By the time Ella Mai asks Do You Still Love Me? on her third studio album, released 6 February 2026 through 10 Summers and Interscope, the question lands quietly rather than dramatically.
Executive-produced by Mustard throughout, the record leans into midtempo restraint instead of chasing obvious peaks, sounding less like a comeback and more like a recalibration.
Recorded during pregnancy and early motherhood, the album carries a sense of emotional steadiness that feels intentional rather than accidental, a project built around calm energy instead of spectacle.
Mustard strips back his usual drops and heavy bass, leaning into soft keys, finger snaps and airy guitars that keep the rhythm restrained and the atmosphere forward.
The production rarely explodes outward. Piano loops and stacked harmonies carry the movement more than percussion, giving Mai space to sit inside each lyric rather than chase momentum.
Where earlier records pushed for clearer peaks, this one settles into a slower emotional rhythm, letting the mood hold steady.
The album circles the idea of perspective as much as it does romance. The title itself works like a question that can turn inward as easily as outward, and the songs often sound like conversations she is having with herself as much as with another person.
“There Goes My Heart” opens with restraint instead of urgency, leaning into adult-contemporary introspection rather than the breathless excitement of her early hits.
On “100,” numbers become metaphors for balance rather than perfection, stretching devotion into something measured instead of idealised.
“Little Things” keeps affection grounded in routine gestures, while “Tell Her” nods toward Destiny’s Child without slipping into nostalgia.
Around the middle of the record the pacing settles into a narrow emotional range. The cohesion gives the album a calm identity, but it also reveals its limits.
Too many songs sit in similar tonal space, and moments that should feel sharper begin to blur together. The consistency starts to feel less like cohesion and more like safety, a choice that preserves atmosphere while occasionally flattening contrast.
What feels different here is not just the restraint in the production, but how Mai turns stability itself into the album’s central tension.
That inward focus is reinforced by the absence of features. Instead of expanding outward through collaborations, the album stays contained within her own perspective, which makes the emotional arc feel personal but also deliberately closed off.
“Somebody’s Son” leans into softness with feather-light production that keeps the mood intimate.
“Luckiest Man” introduces a flicker of insecurity beneath romantic certainty, while “First Day” lands quietly, reminding listeners that beginnings and continuations can sound almost identical once love settles into routine.
Earlier releases leaned more heavily on obvious hooks and sharper contrasts. Here she sounds less interested in proving range and more interested in protecting a feeling.
That approach makes sense within the context of how the album was created, a period she described as calm and intentional, focused on making music that felt safe rather than stressful.
The result is a project that values emotional continuity over dramatic shifts, even if that means some songs begin to merge together over time.
Nothing here tries to make romance louder than it needs to be. The songs stay close to the ground even when the emotions do not.
The songwriting and production remain strong throughout, though the consistent tonal palette means listeners looking for bigger moments may find themselves searching for contrast that never fully arrives.
Do You Still Love Me? plays like a record about choosing love day after day rather than falling into it once.
It moves through affection, doubt and reflection without ever raising its voice, turning the question in its title into something quieter and more internal.
You might also like:
- Kali Uchis ‘Sincerely’ & ‘Sincerely: P.S.’ Album Review
- Summer Walker Claims 2025’s Biggest R&B Debut
- Best R&B Songs 2025: 10 Tracks Reviving Real R&B
- The Kid LAROI ‘Before I Forget’ Album Review
- Jon Bellion’s ‘Father Figure’ Album Review
- Neo-Soul Renaissance: Must Listen Artists of 2023 and Evolution of a Genre