r&b/soul

FLO

1 festival played

British trio harmonising in the tradition of late-90s and early-2000s girl groups, with 'Cardboard Box' as their calling card. Three voices, tight arrangements, minimal fuss.

FLO formed in London in 2019. Stella Quaresma and Renée Downer had met at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and the pair discovered Jorja Douglas through her singing videos on Instagram; Douglas is the daughter of former sprinter Stephi Douglas and had earlier won the CBBC talent show Got What It Takes? The trio spent two years writing before recording anything.

Much of their early material was made with the producer MNEK, who built the group's sound around stacked harmony and clipped, swing-inflected drum programming that points straight back to turn-of-the-millennium R&B.

Their debut single, 'Cardboard Box,' was released in March 2022 and spread through social media, drawing praise from SZA and Victoria Monét; it earned a silver certification from the BPI despite not charting. It preceded the EP The Lead later that year, and a second EP, 3 of Us, arrived as a surprise release in 2023.

FLO won the Brit Award for Rising Star in 2023. Their debut album, Access All Areas, followed in 2024, reaching number three on the UK Albums Chart and including a collaboration with the American rapper GloRilla, 'In My Bag'; the record was later nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album.

On stage the trio sings the harmony parts live and works through set choreography, backed by a DJ or small band rather than a large production. They have also been nominated for Best Group and Best New Artist at the BET Awards.

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