Flo (group)

FLO
FLO performing on their tour in 2023
L–R: Stella, Jorja, and Renée
Background information
OriginLondon, England
GenresR&B
Works
Years active2019–present
Labels
Members
  • Stella Quaresma
  • Jorja Douglas
  • Renée Downer
Websiteflolikethis.com

FLO are a British girl group formed and signed with Island Records. The London-based group is composed of three members: Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma, and Renée Downer. The trio gained prominence for their debut song "Cardboard Box" (2022) after achieving viral popularity throughout social media, and received a silver certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The song preceded the release of the group's debut extended play (EP), The Lead (2022), and was met with positive reception despite failing to chart. FLO later surprise-released their second EP titled 3 of Us (2023), while performing their first concert tour. The group released their debut studio album Access All Areas (2024), which spawned a collaboration with American rapper GloRilla for "In My Bag". The album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and saw moderate success on the Billboard 200. It also received a nomination for Best Progressive R&B Album at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.

FLO are a recipient of several accolades, including the annual survey BBC Sound of... and the Brit Award for Rising Star. They were also nominated for Best Group and Best New Artist at the 23rd BET Awards.

Members

I saw the girls and we screamed across the room. I knew from that moment we were about to start something big.

— Douglas on when the members met for the first time[1]

Stella Dora Quaresma was born 28 November 2001 in Kingston upon Thames, and at four weeks old, she moved to Mozambique. 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, where she met bandmate Renée Downer.[2] 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. Prior to being in the group, she worked as a waitress.[3]

Jorja Paige Douglas was born 2 January 2002 in Eastern Germany, before moving to Hertfordshire at eight months old.[1] She grew up listening to R&B music introduced to her by her mother.[3] She is the daughter of former sprinter Stephi Douglas, and in 2017, she competed in and won the second series of the CBBC competition series Got What It Takes?.[4][5] Prior to being in the group, Douglas worked for an accountancy firm.[3]

Julian Renée Downer was born 23 September 2002 and raised in North London. 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 at H&M on Regent Street.[3]

Career

2019–2022: Formation and The Lead

The British girl group formed in 2019. Quaresma and Downer knew each other prior, having met studying at Sylvia Young Theatre School, and discovered Douglas from her singing videos on Instagram.[6] After spending two years writing music, the trio recorded their debut song with producer MNEK. "Cardboard Box" was first released on 24 March 2022 after they signed to Island Records.[7] The song performed well on social media, with established artists SZA and Victoria Monét praising it.[8] An accompanying music video premiered in April,[9] with an acoustic version being released the following month.[10]

Performing for VevoDSCVR
"Cardboard Box" by FLO on YouTube
"Immature" by FLO on YouTube

FLO released their second song, "Immature", on 6 July 2022, with a music video uploaded the same week.[11] During the promotion of the song, the trio announced and released their debut extended play (EP), The Lead, on 8 July 2022. Many music critics named the EP an "essential listen" while displaying the confidence and authority of the trio.[12] FLO performed their first two songs on YouTube for VevoDSCVR in August.[13] The trio re-released their project with an additional song, "Not My Job", on 14 September 2022.[14]

The trio made their television debut for late-night talk programmes Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Later... with Jools Holland in October 2022.[15][16] The next month, FLO performed "Feature Me" and "Not My Job" for Vevo, as they were included in VevoDSCVR's Artists to Watch 2023.[17] The three were nominated at the 25th MOBO Awards and did their first medley performance.[18] In December, they also became the first female group to top the annual survey BBC Sound of... and win the Brit Rising Star in the same year.[19][20]

2023: 3 of Us

FLO were featured on a remix for British rapper Stormzy's song "Hide & Seek" in January 2023.[21] Interviewed on radio programme Rocket Hour, singer Elton John asked if there was a studio album in progress, to which Downer replied: "There sure is. It's going to be amazing."[22] The trio were later announced to perform at various summer festivals, including Big Weekend, Isle of Wight, Longitude, Summer Sonic and Wireless Festival.[23][24]

On social media, the group teased several snippets of an upcoming song featuring American rapper Missy Elliott.[25] "Fly Girl" was released on 23 March 2023 and interpolated Elliott's hip-hop song "Work It" (2002), plus a new rap verse from herself.[26] Seven days later, the trio embarked on their first concert tour, FLO Live in North America and Europe.[27] Prior to their next show in Chicago, FLO made their third television appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where they performed "Fly Girl".[28]

The trio performed for Capital's Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium on 11 June 2023,[29] and at Glastonbury Festival on 23 June.[30] The same month, FLO received their first three nominations at the 23rd BET Awards which included Best Group.[31] The next month, the three surprise-released their second EP, 3 of Us; two songs from the track listing had already been performed on their concert tour.[32] FLO stated on social media that the release was a "gift" for fans who were awaiting new music.[33] The girl group were nominated for Push Performance of the Year at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards in August.[34] They also received three nominations at the 36th Soul Train Awards in November: Best Group, Best New Artist and Best Collaboration for "Fly Girl" with Missy Elliott.[35]

