Mae Stephens returns with an equally catchy, sun-kissed ballad named 'Mr. Right' after lighting up the world with her debut track, 'If We Ever Broke Up' - the biggest debut single globally so far this year.
Swati Bhat
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'My Right' is a blast of effortlessly cool, sparkly disco - music made for dancing away the summer evenings. On YouTube, the 19-year-old rising star from Kettering swats unsuitable guys out of her life with what has fast become her signature snark as she continues her search for the right one for her.
The new single finds her collaborating with one of her childhood idols, Meghan Trainor, who lends her unmistakable voice to the new track. "I am ecstatic that Mae asked me to be a part of this song!!" Meghan stated. "I've been a long-time fan of hers on social media and was overjoyed when her team contacted me. I am convinced that she is my long-lost little sister, and I am so excited that we now get to have a song together. Mae is a young legend, and I cannot wait for more and more people to discover her and to hear her incredible songwriting and vocal skills. She is the sweetest and most talented girl and deserves all the success in the world! ❤”
“Meghan is an artist I have idolised for years!” Mae added. “She is the artist I aspire to be, so working with her has been an absolute dream come true! Especially working with a huge artist for the first time she just makes me feel so heard and comfortable! She is the ideal artist, the kindest person I have ever met, and the most amazing MOTHER! Both to her kids and also as a role model music mother for me :) Thank you Meghan!!! 💕🥰”
Mae Stephens has become the hottest new pop artist in the game since releasing a preview of her debut single, 'If We Ever Broke Up,' on Tik-Tok earlier this year. That single has had over 350 million streams globally, including over 132 million Spotify streams and 3.3 million YouTube views. Mae now has over 10 million monthly Spotify listeners, and the tune has been certified Silver in the UK and is on pace to be awarded Gold in the US very shortly. On the live front, she recently played the Great Escape, supported PINK in London, and then at the world-renowned Glastonbury festival, followed by a support slot for K-pop juggernauts BLACKPINK, and has many more festival slots lined up for the summer.
The track’s impact isn’t just limited to the West, either. It has gained huge momentum in Asia, peaking at #1 on the Western Chart in China and accumulating over 27 million streams in China per week. It has also seen huge traction in Japan and South Korea, going viral on TikTok as fans and artists in the countries – including K-pop icons ITZY, ENHYPEN, and more – jump on a new dance trend tied to the song. NME said about the song, “With tongue-in-cheek lyrics that see Stephens repeat a brilliant kiss-off – “If we ever broke up, I’d never be sad” – over a distinctive synth riff and a slinky bassline that recalls Blu DeTiger’s fluorescent pop, the track was a smash in waiting: only Stephens didn’t have to wait long.”
Before Mae woke up on New Year’s Day to find her song blowing up globally online, Mae was finding solace and sanctuary in her music-making between working shifts at her local Asda. A songwriter since the age of 12, she’d used music to guide her through the hardships of teenage life, pouring her heart out in emotional, impactful songs penned on her nan’s old piano, “I used to be quite angry as a kid and I had a lot of pent-up tension, especially coming home from school,” she explains. “I tried so much to find what was going to help me release all of that – stuff like judo, skiing, biking. I tried so many things until it came to songwriting. Just being able to sit, close the door, not have anyone around me, and just have some space to think and let my emotions out into something creative was probably the one thing that really got me through school, other than my brother.”
The target of cruel bullying, Mae’s school years were far from easy, with her being picked on for being the “loud, quirky kid”. When her classmates found the YouTube channel, she uploaded her original songs and covers, every video she shared would prompt more hate and spitefulness to be sent her way. Pushing through the nastiness with the help of her music and her brother, she was “determined to push forward and prove a lot of people wrong”.
Now, in Mae Stephens, Gen Z has found a new champion – an artist ready to use her voice to help others and provide the same kind of sanctuary in her music that it gave her while making it, “A lot of kids are probably going through stuff that’s a lot worse than what I went through and it’s not highlighted as much as it should be,” she says. “To watch kids go through that and not have someone to look up to is something I really hope I can help with. I want to be the champion of the underdogs – Mae’s misfits.”