Ella Mai has always valued her personal privacy, so her music can feel just as revealing and intimate as her reserved social media statements. There's definitely a lot of complicated emotion in her new Mustard-produced single "Tell Her," which is her first musical release since her 3 EP back in November of last year.
This new single is a pretty straightforward R&B production with small hi-hats and crashes, snaps, pitched-up persistent vocal samples, and watery background synth pads moving things along. While it's not the most dynamic instrumental in the world for most of the cut, a dramatic acoustic piano portion with some extra melodic embellishments goes hard towards the end of the cut. In fact, we even get a key change after soaring strings with more pianos and synthesizers, and we sincerely wish it could've gone somewhere. Maybe they're saving it for a transition on a potential future project...
Either way, the "One Bad Decision" singer does well on here, although she stays in a deep and more casual vocal tone for the whole runtime on "Tell Her." It's still a compelling performance, especially as Ella Mai bluntly professes her superiority over a partner's ex flings.
We'll see what the Grudges collaborator does next, as this single hopefully points to something more long-form in the future. If this is what we will get, maybe it will be a more direct and pop-friendly approach. Either way, we're excited for what Ella has in store, and where her artistry will lead.
Ella Mai – "Tell Her"
Quotable Lyrics
Tell her how you always thinking of me,
You ain't got to answer any questions when she calls your phone,
You need to tell her you with me, she should fall back,
Go ahead and tell her you love me, these are all facts
