Ella Mai

Ella Mai had already drawn notice prior to inking a deal with Mustard’s 10 Summers imprint, yet the contemporary R&B singer and songwriter stepped into global prominence once “Boo’d Up” arrived in 2018. That glistening ballad showcased her unforced yet authoritative delivery, climbed into the U.S. pop Top Ten, and earned a Grammy for Best R&B Song. The single propelled her self-titled debut album onto the upper reaches of both the American and British charts, while three further singles earned gold, silver, or platinum status. By the time her second album, Heart on My Sleeve, surfaced in 2022, she had amassed seven RIAA-certified headlining hits; the project reached number two on the R&B albums chart and prompted a three-track deluxe edition the following year, just before the 2024 EP 3 appeared.

Born Ella Mai Howell and raised in southwest London, she relocated to New York at age twelve and returned to England after finishing secondary school. In 2014, while enrolled at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute, she auditioned for The X Factor as a member of the trio Arize; the group failed to progress past the opening round and soon disbanded. The next year she posted an original solo EP on SoundCloud and shared cover clips on Instagram. Those clips prompted producer Mustard to sign her to his Interscope-distributed 10 Summers label in January 2016.

Her first proper release, the poised EP Time, arrived the following month and included the Ty Dolla $ign collaboration “She Don’t.” Across its six tracks, Mai demonstrated an ability to convey both steadfast devotion and sharp resentment with equal clarity. She quickly issued two further Mustard-produced EPs: Change in November 2016 and Ready four months afterward. The standout cut from Ready, “Boo’d Up,” evoked earlier R&B balladry and entered the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2018 before ascending to number five three months later after an uncommonly extended climb. “Trip” followed as the earlier single began to descend, reaching number eleven in October—the same month her self-titled debut album appeared and debuted at number five on the Billboard 200. “Boo’d Up” received Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best R&B Song; she claimed the latter trophy at the 2019 ceremony and later earned a nomination for Best R&B Album for the project itself.

As a featured vocalist, Mai nearly doubled her chart presence, joining fellow British artist Mahalia on “What You Did,” Usher on “Don’t Waste My Time,” H.E.R. on “Gut Feeling,” Meek Mill on “24/7,” and Ed Sheeran on “Put It All on Me.” She secured another gold single in 2020 with “Not Another Love Song,” then issued several additional slow-burning tracks in 2022 before Heart on My Sleeve landed that May and entered the U.K. Hip Hop and R&B Albums chart at number thirteen. The album incorporated greater live instrumentation and more candid lyricism than its predecessor, with Mustard once again serving as primary producer alongside Boi-1da, D’Mile, Harmony Samuels, and Jahaan Sweet. Second single “DFMU” became her fifth headlining entry on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop chart. A deluxe version containing three new songs followed in 2023. After appearing on Babyface’s 2023 hit “This Is,” Mai returned in 2024 with the single “Little Things” and its accompanying EP, 3.