Ella Mai Teases Do You Still Love Me Tour After Saint Lucia Set: ‘We Want to Step It Up a Bit’

Ella Mai is already mapping out a bigger live show for her upcoming Do You Still Love Me Tour.

After performing at this year’s Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival, the Grammy-winning British R&B singer told Billboard backstage that the nearly 40-date run will move beyond the vocal-first approach that has defined much of her live show to date.

“This is the first time that we’re doing a production; we want to step it up a bit,” she said. “Most of my shows thus far have concentrated on vocals. And not that we won’t be vocal heavy because we absolutely will, but, with this album, I wanted to immerse people in my world a little bit more. We’re gonna basically bring that to life on the tour, and I’m excited to get on stage and sing new music and have people sing it back to me. And even if they don’t sing it back to me, this new album means so much to me that being able to share it alone is going to be incredible.”

Mai’s Saint Lucia appearance came just weeks after a pair of sold-out shows in South Africa. The Caribbean date also served as an early preview of the tour, which begins July 7 in Toronto and will hit major cities across the United States, Europe, and the U.K. Ama and Girlfriend are set to open the trek.

Onstage, Mai moved between early favorites like “She Don’t,” long-running hits such as “Boo’d Up,” and newer material including “Somebody’s Son,” giving the crowd a glimpse of the set she is preparing for the road. The show landed during a festival lineup where R&B had a clear presence, with performances from Tems and Brandy & Monica alongside dancehall-leaning acts Dexta Daps, D’yani, and Valiant.

Her current album, Do You Still Love Me?, arrived in February and debuted at No. 44 on the Billboard 200 before climbing to No. 14 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The 14-track project, executive produced by Mustard, includes the Adult R&B radio singles “Tell Her” and “Little Things,” which reached No. 26 and No. 19, respectively. It follows her sophomore album, Heart of My Sleeve, which peaked at No. 15 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

Mai also used the moment to back R&B’s current momentum, pointing to the genre’s recent crossovers and new releases as evidence that it is still in a strong place in streaming-era pop culture. “It’s just such a great time for the genre, and it’s incredible to see since it gets so much [flak],” she said. “Nobody asks why today’s rock [music] doesn’t sound like the 90s. Every other genre, I feel, is allowed to evolve and become its own thing in its time. I get it because I love ’90s and 2000s R&B, and it’s nostalgic for us because we grew up on it, but there’s a real R&B resurgence going on right now. And it’s always been there, actually, you just might have to look a bit harder than usual.”