One week removed from bearing witness to the Latin variant dominated by Ozuna's impressive 11 wins, the Billboard Music Awards reared into town boasting an equally impressive nomination ballot to fit the general American consumer. Of all the artists highlighted by Billboard's selection committee, none was more distinguishable by their watershed '18 than Ella Mai, whose breakout hit "Boo'd Up" made it all the more difficult for her to sustain her success in America. But she powered through anyway.
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Before Ella Mai could label herself a seven-time Billboard nominee, the UK-born singer was forced to endure the strangest of rollouts - as her "Boo'd Up" entered a year of gestation before it would rise prominence with the release of a music video. It wouldn't take long for the DJ Mustard-produced song to become ubiquitous across the Western world, prompting a good number of artists to pen remixes of their own.
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Regardless of how you feel about the way DJ Mustard manages her career (up to this point), Ella Mai is a refreshing entry in the R&b talent pool, with an equally self-effacing personality. While she would inevitably leave last night's gala empty-handed, she did so looking the part of a clear-cut winner. The photos posted up above don't even begin to describe the gravity-defying nature of her bun hairstyle.
"For Ella, we always go big with her hair," said hairstylist Kahh Spence, usually tasked with melding Ella's looks into place. "With her super sleek high top knot and natural tendrils framing her eyes, she was very '90s power woman tonight." Spence would go on to relay his inspiration for the glue-job, as a healthy nod to 90s era suavemente.
