As Ella Mai celebrates another year of life, VIBE reflects on some of her underrated classics.
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Ella Mai is a true romantic and one of R&B’s current love song experts. After signing to Mustard’s 10 Summers Records in 2016, she went on to open up for Kehlani on the SweetSexySavage Tour the following year before garnering meteoric success with her hit single, “Boo’d Up,” from her 2017 EP, READY.
The song broke records on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, is RIAA-certified 7x Platinum, and earned Mai her first Grammy. However, being that some of us were fans of the British singer long before she went viral — with the help of “Trip” and the aforementioned smash — VIBE took this as an opportunity to dig through the now 29-year-old’s discography and share some B-sides or sleepers that shouldn’t be.
From one record that lives solely on Soundcloud to deep cuts from her EP era and more, we’re giving Mai her much deserved flowers while she’s busy working on her third album. Ready to fall back in love with Ella Mai? Allow these 10 selections to encourage you to do so.
“Just In Time”
Image Credit: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for 10 Summers
This is one of those tracks that only Mai fans who were around before she was signed to Mustard’s 10 Summers would know. We’re talking back when the songbird was still doing Instagram covers. “Just In Time” was released back in 2015, ahead of the release of her debut mixtape, Troubled.
It was the beginning of her cementing her place as a pioneer of modern-day love songs. “Just in time/ You don’t need nobody else/ Partner in crime, partner in crime/ Love you more than life itself,” Mai sings. She reflected on those around her being jealous of her relationship because the two were made for each other. The relatability, sound, and catchy lyrics have transcended time.
Even in recent years, fans gravitated back to her Soundcloud, urging her to “do more songs like this” and she should.
“Makes Me Wonder”
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Out of her EP trilogy, Ready was definitely her best. While it did boast the Grammy-winning single, “Boo’d Up,” there were several gems that were slept on, including “Makes Me Wonder.”
The song paints a vivid picture that’s reminiscent of a rom-com meet cute as she sings, “Met you in the lobby, I was just arriving, you was checking out/ Felt you staring at me and immediately I had no doubt/ Missed your flight, we spent the week together, but it’s all over now/ ’Cause we tried to keep it going when we got home/ But our heads were in the clouds.”
The daydream continues as she reflects on a late-night drive they took and their magical time spent together. The record oozes innocence and romance.
Fun fact: It was once called “Summer Of Love” with an alternate chorus—”We can take it to when/ We were young and free, stressed about nothing/ Drivin’ your car, going too far/ Like it’s the summer of love,” as told by Mai in December 2020 on Twitter.
“Close”
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“Close” was the start of Mai’s grown and sexy era. The ballad is the true end of her debut, eponymous album and feels like something you’d hear at an underground lounge that you stumbled upon with your partner after a dreamy date night.
Caught up in the intense emotion of desire and yearning as you embrace each other on the dance floor, Mai sings, “It could be a room full of people, you still my sight/ Look at how the whole world is searchin’, but I got mine/ It’s emotional, uncontrollable, all I think about is you/ So if the tears wanna flood my gates…”
Whisking away into a world all your own, she continues, “I don’t even really care who knows it/ Just keep me there, keep me in the moment/ Seen a lot of things, but I never seen my spirit glowin’.” This is one feeling many never want to end, and for Mai, this is one of her sexiest records.
“Own It”
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Now, if “Close” is Mai’s sexiest record, “Own It” is No. 2. The sampling of Adina Howard and Jamie Foxx’s 1998 slow jam, “T-Shirt & Panties,” alone takes the record to a certain, amorous place.
But then, Mai starts the track by saying, “I put the na-na in naughty/ Begging for it, got you on your knees/ Didn’t make it to the bedroom, we can do it there too/ Whatever’s your fantasy…” This takes it from “okay” to “oh damn.”
Previously, the British singer had not sang so provocatively, and this told her listeners that she wasn’t just a hopeless romantic with her head in the clouds, but a woman ready to let her fanbase in on her lived experience. With the help of co-writers Lucky Daye and Kosine, this helped Mai step into adulthood musically.
