Ella Mai

“Everyone in L.A. loves sushi, and I don't understand it at all.”

“I think R&B is way bigger in America. It's not really that mainstream in the U.K.”

“L.A. is so slow. Everyone is so chill, and the weather, of course, makes everything better, but it's just a different vibe.”

“I was a huge Lauryn Hill fan; that was all my mom would listen to in the car.”

“When I went into high school, I don't know why - because I've been performing since I was little - but I think it was just the pressure of being somewhere so different, and I already stood out because I had an accent, and everyone always wanted you to talk, that I kind of shied away from singing a bit.”

“I'm someone who likes routine.”

“From the end of 2015 to the start of 2016, I was always at the studio with Mustard, just figuring out a sound.”

“There's loads of eyes and expectations. People are almost waiting for you to make a mistake so they can say, 'Oh, she's a one-hit wonder!'”

“I could never have imagined that, so early in my career, that I'd be ticking off boxes that I've dreamed about since I was a little girl.”

“Sometimes we misinterpret, sometimes we misunderstand, sometimes we make mistakes.”

“To find out my song made the top 10 was honestly a dream come true. I think it's something that I've dreamed about, and anyone dreams about, their whole life.”

“I always say that when you have friends that are girls, you tell each other everything.”

“As much as a lot of my music is very R&B, there's a bounce to it that obviously makes it easier to perform live. It's upbeat and uptempo.”

“When you're in love, your heart and your mind are in sync, and everything just feels right. It's a special feeling.”

“There's a lot of young females doing R&B in England who are extremely talented and deserve more light on their stories.”

“I definitely believe that there are songs that, as artists, we don't know the full potential.”

“I've learned a lot. I've seen a lot. I've grown a lot.”

“I always felt like I could go to my mom and speak to her about anything. We have a great relationship.”

“I like to leave things open to interpretation. But I also like to make a point. There's two meanings behind each EP title. With 'Time,' that was 'time to move on': you know, you've been in a bad situation; this is enough. But it was also time, in my life, for introducing myself, my first project I was putting out with Mustard. A new exciting time.”

“It was such a culture shock for me, being plucked from this diverse neighborhood in London into Jamaica Queens. I'm in this new environment, and I had an English accent.”