WCW: Ella Mai

Y'all Can Stop Singing Boo'd Now

Top 3 Songs

1. Trip

2. Sauce

3. Good Bad

Honorable Mentions

1. Everything feat. John Legend

2. Own It

I remember when I had this huge fascination with Ty Dolla $ign. He was just somebody I had to listen to all the time, even followed his tour stories on YouTube. Anywho, I remember a song he was featured on from this Spotify playlist and I immediately fell in love...with the girl on the song. Her voice was different. It wasn't breathy like Jhene Aiko or strong like my good sis Keke Wyatt. It was chill, not mediocre, and not unforgettable, her voice laid in the cut.

To this day, She Don't by Ella Mai featuring Ty Dolla $ign is my favorite song when referring to Ella and her works of music. After learning who she was I found out her EP didn't come out yet, I have the attention span of a gnat so I just moved onto other music. When I came back to her world sis had her second piece of work under her belt.

Ella Mai Howell is not new to the United States; she lived in New York at the age of 12 and stayed for about 6 years. She went back to England and studied at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute London. While studying she began singing in a group called Arize. The group went onto audition for X Factor.

Even though they didn't get past auditions, Ella didn't give up. The group broke up, but Ella was still working on her craft. She was doing covers for popular songs before The Shade Room reposted her one day. Followers started coming out of nowhere once that happened. DJ Mustard caught wind of her talent and the rest is history I guess...

Sike. The grind didn't stop there. She made three EPs before Boo'd Up came to the light. I felt that Ella was slept on until this point. Her voice was heard but maybe not taken seriously. Forget voice, the lyrics she would sing always spoke to my soul. Boo'd Up was out around my birthday and I was hype.

Then scrolling through Instagram I saw she did a video and a couple people I knew were in there. There was Khalid I was totally thrown off when I found out she was friends with @alissaashley. While I was blown away by the cute video this song was legit everywhere. I remember driving down to D.C. for Broccoli Fest and everyone was playing it. She was everyone's favorite voice by this time.

I didn't think she would blow like this. Boo'd Up is the least lyrically driven song she's made so far. But what do I know, I just write blogs.

Ella's self titled, debut album is everything I expected it to be. I'm happy she stuck to her old ways with monologues before and after songs. Gives you raw Ella feels. This album would be considered a sneak up album. For some the initial listen to the album would be a let down. But this album is a true introduction into who Ella Mai is; you get to know something other than Boo'd Up.

Ella Mai has made songs that fit every feeling and scenario I have been in. She Don't describes what every woman thinks when a man cheats or leaves them for someone who isn't true competition. Anymore goes into how that love was the "one", he starts acting up, so now your time is up in the relationship and they are able to leave. Services aren't needed anymore. Then there is Naked, a single that made me look at what I truly wanted out of love. Would the love of my life really love me for my flawed appearance, character and spirit? An Ella Mai song makes me go into thought of what I want romantically. She knew after not making it on X Factor and the group not working out that she was still needed. Ella kept striving and guess what, people know her for more than Boo'd Up now.