Okayplayer Exclusive: Before the Grammys and Global Hits, Ella Mai Had to Choose Between Soccer and Music

The world may know Ella Mai as a Grammy Award-winning singer with global hits, but once upon a time, the London native found herself at a crossroads, with a big decision to make about whether to pursue her music dreams or her love of football (soccer). 

While many are aware of the R&B star’s British roots, Ella Mai spent her middle and high school years in Queens, NY, and played youth soccer during her time at Queens High School of Teaching. 

“When I was about 18, I decided, okay, I either have to pick between football and music and I picked music,” she tells Okayplayer. “I feel like I picked correctly, thankfully, I’m very grateful for that.”

On Wednesday, June 17, Ella Mai was able to combine her passion for both sports and music as she returned to Queens to take the stage during FIFA World Cup festivities at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. 

“It feels like all my worlds have collided almost,” Ella Mai says. “When I used to play football here in Queens, I never would have thought I’d be back in the same place, but performing.”

Ella Mai performed “100,” “Boo’d Up,” and “Little Things” for the crowd of thousands who gathered to watch England’s match against Croatia. The occasion also gave her the opportunity to reunite with members of her former school community.

“My high school teachers and some of the new students were here also,” she says. “That was really cool. I got to speak to them and it just felt like a real full-circle moment.”

For Ella Mai, returning to Queens also meant returning to a place that helped shape some of her formative years. 

“I went back to my high school maybe four years ago and it’s just so different,” she says. “But a lot of my teachers are actually still there, so it was cool to walk down those halls and relive those moments.”

Even then, she believed she would become a singer. 

“I had these dreams and in my mind, I was like, ‘I’m going to make it one day and I’m going to be a singer,’” she says. “To actually walk down the hall and have it happen, it was a very weird and surreal feeling.” 

Ella Mai’s relationship with football also started at a young age, when she began playing in England, inspired by her older brother. 

“My brother played football and I just wanted to be able to keep up with him,” she remembers. “One of my best friends started playing, so we would just play in the playground. We were super competitive.”

She remembers being among the few girls around her who played the sport. 

“None of the girls in my school at that age really played football, so we were like, ‘OK, we’re going to be the first to do it,’” she says.

The lessons she learned as an athlete continue to serve her today. 

“It taught me discipline, having to go to practice and show up to practice on time, making sure I’m keeping up with my stamina and routine,” she says. “Being part of a team and knowing how to work with other people and competing. I think those are all really important lessons for a child.”

While Ella Mai ultimately sacrificed soccer to pursue singing and songwriting, she’s remained an avid fan of the sport and rattled off a list of some of her favorite players across multiple generations.

“I’ve always been an Arsenal fan,” she says, referring to the popular club team. “My dog is named Thierry after Thierry Henry. He’s a French bulldog. Thierry Henry is my all-time favorite, that is my legend. David Beckham, although I’m not a Man U [Manchester United] fan, I am English, so David Beckham was definitely up there. Jude [Bellingham]. I think it’s a great time for the new talent to make their name. I think that’s what’s cool about the World Cup also — somebody always makes their name on the world stage.”

That global stage also provides a great opportunity for people from different cultures to come together. That spirit of connection resonates with Ella Mai, who gained a broader perspective after growing up between London and New York as a biracial young woman.

“Even before living between cultures, I’m half Black and half white, so I was raised in a world that is different,” Ella Mai tells Okayplayer. “Sometimes you’re in a space where you feel too much of one side and you’re in another space where you feel too much of the other side and people treat you differently. I think I learned that from a very young age.”

“When it comes to the World Cup, my early memories are just how joyous everybody is,” she adds. “This is especially what people need to come together and just have a good time and have it be celebratory as opposed to divided.”

Just as sports can connect people from different cultures, Ella Mai is actively experiencing the way music can do the same. On a recent stop in China during her Do You Still Love Me? World Tour, the singer found herself on stage, worried about communicating with her fans. 

“It was my first time in China, there’s quite a big language barrier, but they were singing all the words,” she says. “That to me is so interesting because, if I can’t stand here and speak to you, it’s quite hard to communicate, but when I get on stage, you can sing all the words, it just shows how universal music really is and how far it can travel. It’s amazing to be able to say that’s how far my music is reaching.”

Asked what her younger self from Queens High School of Teaching would think if she could see this moment, Ella Mai pauses before answering. 

“She’d probably just say, ‘Well done,’” she says. “She’d probably say, ‘I’m proud of you.’ And, ‘It clearly pays off to stick to your dreams.’”