The distinct pleasure of Ella Mai’s 2018 breakout “Boo’d Up” lay in its breezy simplicity. The UK singer’s smash hit, which peaked at No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100, aspired toward the effortless sound of ’90s R&B, but Mai’s honeyed delivery brought something fresh and endlessly replayable to the formula. The ubiquitous track all but guaranteed a double-platinum certification for Mai’s self-titled debut, a record that drifted from breathy ballads to ascendant vocal runs, occasionally to boring ends. Yet her rich, textured voice and commitment to the throwback sound placed her high among a new generation of artists mining R&B’s history and giving it a modern spin.
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