R&B Girl Group FLO talks Coachella, Upcoming Album, Musical Identity
Over the past few years, FLO has done what many assumed was undoable in today’s music climate: revived the concept of the R&B girl group by updating the sound of its ’90s heyday, all with a contemporary twist.
So far, it’s worked – as their fan base has exploded beyond their native London and brought them to viral new heights. “We definitely want to be the face of the resurgence of girl groups,” says Jorja Douglas, who makes up the trio alongside Stella Quaresma and Renée Downer. “We love a couple of girl groups around now like Citizen Queen and Boys World. It’s all healthy competition, we want there to be girl groups that can exist in the same space. For now, at least.”
FLO is already well on its way to coming out ahead of the pack. Just last year, they won the Brits’ Rising Star Award and topped the BBC’s Sound of 2023 poll, an annual survey of music critics and industry insiders. They went on their FLO tour in the U.S. and Europe and played to mostly sold-out venues. All of this, on the back of only two EPs and a hit single “Cardboard Box,” which has over 49 million streams on Spotify.
Picking up the baton that Destiny’s Child left behind for girl group trios, FLO is putting it all on display with one of the defining performances of their career thus far – at the Coachella stage, where they will be performing both weekends. “We’re feeling good about the performance,” Quaresma says. “And the second week is gonna be even better. Once you get the set in you, it’s so exciting.”
They’ve been rehearsing quite a bit. Not just for Coachella, but also NYC’s Governor’s Ball and Chicago’s Lollapalooza, where they will also appear this summer. “In a way, it’s been good because we haven’t really been able to think about anything else,” she continues. “We’re definitely going to be prepared and good by the time it gets there.”
For FLO, the journey to Coachella has been swift, ever since forming in 2019. The trio’s roots date back to theater school, where Quaresma initially met Downer. A consultant at Island Records paired them with Douglas (who had coincidentally been following the others on social media), and they signed to the imprint in 2022, releasing their debut EP “The Lead” in 2022.
On TikTok, they first found an audience that year with their debut song “Cardboard Box,” which has since amassed over 11 million views on YouTube. But, earlier this year they hit an unexpected roadblock: The platform where they first went viral is in a standoff with their parent label, UMG, and their music is nowhere to be found on the app.
“There’s a bit of FOMO, since other artists can still put their music on TikTok,” Douglas says. “But, everything is constantly moving, constantly evolving. I hope we can leave TikTok for independent artists that don’t have any other ways of pushing their music. We just go with the flow.”
Even with their rising star, Douglas says she still feels a bit nervous now, even at festivals. But, she counts on the strength of her group mates to get her through it. “Taking the people out of the event and finding the fun in your performance helps take away the anxiety,” she says. “You just have to laugh,” Quaresma adds. “We have so many funny times on stage at festivals and you just have to enjoy it”
With Coachella and a busy summer schedule ahead, FLO is ramping up for their debut album, arriving later this year. Downer says the album, executive produced by MNEK, is soulful, and that the girls took all the things they love about R&B and tried to make it progressive and fresh.
“When people hear something or see something, I hope they can say like ‘Oh my gosh, this thing is so FLO-coded!’” Douglas says. “I just hope we can be a part of everyday life.” Downer adds, “The wait will be worth it.”
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