Speaking in numbers, the Anglophone R&B scene has certainly undergone a powerful SZA-fication in recent times – it is impossible not to notice its influence on any themed playlist or among the ranks of a regiment of singers dedicated to re-proposing this soft and anodyne style, sung “in italics” as young people on the Internet like to say. Yet, before SZA and the hype received with “Ctrl” and the streaming explosion of “SOS”, there had been the Londoner Ella Mai Howell; It was 2017 when “Boo'd Up” and “Trip”, two singles from the “Ready” EP, spread their legs on both sides of the Atlantic, cementing themselves as small but pervasive generational anthems for millions of little girls. A gentle author with a soft voice and eternally under control, Ella already relied on a presence back then cool and markedly detached made in the UK as per the tradition of Des'ree, Caron Wheeler, Gabrielle and Shaznay Lewis, however surrounded by a modern digital cloud of keyboards and snare drums trap.
Almost a decade later Ella is still active and with “Do You Still Love Me?”, the third career album published through DJ Mustard's label, here also as a producer, she continues her path as if nothing had happened out there. Winning strategy? Depends.
It's impossible not to notice a certain amount of care given to these fourteen jam of velvety and confessional R&B, sung by Ella with the attitude of an older sister who has already seen a lot – here is an elegant thread of piano and strings on “There Goes My Heart”, then two calmly effective singles like “100” and “Little Things”, the soft chimes of bass on “Outside” and the interpolation of an old hits by Destiny's Child on “Tell Her”, the latter song which more than any other captures the lyrical essence of the author.
But for three quarters of an hour the listening insists on an exhausting succession of up-tempo ballads, without a jolt or a topical moment above average. “My Mind”, “Somebody's Son”, “Bonus”, “Might Just”, “Chasing Cirlces” and the short gospel idea of the finale “No Angels” are all variations on the usual melodic-productive plot, with Ella interpreting without giving anything special.
Of course we live in times social a little cynical and distracted, but to carry forward a slow and monochromatic album like “Do You Still Love Me?” we would need at least an intriguing public profile, like SZA or even Teyana Taylor, the latter having already wisely reinvented herself as an actress. She, on the other hand, maintains a sober life away from the magazines, which certainly benefits her health – in 2024 she had her first child together with her partner Jayson Tatum, an NBA player – the fact is that curiosity is lacking if the pen in the studio writes the usual things.
It is therefore no coincidence that, despite a still “trendy” album, Ella Mai and her stories of everyday life have returned to the back of the industry. The distracted listener might think they are faced with yet another SZA imitation because, regardless of who came first, the soup still doesn't want to change flavor. We can also talk about Amber Mark, perhaps a more relevant name to describe “Do You Still Love Me?” if we really want to insist on the idea of dense and velvety productions, the fact is that not even the latter manages to penetrate beyond its chosen audience, certainly proof of a difficult market, but also of a lack of imagination which unfortunately does not convince even independent critics.
Then before all there was Jhené Aiko, author of “Souled Out” in 2014, still among the best examples of this female R&B genre thanks to a very rare and inimitable balance between melody and electronic material. With an elegant but far too cautious hand, Ella Mai at the moment only reiterates on herself and it is difficult to find oneself still in love.
11/02/2026
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
