Sony/ATV Music Publishing has signed a worldwide deal with Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Ella Mai.
Ella Mai’s hit Boo’d Up reached No.5 on the Billboard Hot 100, topped the R&B chart and has been streamed 650 million times in the US.
Last week the single received two Grammy nominations for Song Of The Year and Best R&B Song.
Mai launched her singing career when she was a student at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM) in London.
It was during her time at BIMM that she auditioned for The X Factor in the UK as part of a trio called Arize, but did not progress beyond the initial auditions and the group soon broke up.
Mai then started posting up her music on Instagram where she was discovered by the hit producer DJ Mustard who signed her to his label 10 Summers Records in early 2016.
The following year she served as an opening act on Kehlani’s SweetSexySavage World Tour ahead of the release of Boo’d Up which was nominated for Song of the Summer at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards and helped Mai to two nominations at this year’s American Music Awards.
She has since scored a second No.1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart with Trip, which also reached No.11 on the Hot 100 and has been platinum-certified by the RIAA for 1 million US units.
In October she joined Bruno Mars on his 24K Magic tour, the same month her self-titled debut album was released and entered the Billboard 200 chart at No.5.
The Gold-certified album also topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and entered the Top 20 in the UK, Canada and Australia.
“We are honored that she has chosen Sony/ATV as her music publisher and we cannot wait to work with her on what promises to be an outstanding career.”
Rick Krim, Sony/ATV
Sony/ATV Co-President, US Rick Krim said: “Ella Mai is an astonishing new talent who has rightly emerged as one of 2018’s biggest breakout artists.
“We are honored that she has chosen Sony/ATV as her music publisher and we cannot wait to work with her on what promises to be an outstanding career.”
“Ella is one of the most exciting new artists to emerge this year.”
Jennifer Knoepfle, Sony/ATV
Sony/ATV SVP, Co-Head of West Coast A&R Jennifer Knoepfle added: “Ella is one of the most exciting new artists to emerge this year.
“This is only the beginning for her and we are so excited to be her publishing partner as her star continues to rise.”
Sony/ATV Senior Director, A&R Jennifer Drake, said: “Ella Mai is not just an R&B singer, she’s the epitome of a superstar that transcends cultures, genres and time. We will do great things together.”
Ella Mai said: “I’m looking forward to working together in the New Year!”
Ella Mai’s manager Meko Yohannes of 10 Summers Management said: “We are excited about this partnership with Sony/ATV and look forward to working together to build Ella’s catalog.”Music Business Worldwide
