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Flo (stylised in
uppercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...
) are a British girl group from
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
consisting of members Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma, and Renée Downer. The group formed in 2019 and signed to Island Records, where they released their breakthrough single "
Cardboard Box Cardboard boxes are industrially prefabricated boxes, primarily used for packaging goods and materials. Specialists in industry seldom use the term cardboard because it does not denote a specific material. The term ''cardboard'' may refer to a v ...
", which preceded their debut extended play, ''
The Lead The Lead (Chinese: 第一主角) is a 30-episode Singaporean drama produced and telecast on Mediacorp Channel 8. The show aired at 9pm on weekdays and had a repeat telecast at 8am the following day. The show is Channel 8's mid-year blockbuster ...
'' (2022). Flo later topped the BBC's Sound of 2023 poll, and won the 2023 Brit Award for Rising Star.


Members

Stella Quaresma was born in
Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable ...
, and at four weeks old, she moved to
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
. 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 Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent school in Marble Arch, London, England. It is a specialist performing arts school named after its founder and principal, Sylvia Young OBE. Outline The Sylvia Young Theatre School was founded in ...
, where she met bandmate Renée Downer. 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 Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...
. Prior to being in the group, she worked as a waitress. Jorja Douglas was born in Eastern Germany, before moving to Hertfordshire at eight months old. She grew up listening to R&B music introduced to her by her mother. She is the daughter of former sprinter Stephi Douglas, and in 2017, she competed in and won the second series of the
CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
competition series ''
Got What It Takes? ''Got What It Takes?'' is a British talent show that began airing on CBBC on 6 January 2016. Originally presented by Lauren Platt for the first three series, ''Got What It Takes?'' has been hosted by Anna Maynard since 2018. In 2021, Melvin Od ...
''. Prior to being in the group, Douglas worked for an accountancy firm. Renée Downer was born and raised in
North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...
. 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 in H&M on Regent Street.


Career

Flo 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. Their debut single, "
Cardboard Box Cardboard boxes are industrially prefabricated boxes, primarily used for packaging goods and materials. Specialists in industry seldom use the term cardboard because it does not denote a specific material. The term ''cardboard'' may refer to a v ...
", was produced by British record producer
MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK (, ), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Award, and has received the ASCAP Vangua ...
and was released on 24 March 2022 after they signed to Island Records. The song performed well on social media, and weeks later, an accompanying music video followed in April 2022, which amassed 900 thousand views in a few days. An acoustic version of the song was released the following month. Also produced by MNEK, their second single "Immature" and its accompanying music video was released in July 2022, ahead of their debut extended play ''
The Lead The Lead (Chinese: 第一主角) is a 30-episode Singaporean drama produced and telecast on Mediacorp Channel 8. The show aired at 9pm on weekdays and had a repeat telecast at 8am the following day. The show is Channel 8's mid-year blockbuster ...
'' on 8 July 2022. A music video for "Summertime", also produced by MNEK, was released. Flo re-released ''The Lead'' in September 2022 along with a promotional single, "Not My Job". Flo performed on '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' for the first time on 6 October 2022, which was their television debut. They made their UK television debut on '' Later... with Jools Holland'' the following month. On 1 November 2022, they was included in Vevo DSCVR's Artists to Watch 2023. They performed their songs "Feature Me" and "Not My Job" on the channel. Flo then made their first award show performance at the 2022 MOBO Awards with a medley of the songs "Immature" and "Cardboard Box". In December 2022, Flo became the first female group to top the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
s Annual Sound of... poll and win the Brit Rising Star at the
Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
in the same year. In January 2023, Flo was featured on "Hide & Seek" by British rapper Stormzy. The song is from the latter's third studio album,
This Is What I Mean ''This Is What I Mean'' is the third studio album by British rapper Stormzy, released through #Merky and 0207 Def Jam on 25 November 2022. It follows Stormzy's 2019 album '' Heavy Is the Head'', and was preceded by the lead single "Hide & Seek" a ...
(2022).


Artistry


Musical style

Flo's style distinctly draws upon classic R&B and hip-hop, particularly from the 1990s and early 2000s. The visuals for their debut music video ''Cardboard Box'' invited comparisons to that of
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...
's "
Unpretty "Unpretty" is a song by American group TLC, released on May 17, 1999, through LaFace and Arista Records as the second single from the band's third studio album, ''FanMail''. It was written by Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and the producer Dallas A ...
" (1999) and the
Sugababes Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...
' " Overload" (2000). In addition to the likes of Destiny's Child and the Spice Girls,
H.E.R. Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her", an acronym for "Having Everything Revealed"), is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actress. She has received several awards includin ...
was named as a more contemporary influence.


Influences

All three girls described being shaped by the music they grew up listening to; Downer's mother would play Aaliyah and
Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...
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 Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...
and Etta James.


Discography


Extended plays


Singles


Guest appearances


Promotional singles


Tours

* FLO Live (2023)


Filmography


Television


Music videos

* "Cardboard Box" (2022) * "Immature" (2022) * "Summertime" (2022) * "Losing You" (2022)


Awards and nominations


References

{{Brit Rising Star 2019 establishments in England Black British musical groups British musical trios British R&B girl groups English girl groups Island Records artists Musical groups established in 2021 Musical groups from London Vocal trios