It’s been two years since the release of Ella Mai’s self-titled debut album, which saw 15 tracks and features from Chris Brown, John Legend, and H.E.R. The project proved to be a trans-Atlantic success, landing in the top 20 of the UK Albums chart and the top five of the Billboard 200, the latter of the two due to 69,000 album equivalent units sold during its first week of release. The project was also led by the chart-topping cuts “Boo’d Up,” “Shot Clock,” and “Trip,” all of which saw production from the British singer’s 10 Summers head honcho DJ Mustard.
Today, she returns with a new single titled “Not Another Love Song,” which sees production from Boi-1da, Jahaan Sweet, and The Rascals. As expected, the song’s subject matter matches the straight-to-the-point title:
“Deep in, swimmin’ in my feelings, I’ve been here before but it feels like I’m drownin’, sinkin’, am I overthinkin’? Tell me am I foolish to think you need me here? I wanna do this again … I’m goin’ down ‘cause I know that it’s you I see in my dreams, I’m goin’ down, let me drown, over you, livin’ in my dreams…/”
Ella Mai further explained the song during an interview with BET:
“I think we’ve all been in a place of trying to navigate the feeling of, ‘Am I in love? Am I not in love?’ If I say it too soon, will I mess things up? Or just, do I really want to admit that I’m in love? I sat down with one of my favorite writers who I wrote “Trip” with, Varren Wade, and we were just talking. … We were like, “This is special.” So I’m really excited about it.”
Fans can press play on “Not Another Love Song” below. Presumably, this means that a sophomore LP isn’t too far into the distance.