Mai graduated from Queens High School of Teaching in Glen Oaks, Queens, before returning to England. Mai's transition to life in New York City was difficult because she was often bullied for her accent. Mai moved from London to New York City at the age of 12 when her mother took on a teaching job there. According to the singer, her mother, a lover of American jazz music, named her after Ella Fitzgerald. Įlla Mai was born on 3 November 1994 to a Jamaican mother and an Irish father in London. At the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, she won three awards, including the award for Top R&B Artist. In 2019, "Boo'd Up" was nominated for two Grammy Awards: Song of the Year and Best R&B Song, winning for the latter, as well as Mai herself being nominated for British Breakthrough Act at the 2019 Brit Awards. Her self-titled debut studio album was released in October 2018 and featured the singles " Boo'd Up" and " Trip", which charted in the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 5 and 11, respectively. In 2015, she uploaded a four-track solo EP of originals to SoundCloud titled Troubled, and was discovered on social media by American record producer Mustard and signed with his record label, 10 Summers Records.įrom 2016 to 2018, she released three EPs on the label, including Time, Change, and Ready. Her musical career began at London's British and Irish Modern Music Institute in 2014, during which time she auditioned as part of a trio on the 11th season of The X Factor. Ella Mai Howell (born 3 November 1994) is an English singer-songwriter.