (record producer) Songs written by Ella Mai Songs written by Larrance Dopson Songs written by Mustard (record producer) Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs written by Quavo Young Money Entertainment singles Remix singles