Triumphant homecoming for a sassy superstar in the making
Pop Ella Mai
Shepherd’s Bush Empire, W12
At this time of the year, the music business gets itself into a bit of a mystic daze, scanning streaming data and polishing crystal balls to predict the next big thing. Meanwhile, the overlooked Ella Mai has been getting on with the job of doing it for herself.
To be fair, the 24-year-old Londoner of Jamaican and Irish heritage did appear on the longlist of the BBC Sound of 2019 poll. To which one can only offer congratulations on the corporation’s remarkable powers of hindsight. For, while she has largely gone under the radar in her native UK, Mai is arguably already one of our biggest stars, a British artist much admired across the Atlantic.
Last year in America she scored two huge hit singles, a top five album, collaborated with A-list American artists John Legend and Chris Brown and is one of only a handful of Brits recognised at this year’s Grammy Awards, with two nominations for her smash single Boo’d Up.
She more than proved her value in this triumphant homecoming show, at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, performing with the sweetness and sass of a superstar in the making. There were screams as she took the stage, suggesting that her US success has not gone entirely unnoticed. Two thousand early adopters danced and sang along and raised the volume between songs to a near deafening level. Mai beamed throughout, smiling in an almost dazed appreciation. “I grew up walking these streets,” she noted. “It feels so good to be home.”
For a rising star of the digital era, Mai offers a jazzily soulful take on Nineties US R’N’B, where the hooks emerge through a complex chordal and harmonic flow. It is something you don’t hear so much of in modern hiphop-inflected pop.
The thick tone of Mai’s voice has hints of Beyoncé and Rihanna, with a vibrato she appeared to be able to turn on at will. Her sensuous, philosophical songwriting avoids the sensationalism of most modern pop, drawing on deeper influences such as Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys.
Although bristling with pop riffs, these are meaningful songs of desire, exploration and self-assertion that clearly resonated strongly with her female audience.
“I wanted to do something special to mark the occasion,” she announced, summoning her mother to stand by her side as she sang sentimental piano ballad Easy.
It proved too much for both of them, with Mai in tears and unable to continue singing, while the crowd took up the refrain. “I love you, Mum!” Mai yelled. It was the most British moment in the whole performance.