On Sunday, November 3rd, Ella Mai celebrated her 30th birthday. To commemorate turning the big 3-0, the benevolent Brit gave her fans a surprise gift with by releasing her latest set, a new EP entitled 3.
The number three holds special significance for Ella. Known as “the number of joy,” in the context of this EP, it represents her personal evolution and the music’s uplifting vibe. The project features three songs and is her third collection of music, following her 2018 debut album Ella Mai and her 2022 sophomore release Heart On My Sleeve. The EP’s cover shows a small “3” tattoo behind her left ear, which matches a tat that her boyfriend Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics sports behind his left ear. And, as quiet is kept, the beautiful couple is now a family of three after Ella Mai reportedly gave birth to their first child together this summer.
“My sophomore album was still a love album, but I think it was just kind of taking you through the tribulations of a relationship, the ups and downs,” she shared with Apple Music. “Where this one, I feel like I kind of just want to celebrate love.”
She opens this new chapter of her life and musical love story with “Hearts On Deck.” A mid-tempo slow jam crafted by her go-to producer Mustard alongside Nic Nac and Mike Robbins, Ella sings about what she brings to the table like the baddie she is. With references to games like chess and cards, she challenges her lover to make his next move his best move and to play to win her heart.
“One Of These” follows and picks up the pace with a bumping sample of CeeLo Green’s 2004 jam “I’ll Be Around.” Another Mustard production, here we eavesdrop on Mai telling her girl about her real-life dream guy who checks off every box on her list. She suggests to her friend, “Girl, you better get you one of these,” even though he sounds like one in a million. Ella and Mustard end with bop with the viral “Y’all better come up here and get you one of these...chicken salads” audio.
The set concludes with “Little Things,” which finds Mai singing about the simple acts between two people in a relationship that mean so much. Another mid-tempo track, Mustard is back behind the boards and assisted on production by Shah Rukh Zaman Khan.
Fueled by and filled with love, 3 is Ella Mai’s answer to toxic R&B. “I feel like R&B, especially right now, is very toxic,” she told Apple Music. “But I remember growing up and really appreciating the music that really was solely about love and the fact that it does exist and that you can find it.”
Ella Mai has found true love and revels in it on this short and sweet EP. She shares her love language on 3, and we love that for her and us.
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