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Flo (group)
British girl group From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Flo (commonly stylised in all uppercase) is a British girl group formed and signed with Island Records. The London-based group is composed of three members: Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma, and Renée Downer. The trio gained prominence for their debut song "Cardboard Box" (2022) after achieving viral popularity throughout social media, and received a silver certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
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The song preceded the release of the group's debut extended play (EP), The Lead (2022), and was met with positive reception despite failing to chart. Flo later surprise-released their second EP titled 3 of Us (2023), while performing their first concert tour. The group released their debut studio album Access All Areas (2024), which spawned a collaboration with American rapper GloRilla for "In My Bag". The album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and first-charted on the Billboard 200 at number 163.
Flo are a recipient of several accolades, including the annual survey BBC Sound of... and the Brit Award for Rising Star. They were also nominated for Best Group and Best New Artist at the 23rd BET Awards.
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Members
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I saw the girls and we screamed across the room. I knew from that moment we were about to start something big.
— Douglas on when the members met for the first time[1]
Stella Quaresma was born 27 November 2001 in Kingston upon Thames, and at four weeks old, she moved to Mozambique. She moved back to the British countryside at the age of five, before returning to London, where she began attending the Sylvia Young Theatre School, where she met bandmate Renée Downer.[2] Quaresma was a year above Downer. She grew up listening to African musical artists and her mother later introduced her to Etta James and British artists like Amy Winehouse. Prior to being in the group, she worked as a waitress.[3]
Jorja Douglas was born 2 January 2002 in Eastern Germany, before moving to Hertfordshire at eight months old.[1] She grew up listening to R&B music introduced to her by her mother.[3] She is the daughter of former sprinter Stephi Douglas, and in 2017, she competed in and won the second series of the CBBC competition series Got What It Takes?.[4][5] Prior to being in the group, Douglas worked for an accountancy firm.[3]
Julian "Renée" Downer was born 23 September 2002 and raised in North London. She attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School, where she met bandmate Stella Quaresma, who was a year above Downer. She grew up listening to R&B, house and church gospel. Prior to being in the group, she worked at H&M on Regent Street.[3]
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Career
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2019–2022: Formation and debut with The Lead
The British girl group formed in 2019. Quaresma and Downer knew each other having met studying at Sylvia Young Theatre School and discovered Douglas from her singing videos on Instagram.[6] After spending two years in writing music, the trio recorded their debut song with producer MNEK. "Cardboard Box" was first released on 24 March 2022, after they signed to Island Records.[7] The song performed well throughout social media with established artists SZA and Victoria Monét praising the song.[8] An accompanying music video published in April,[9] with an acoustic version being released the following month.[10]
Flo later released their second song "Immature" on 6 July 2022 with a music video uploaded the same week.[11] During the promotion of the song, the trio announced and released their debut extended play (EP) The Lead on 8 July 2022. Many music critics named the EP an "essential listen" while displaying the confidence and authority of the trio.[12] Flo later performed their first two songs on YouTube for VevoDSCVR in August.[13] The trio re-released their project with an additional song "Not My Job" which served as a deluxe EP on 14 September 2022.[14]
The trio made their television debut for late-night talk programs Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Later... with Jools Holland on October.[15][16] The next month, Flo performed "Feature Me" and "Not My Job" on the YouTube channel as they were included in VevoDSCVR's Artists to Watch 2023.[17] The three were nominated at the 25th MOBO Awards and did their first medley performance.[18] In December, they also became the first female group to top the annual survey BBC Sound of... and win the Brit Rising Star in the same year.[19][20]
2023–present: Breakthrough with Access All Areas
Flo were featured on a remix for British rapper Stormzy's song "Hide & Seek" in January 2023.[21] Interviewed on radio program Rocket Hour, singer and pianist Elton John questioned the group about their debut album with Downer responding, "There sure is. It's going to be amazing."[22] The trio were later announced to perform at various summer festivals such as Big Weekend, Isle of Wight, Longitude, Summer Sonic, and Wireless Festival.[23][24]
