“It’s okay to wake up and look however you look. You are beautiful regardless.”
― Ella Mai
“I’m big on self-confidence.”
― Ella Mai
“Sometimes we misinterpret, sometimes we misunderstand, sometimes we make mistakes.”
― Ella Mai
“It’s deeper than the music when it comes to me and Mustard. He’s like a big brother, and I’m so thankful to have a mentor like him to advise me. Even though he gives me a lot of creative control, I always go to him like, ‘Do you like this?’ It’s so cool that it’s always a collaborative effort. He never makes me feel pressured or anything.”
― Ella Mai
“As much as heartbreak music might be therapeutic, we all want love and long for that feeling. So if a song can give you that feeling, even without being in love, that’s amazing.”
― Ella Mai
“I feel like everyone has been in a bitter situation, regardless whether it’s cheating or just not being over someone who is over you – you compare yourself to the next.”
― Ella Mai
“I’ve learned a lot. I’ve seen a lot. I’ve grown a lot.”
― Ella Mai
“I write in a diary every night to collect my thoughts. It’s very therapeutic to songwrite, because it’s the same thing.”
― Ella Mai
“I think originality is something that’s important and catches people’s eye.”
― Ella Mai
“When you’re in love, your heart and your mind are in sync, and everything just feels right. It’s a special feeling.”
― Ella Mai
“I wanted to show people that I don’t just make love songs that are about purely being in love.”
― Ella Mai
“With social media especially, there’s a lot of image issues that everyone faces because there’s so much pressure on us.”
― Ella Mai
“L.A. is so slow. Everyone is so chill, and the weather, of course, makes everything better, but it’s just a different vibe.”
― Ella Mai
“I was 12 years old when I first moved to New York, and at that age, you’re trying to find yourself. It was hard being so different from everyone I was around, and I felt that nobody could really understand me because everyone was American, and I was this little English girl with an accent.”
― Ella Mai
“People make careers off of Instagram. So in that sense, it’s really good, and you can put yourself out there and be open.”
― Ella Mai
“I always say that when you have friends that are girls, you tell each other everything.”
― Ella Mai
“A lot of ‘Time’ was actually about a friend’s relationship and me seeing what she went through and how she felt.”
― Ella Mai
“I could never have imagined that, so early in my career, that I’d be ticking off boxes that I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl.”
― Ella Mai
“It’s been cool to have my name mentioned when people say R&B is on the comeback and I’m the leading person. If you had told me at 16 that I would be that person – you’re lying.”
― Ella Mai
“I think it’s harder for R&B to break in England because the radio and labels don’t really know what to do with R&B music.”
― Ella Mai
“Mustard believes in me so much. It’s good to have a mentor that’s been through it. Even though he’s a producer, he’s been a new artist.”
― Ella Mai
“I like to leave things open to interpretation. But I also like to make a point. There’s two meanings behind each EP title. With ‘Time,’ that was ‘time to move on’: you know, you’ve been in a bad situation; this is enough. But it was also time, in my life, for introducing myself, my first project I was putting out with Mustard. A new exciting time.”
― Ella Mai
“When I went into high school, I don’t know why – because I’ve been performing since I was little – but I think it was just the pressure of being somewhere so different, and I already stood out because I had an accent, and everyone always wanted you to talk, that I kind of shied away from singing a bit.”
― Ella Mai
“I played soccer for nine years, so I took that route instead of singing. I played on the outside team as well as in school, so I was always playing soccer. It wasn’t until I moved back to London that I really, like, started investing in music again and realized, OK, yeah, this is definitely what I want to do.”
― Ella Mai
“Not everybody gets to wake up and do what they love.”
― Ella Mai
“As much as a lot of my music is very R&B, there’s a bounce to it that obviously makes it easier to perform live. It’s upbeat and uptempo.”
― Ella Mai
“I’m very big on feeling.”
― Ella Mai
“There’s loads of eyes and expectations. People are almost waiting for you to make a mistake so they can say, ‘Oh, she’s a one-hit wonder!’”
― Ella Mai
“I think R&B is way bigger in America. It’s not really that mainstream in the U.K.”
― Ella Mai
“A lot of people say ‘Boo’d Up’ reminds them of ’90s R&B. It has that feeling, which is why I think people take to the song so much.”
― Ella Mai
“I’m someone who likes routine.”
― Ella Mai
“I definitely believe that there are songs that, as artists, we don’t know the full potential.”
― Ella Mai
“The first time I found out that ‘Boo’d Up’ went platinum, I was handed the plaque. They really surprised me. I thought we were gold, and then Mustard and my managers brought the plaque to my rehearsals and told me. I was like, ‘You are lying!’ Like, I couldn’t believe it. I’m just honored, honestly. It’s a great feeling.”
― Ella Mai
“To find out my song made the top 10 was honestly a dream come true. I think it’s something that I’ve dreamed about, and anyone dreams about, their whole life.”
― Ella Mai
“’Naked’ embodies what everyone, at the end of the day, really wants and how they should feel.”
― Ella Mai
“A lot of my music is about love. And that, of course, is super relatable.”
― Ella Mai
“I always felt like I could go to my mom and speak to her about anything. We have a great relationship.”
― Ella Mai
“There’s a place for R&B in the U.K. industry – a huge market. I hope that ‘Boo’d Up’ can be a testament to the fact. Sometimes, it takes you moving outside the box to prove that it can be done.”
― Ella Mai
“I love to color.”
― Ella Mai
“I was a huge Lauryn Hill fan; that was all my mom would listen to in the car.”
― Ella Mai
“’The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ happens to be my favorite album.”
― Ella Mai
“From the end of 2015 to the start of 2016, I was always at the studio with Mustard, just figuring out a sound.”
― Ella Mai
“My mom used to play a lot of music around the house, and I think that’s where I get my inspiration from.”
― Ella Mai
“I’ve always been singing. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been singing.”
― Ella Mai
“Everyone in L.A. loves sushi, and I don’t understand it at all.”
― Ella Mai
“A lot of the times, if relationships go badly, you concentrate on the negative. But in those situations, there is always a positive outcome that you can learn from. So, I like to concentrate on the lesson and how I can learn from this. I concentrate on me rather than concentrating on the actual situation.”
― Ella Mai
“There’s a lot of young females doing R&B in England who are extremely talented and deserve more light on their stories.”
― Ella Mai
“Mustard saw my Instagram probably, like, August of 2015. He just reached out to me by DM on Instagram.”
― Ella Mai
“It was such a culture shock for me, being plucked from this diverse neighborhood in London into Jamaica Queens. I’m in this new environment, and I had an English accent.”
― Ella Mai
“The word ‘album’ makes you nervous, especially ‘debut album.’”
― Ella Mai
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