15 December 2022
Newsdesk
British R&B girl group FLO have made history in the past month by becoming the first group to ever win the prestigious BRIT Rising Star Award, following in the footsteps of global superstars including Adele and Sam Smith. Believing in their “vision from day one”, FLO have become the most hotly tipped British music act this year, shortlisted for the BBC Sound Of 2023, nominated for Best Newcomer at the MOBOs and making their sublime debut TV Awards performance, as well as winning cult platform No Signal’s Yearbook Top Of The Class accolade, breaking records with thousands of votes. FLO’s debut single “Cardboard Box” has now amassed over 40M global streams, with their debut EP “The Lead” reaching 100M streams to date. But at the heart of FLO are three ambitious young women - 20 year-olds Renée and Jorja and 21-year-old Stella - whose immaculate three part harmonies, contemporary take on 00s R&B and era-defining music videos have connected with hundreds of thousands of R&B fans globally.
Wanting to thank fans for their unparalleled support this year, FLO release “Losing You” this festive season, an R&B slow jam that showcases three voices so connected with each other and their growth as the most remarkable vocalists coming out of the UK music scene. “Losing You” is FLO’s most vulnerable offering yet, inspired by R&B greats including Brandy and Destiny’s Child, as they flip the narrative on a classic love song, instead focusing on independence and rebirth, with sisterhood at the core. With a video directed by Meekz and Frost (Pa Salieu, Headie One, SK) “Losing You” is a beautiful love letter to 2022, ending FLO’s astonishing debut year and signalling the start of a global superstar girl group.
Nine months ago, FLO released their debut single “Cardboard Box”, which catapulted them into the collective consciousness and won them fans R&B and hip-hop luminaries such as Brandy, JoJo, SZA, Victoria Monét and Missy Elliott, as well as girl group royalty - none other than Destiny’s Child’s Kelly Rowland and Sugababes - have all co-signed the British R&B girl group. “Cardboard Box” has become the biggest girl group opening statement in over a decade and was the first song FLO ever wrote together as a group, with executive producer and long time friend MNEK. “Cardboard Box” has set the world alight, with the Happi Remix becoming the number 1 sound on TikTok UK after a Polynesian-creators dance routine went viral on the platform, leading to over 5 Billion views and 11 Million versions of the dance created. FLO have since gone on to perform the track on their first late night TV show Jimmy Kimmel, their UK TV debut on Later.. with Jools Holland, The Glamour Women Of The Year Awards, as well as the MOBOs. FLO also picked up their first award as “Music Artist To Watch” at the inaugural GUAP Gala, and a nomination for ‘Best Female Act’ at the Rated Awards 2022, alongside Little Simz, Mahalia and Cleo Sol.
Having been in the studio with legendary producer Darkchild (Destiny’s Child, Michael Jackson, H.E.R) recently and receiving a tweet from Stormzy saying he was “ready when you are” to collaborate, FLO are building a global family of high profile fans, with artists including British group royalty Rochelle Humes, Rachel Stevens, Nicolas Roberts and Rita Ora all praising FLO’s vocal arrangements at Glamour Women Of The Year Awards. FLO recently gave a world-class performance of colossal track “Not My Job” for VEVO DSCVR, leading to an online conversation with fans stating they hadn’t seen a group’s bond so strong in decades. It’s no wonder FLO sold out their debut London show at The Outernet and New Century in Manchester in record time - just under 2 minutes - following a sublime performance at fellow R&B star Mahalia’s club night. FLO also made a surprise appearance at PinkPantheress’ Boiler Room earlier this month, personally invited by the BBC Sound Of 2022 winner. Schooling us with a masterclass in R&B and pop harmonies, FLO prove they have carved out their own lane, with a sound that is reminiscent of classic 00s R&B, but with the London grit and attitude of three young black women who know their voice.
FLO released their debut EP “The Lead” at the height of summer in 2022 to critical acclaim, which sparked a cultural conversation about the future of British R&B. Working closely on “The Lead” with their “extended family;” executive producer MNEK, Jamal Woon, KABBA and Aston Rudi, FLO hustled every day in the studio to create a sound that recalls the greats from peak-era Timbaland and Aaliyah, but also captures three young women finding their voice through the genre of R&B, which they know has the capacity to become pop, “people need to give R&B the same love and chance”. FLO are an act at the helm of their musical and visual identity, with each track off the 5-track EP a vignette into how they have navigated their late teens through struggle, romance, heartbreak and friendship. FLO’s fusion of the old and new takes the best bits of R&B's experimental phase and grounds it with UK swagger. “I feel like people want this kind of R&B at the moment,” offers Stella. “What we do has a perfect balance of both US and UK influence.” And in March 2022, one tweet stating “the uk girl groups are coming hard,” led to over 5M views, 140k likes and 20k retweets, and catapulted FLO to the centre of the cultural conversation about the important role girl groups play in our society, and the alchemy and science behind why they work. It’s FLO's sister bond that runs deep, having all been raised by powerful single mothers and understanding the gravity, hustle and tenacity of picking this career path. From Kelly Rowland visiting them in a studio session in LA earlier this year, to hundreds of thousands of fans showing up on their growing Instagram (200k) and TikTok (300k) channels, FLO have already been tipped by the likes of The Guardian, i-D, Dazed, NME, Complex, and Pitchfork (“worthy heirs to the millennium girl group legacy”), Spotify, BBC 1Xtra, Capital XTRA, and have just been announced as VEVO DSCVR’s Artists To Watch 2022, as well as Apple Music’s Global Up Next artist accolade, following in the footsteps of Billie Eilish and Holly Humberstone. FLO have taken The Lead in 2022, and this is just the beginning.
