Ella Mai

When the success of “Boo’d Up” rocketed Ella Mai into the mainstream, she felt ready for what came next. “We already were prepared, because I already had stuff in the vault ready to go,” she told Apple Music. “I didn’t feel like I had to just put something together or be like, ‘Aw, this might not be good, but we need to put it out.’ And I never wanna feel like that.” In 2018, with the unapologetically smitten single from her 2017 EP Ready, the London-born singer—best known at the time as a footnote in X Factor audition history—became the first British artist to top the R&B charts since Lisa Stansfield in 1992. Mai was born two years after Stansfield’s milestone, in the genre’s heyday, and was raised on Lauryn Hill, Brandy, Destiny’s Child, and Mariah Carey. It showed in the flirtatious softness of the tracks she started releasing with mentor and producer DJ Mustard. Her subsequent self-titled debut album made explicit nods to R&B history while also developing Mai’s own artistic stamp, which included singing raw lyrics about revenge, flaws, and vulnerability. Heart on My Sleeve—Mai’s 2022 sophomore effort—leaned into the complexities of modern romance accompanied by the singer’s expressive vocals, and 2026’s Do You Still Love Me? captured an intimate, soul-driven sound.