Throughout social media, the girl group teased several snippets of an upcoming song featuring American rapper Missy Elliott.[25] "Fly Girl" was officially released on 23 March 2023 and interpolates Elliott's hip-hop song "Work It" (2002), plus a new rap verse from herself.[26] Seven days later, the trio embarked on their first sold-out concert tour, Flo Live in North America and Europe.[27] Prior to their next show in Chicago, Flo made their third television appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and performed "Fly Girl".[28]
The trio performed in front of 80,000 people for Capital's Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium on 11 June,[29] and at Glastonbury Festival on 23 June.[30] The same month, Flo received their first three nominations at the 23rd BET Awards which includes Best Group.[31] The next month, the three surprise-released their second EP titled 3 of Us where two songs were already performed on their concert tour.[32] Flo explained on social media that this release is a "gift" for fans who are "patiently for new music."[33] The girl group were nominated for Push Performance of the Year at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards in August.[34] They received three nominations at 36th Soul Train Awards in November for Best Group, Best New Artist, and Best Collaboration for "Fly Girl" with Missy Elliott.[35]
Flo unveiled their debut single "Walk Like This" ahead of their highly anticipated album on 8 March 2024, with a music video released on 14 March.[36] They later performed at Coachella 2024.[37] Another song titled "Caught Up" was released on 24 May with a music visualizer.[38] A month later, the trio played at the Governors Ball.[39] Flo continued to build momentum with the release of their third single "Check" on 2 August with an accompanying music video. American singer Kehlani revealed the tracklist for her fourth mixtape While We Wait 2 (2024) and Flo appears for the song titled "8".[40] The group also were announced to open for Kehlani's Crash World Tour; it commenced on 4 September and concluded on 2 November.[41] Next the group premiered two promotional songs "Bending My Rules" accompanied by a captivating live performance on Vevo Studios and their album title track "AAA" with an accompanying music video.
The girl group revealed the title of their debut album Access All Areas earlier in August,[42] and was later released on 15 November 2024.[43] The album featured collaborations with British actress Cynthia Erivo and American rapper GloRilla.[44]
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Artistry
Musical style
Flo's style distinctly draws upon classic R&B and hip-hop, particularly from the 1990s and early 2000s. The group often covered R&B songs from that era at the beginning of their career on TikTok, particularly songs by Jazmine Sullivan and Lauryn Hill.[45][46] The visuals for their debut music video "Cardboard Box" invited comparisons to that of TLC's "Unpretty" (1999) and the Sugababes' "Overload" (2000). In addition to the likes of Destiny's Child and the Spice Girls, H.E.R. was named as a more contemporary influence.[47]
Influences
Aaliyah (left) and Amy Winehouse (right) have influenced Flo.
All three girls described being shaped by the music they grew up listening to; Downer's mother would play Aaliyah and Ciara in the car, and Douglas' mother was into "old school R&B". Quaresma heard African music from her father, while her mother would play Amy Winehouse and Etta James.[48]
Achievements
Flo has received numerous awards and nominations throughout their career, including a Brit Awards, Global Awards, Sound of..., in addition to being nominated for two MTV VMAs, one NAACP Image Awards and three Soul Train Awards nominations.[49][50] In December 2022, Flo won the Brit Awards and were nominated for the 25th MOBO Awards.[51][52] In March 2023, they received the Rising Star Award at the Global Awards.[53] On 26 June 2023, they were nominated for three categories, including Best New Artist, at the 2023 BET Awards, making them the group with the most nominations for the 2023 awards edition.[54]
On 6 January 2023 Flo was placed on the NME 100 annual list of Essential Emerging Artists. They also appeared on the physical cover of one of the issues.[55] In March 2023, they were named as one of Rolling Stone's 25 artists of the future.[56] The same month, Flo was named Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month.[57] In April 2024, they were listed on the Europe's Forbes 30 under 30 list for 2024 in the Entertainment category.[58]
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Discography
Studio albums
- Access All Areas (2024)
Extended plays
Filmography
Television
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Tours
Headlining
- Flo Live (2023)[64]
- Access All Areas Tour (2025)[65]
Supporting
- Kehlani – Crash World Tour (2024)[66]
References
External links
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