Ella Mai Howell (born 3 November 1994) is an EnglishR&B singer and songwriter. Her career began at London'sBritish and Irish Modern Music Institute in 2014, during which time she auditioned as part of a trio on the11th season ofThe X Factor. In 2015, she released her debut four-track solo extended play (EP),Troubled in October of that year. The EP and her performances on social media were discovered by American record producerDJ Mustard, who signed Mai to his label10 Summers Records, an imprint ofInterscope Records.
Ella Mai was born on 3 November 1994 to aJamaican mother and an English-Irish father inLondon.[5] Her mother, a lover of Americanjazz music, named her afterElla Fitzgerald.[6] Mai moved from London toNew 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.[7] Mai graduated fromQueens High School of Teaching inGlen Oaks, Queens, before returning to England aged 17.[5][8]
Ella Mai's singing career began while studying at theBritish and Irish Modern Music Institute London (BIMM London) in 2014. During that time she competed onseries 11 ofThe 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.
During 2015, Ella Mai uploaded a four-track solo EP of original recorded songs toSoundCloud titledTroubled. After its release, Mai was discovered onInstagram and signed to American hip hop producerDJ Mustard's label, 10 Summers Records, which operates as part ofInterscope Records.[9] In February 2016, she releasedTime, the first in her EP trilogy. The six-track EP included the single "She Don't", which featured Mustard's frequent collaborator, singerTy Dolla Sign.[10] She released her second EP,Change, in November 2016 and third,Ready, in February 2017.[11] "Boo'd Up", which was featured on the EP, rose in popularity on social media as well as in nightclubs over the next few months.[12] Ella Mai toured withKehlani on herSweetSexySavage World Tour.[13] After Mai served as the opening act onKehlani's tour, her music reached a bigger audience and the song grew on radio airplay in the spring of 2018.[14]
Ella Mai in 2017
On 26 April 2018, she released a music video for "Boo'd Up" after it started to gain popularity.[15] The song became her first top ten song in the US in the following month, deeming it her "breakthrough hit".[16]Rolling Stone wrote that the single is "one of the biggest singles by a breakout female R&B singer in the past 10 years."[17] The single peaked at number five on the USBillboard Hot 100,[18] and broke the record for the most weeks at number one of any song by a woman on theR&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.[19] On 14 August, she joinedBruno Mars on the24K Magic World Tour afterCardi B dropped out.[20]
On 3 August, she released the single "Trip", with an accompanied music video releasing on 18 September.[21] The song peaked at number 11 on theBillboard Hot 100. Ella Mai released her debut albumElla Mai, a 16-track set featuring "Boo'd Up", on 12 October 2018, with guest appearances fromChris Brown,John Legend, andH.E.R.[22] The album sold 69,000album-equivalent units with 17,000 coming from pure sales.[23] On 22 October 2018, Mai announced her debut tour set to begin in January 2019.[24][25]In November, she made two guest appearances onJID's song "Tiiied", along with6lack and onMeek Mill's song "24/7", on the albumsDicapiro 2 andChampionships respectively. On 18 November, she performed onSaturday Night Live withJezebel describing Mai as "Pure '90s R&B Heartthrob".[26][27]
Mai was also nominated for twoGrammy Awards:Best R&B Song andSong of the Year with "Boo'd Up", winning for the former.[28] "Boo'd Up" would go onto to win the 2019 Billboard Music Award forTop R&B Song.[29] In 2019, Mai won theBillboard Music Awards for Top R&B Artist and Top Female R&B Artist.[30]Apart from her music, Mai also performed a sketch onNickelodeon'sAll That (which aired on 27 July 2019) called "Boo'd Up", a paranormal parody ofThe 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.[31] In 2020, Mai received her third nomination for theGrammy Award for Best R&B Album for her debut album at the62nd Grammy Awards.
2020–present:Heart on My Sleeve andDo You Still Love Me?
On 2 October 2020, Mai released the single, "Not Another Love Song". On Friday, 28 January 2022, she released "DFMU". On 28 March 2022 Mai announced the title of her second studio albumHeart on My Sleeve which was released on 6 May 2022. the album debuted at number 15 on theBillboard 200 making it her second top 20 on the chart.[32] In 2023 she embraced the Heart on My Sleeve Tour in North America.[33]
In November 2024, following the birth of her son, her first child with basketball playerJayson Tatum,[34] she issued3, her fifthextended play, as a surprise project to commemorate her 30th birthday.[35] Lead single "Little Things" became another top ten hit on the R&B charts for Mai,[36] and served as a precursor to her third studio album,Do You Still Love Me?, which was released in February 2026.[37]
In multiple interviews, Ella Mai namesLauryn Hill,Chris Brown,Brandy,Beyoncé,Destiny's Child,Alicia Keys, andMariah Carey as her biggest influences.[39]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."[40]Rolling Stone described her sound as "a British émigré full of self-confidence and an affinity for classic NinetiesR&B."[41]