“Lay Up”
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Coming from her 2016 Change EP is bop, “Lay Up.” It’s summertime and escapism encapsulated in one three-minute song.
As she and her beau set off onto some place off-the-grid, the record even works if this were intended to be a party for one. Being one of those proclaimed “carefree let-your-hair-down type of songs,” Mai told Genius that when she first heard the Mustard-produced beat, she knew she wanted to have fun with it.
R&B needs more fun and not to mention, it could easily serve as a set-up for Mai and Usher’s 2019 collaboration, “Don’t Waste My Time.“
“Breakfast In Bed”
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“Breakfast In Bed” is another gem from 2017’s Ready and a different type of beggin’ R&B record.
Mai lays in bed, confused by her romantic partner and wonders why he isn’t with her. This leads to her questioning, “Why you playin’ hard to get?,” before pleading, “So let me take you to my room, I’ll give you what you need/ I just want to take you home with me/ I just want to take this to another level/ Get you high off my intensity.”
Despite this being a “pick me” anthem, it’s infectious in all the best ways, driving home the notion that Ready was a great conclusion to her EP era.
“Trying”
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When Mai released her sophomore album, Heart On My Sleeve, I tweeted, “Ella Mai had nerve starting this album with ‘Trying.’ Points were made.” It was as though she had something to prove after a four-year hiatus between albums.
With “Trying,” it was evident that not only had she evolved, but her voice did, as well. She opened the LP by singing. No skits, preludes, or poems necessary. Not to mention, the song is an endearing tribute to one’s effort in a relationship, especially considering that people make dating much harder than it needs to be because many lack actual effort and reciprocity.
“Trying” is also one of the more recent tracks that has an actual bridge—”Truth is, I’m down/ You ain’t been in love/ But you’re learnin’ how I need you now/ Kind of feel weird ’cause you’re not so comfortable sharin’ your feelings/ Ooh, I commend you/ You’re really winnin’/ You got my attention, no competition.” Not only does her man have her attention, but she has ours.
“Our Song”
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“Our Song” is one of the bonus tracks from Heart On My Sleeve (Deluxe). The ballad is sultry, made strictly for bedroom activities. With most of her discography comprised of romantic songs and break-up anthems, switching gears to make more seductive slow jams is on par with where she is currently.
“Just like that my love got you started/ Keep it up and you can stay inside it/ Replays on my body/ All night long (All night long)/ This our song (This our song),” she sings in the Khristopher Riddick-Tynes and Ali P production.
Though many were focused on “This Is” — and rightfully so — when the deluxe edition dropped, we urge you to redirect your attention elsewhere momentarily.
“Break My Heart”
Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Coachella
D’Mile is whipping R&B into shape and “Break My Heart” was how he did so with Mai. He has a distinct ability to put his stamp on a song without everything sounding the same. The Grammy-winning producer masterfully sampled Alexander O’Neal’s “If You Were Here Tonight” as Mai sings about being so in love that if she had to choose someone to break her heart, it’d be the person she’s with.
It’s an absurd thought, but it’s also one that — if we’re being honest — many have had. Of the lyrics, she told VIBE, “I think to be in that space [with] someone and to trust somebody so much to say, ‘If anyone had to break my heart, it would be you,’ that’s love.”
“Break My Heart” is not only a story of intentional love, but also of choice and overcoming fear.
“Everything” feat. John Legend
Image Credit: Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for 10Summers Records
Mai is collecting duets with the men of R&B like infinity stones — Babyface, Chris Brown, Lucky Daye, Usher — but her enlisting John Legend, one of the top crooners who specializes in earnest love songs, was brilliant.
“Everything” is everything. It’s balanced, assertive — as noted on the song’s outro — as well as honest. Aside from being over the idea that one has to endure “struggle” while falling in love, there’s still something about this record you gravitate towards.
On the bridge, Legend and Mai’s voices merge together so seamlessly as they sing, “Oh, anything I give, you take it/ All I know is you’ve been so patient, oh, yeah/ My young heart, boy, you’ll never break it/ And I owe it all to you,” that it causes goosebumps. When it comes to R&B duets, this is one of them ones that needs to serve as an active, and timeless reminder.
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