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M.O are an English girl group consisting of members Annie Ashcroft and Chanal Benjilali, and previously Frankee Connolly until her departure in June 2017 and Nadine Samuels until her departure in 2020. The group was formed in 2012 by the members themselves, after their previous groups Mini Viva and Duchess had disbanded. Starting out on independent label Operator Records, they have been signed to Polydor Records since early 2016. On 19 October 2020, Nadine Samuels confirmed her departure from the group.


Career


Beginnings

Frankee Connolly was a part of Mini Viva until the duo's split in 2010, where as Nadine Samuels and Annie Ashcroft were both members of the girl group Duchess until 2012. M.O was formed in late 2012, after Connolly had met Samuels and Ashcroft at music industry events. M.O stands for
Modus Operandi A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...
, which is a Latin term for "a particular way to do something" M.O's initial aim was to bring old school 90s music back, naming old school TLC, J.Lo,
Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...
and, All Saints as an inspiration amongst others. M.O made their debut as a band with a remix of
Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...
and
Monica Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...
's " The Boy Is Mine" on the YouTube channel SB.TV in 2012. At this point they received positive feedback from the music industry and were championed by the likes of Ed Sheeran. They followed up their debut on YouTube with their first promotional single "Wait Your Turn", which was followed by other releases in 2013, including "Ain't Got Time" and "Hot". In early 2014, M.O announced that the Jess Glynne-penned track " For a Minute" would be released as their official debut single. It was released in April 2014 and entered the UK Indie Charts at number 6. In May, the group joined
Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British ver ...
as the main support act on their sold out Salute Tour, and performed at numerous festivals in the UK, including Wireless festival. In August, they released their garage-influenced second single " Dance On My Own", which entered the UK Sales Chart at number 49. Also in 2014, the group was nominated for a MOBO Award in the Best Newcomer category. In 2015, the single " Preach", which was co-written by
Starsmith Finlay Dow-Smith (born 8 July 1988), known professionally as Starsmith, is a British songwriter and producer. He co-wrote and produced "Good Thing" by Zedd and Kehlani, and "I'll Be There" by Jess Glynne which went to number one in the UK and ...
and Joel Compass, was released. The same year, they signed a record deal with Polydor Records and released the promotional single "Love the Most", a collaboration with
The HeavyTrackerz The Heavytrackerz are a group of record producers, songwriters and instrumentalists from Walthamstow, East London. The group currently consists of Lord Teedot, G.Tank and RasEye. HeavyTrackerz are often recognized as producers of singles for Grime ...
. In 2016, M.O released the extended plays ''Good Friends'' and '' Who Do You Think Of?'', the latter of which spawned a single of the same name. "Who Do You Think Of?" reached the top twenty of the UK Singles Chart, becoming their highest-charting single yet. The song was certified silver and sold over 375,000 copies. In July 2016, it was announced that the band signed a US deal with
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...
. Their next single, " Not in Love", featured rapper Kent Jones and was released in December 2016, peaking just outside the top 40 at No. 42. On 26 June 2020, the group released the EP ''Modus Operandi'', featuring tracks such as "Who Do You Think Of", "Ex at the Party" and "Going Out of My Way" featuring Mr Eazi.


Line-up changes

After a quiet 18 months, including the departure of Connolly, the group made a comeback with their new single "Bad Vibe", featuring Lotto Boyzz and Mr Eazi. It peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. On 26 November 2018, Nadine Samuels was imprisoned for eight months for causing death by careless driving. During 2020, founding member Nadine Samuels left the group.


Final single & split

In October 2021, M.O released their first single since the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘U No’ with producer collective Jodapac and British rapper
French the Kid French the Kid is a British rapper and singer. Born in Harold Hill, his family moved to Australia and France while he was a child. He moved back to the UK in his teens, beginning to release freestyles on Instagram in 2018. Early life French the ...
. In September 2022, band member Chanal Benjilali revealed via
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
Q&A that the group had been inactive for a while after the release of U No and that it was very unlikely that fans can expect new music anytime soon.


Discography


Extended plays


Singles


As lead artists


As featured artists


Promotional singles


Awards and nominations


Notes


References

{{authority control British contemporary R&B musical groups English girl groups English vocal groups Musical groups established in 2012 Musical groups from London Polydor Records artists Interscope Records artists