2024–present: Access All Areas and second studio album

FLO released "Walk Like This" as the lead single from their debut studio album on 8 March 2024, with a music video released on 14 March.[36] They later performed at Coachella 2024.[37] Another song, "Caught Up", was released on 24 May with a music visualiser.[38] A month later, the trio played at the Governors Ball.[39] FLO released the third single from their debut album, "Check", on 2 August, with an accompanying music video. American singer Kehlani revealed the track listing for her mixtape, While We Wait 2 (2024), on which FLO appeared on the track titled "8".[40] The group also were announced to open for Kehlani's Crash World Tour; it commenced on 4 September and concluded on 2 November.[41] In 2024, FLO released two promotional singles from their debut album: "Bending My Rules" and "AAA".[42][43] They revealed the title of their debut album as Access All Areas in August 2024.[44] It was released 15 November 2024.[45] The album featured collaborations with British actress Cynthia Erivo and American rapper GloRilla.[46]

In 2025, FLO collaborated with Kaytranada on "The Mood".[47] Later that year, they were nominated for their first Grammy award; Access All Areas was nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.[48] Their nomination marked the first British female R&B act to be nominated since Floetry over twenty years prior.[49] To commemorate the nomination, an "unlocked" version of Access All Areas was released, featuring four unreleased songs and various remixes with artists including Chloe x Halle, Kehlani, Bree Runway and Dixson.[50]

FLO's first musical release of 2026 was the song "Mamacitas", a contribution to the soundtrack for the film Goat (2026).[51] They are set to release "Leak It" as the lead single from their second studio album on 20 March 2026. They are also set to return to BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend festival later in the year.[52][53]

Artistry

Musical style

FLO's style distinctly draws upon classic R&B, hip-hop and soul music, particularly from the 1990s and early 2000s. The group often covered R&B songs from that era at the beginning of their career on TikTok, particularly songs by Jazmine Sullivan and Lauryn Hill.[54][55] The visuals for their debut music video "Cardboard Box" invited comparisons to that of TLC's "Unpretty" (1999) and the Sugababes' "Overload" (2000). In addition to the likes of Destiny's Child and the Spice Girls, H.E.R. was named as a more contemporary influence.[56]

Influences

Aaliyah (left) and Amy Winehouse (right) have influenced FLO.

All three girls described being shaped by the music they grew up listening to; Downer's mother would play Aaliyah and Ciara 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 and Etta James.[57]

Achievements

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Flo

FLO has received numerous awards and nominations throughout their career, including a Brit Awards, Global Awards, Sound of..., in addition to being nominated for two MTV VMAs, one NAACP Image Awards and three Soul Train Awards nominations.[58][59] In December 2022, FLO won the Brit Awards and were nominated for the 25th MOBO Awards.[60][61] In March 2023, they received the Rising Star Award at the Global Awards.[62] On 26 June 2023, they were nominated for three categories, including Best New Artist, at the 2023 BET Awards, making them the group with the most nominations for the 2023 awards edition.[63]

On 6 January 2023 FLO was placed on the NME 100 annual list of Essential Emerging Artists. They also appeared on the physical cover of one of the issues.[64] In March 2023, they were named as one of Rolling Stone's 25 artists of the future.[65] The same month, FLO was named Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month.[66] In April 2024, they were listed on the Europe's Forbes 30 under 30 list for 2024 in the Entertainment category.[67]

Controversy

In July 2025, their former stylist, Lee Trigg revealed that FLO owed her over £50,000 in unpaid fees and expenses for styling work. The dispute became public after fans discussed FLO's fashion online, leading Trigg to claim she had been trying to resolve the matter privately for a year, with lawyers involved, but only received online shade from FLO member Jorja Douglas.[68]

Discography

Main article: Flo discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Filmography

Television

List of television and films credits
Year Title Role Channel Notes Ref.
2022 Jimmy Kimmel Live! Themselves (musical guest) ABC Episode dated 6 October 2022 [69]
Later... with Jools Holland Themselves (musical guest) BBC Two Episode dated 29 October 2022 [70]
2023 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Themselves (musical guest) NBC Episode dated 20 April 2023 [71]
2024 The Graham Norton Show Themselves (musical guest) BBC One Episode dated 13 December 2024 [72]
2025 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Themselves (musical guest) CBS Episode dated 29 January 2025 [73]

Tours

Headlining

Supporting

References

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  2. ^ Wickes, Jade (12 May 2022). "Could FLO be Britain's next great girl group?". The Face. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d "Up Next: FLO" (Podcast). Apple Music. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  4. ^ Stevenson, Amelia (19 June 2017). "Interview with Jorja Douglas at Big Weekend". TresA Magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Got What It Takes? - The Winner's Story". BBC. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
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  7. ^ Keith, James (4 April 2022). "UK R&B trio Flo step out with MNEK-produced "Cardboard Box"". Complex. Complex Networks. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  8. ^ Valentina Cagna, Claudia (26 July 2022). "Getting to know Flo, the UK R&B outfit co-signed by Missy Elliott and SZA". Complex. Complex Networks. Archived from the original on 1 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
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  10. ^ Kelly, Amelia (8 May 2022). "Flo share acoustic version of their debut "Cardboard Box"". GRM Daily. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
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  76. ^ Tomas, Miér (23 July 2024). "Kehlani Unveils 'Crash' World Tour — And She's Bringing Girl Group FLO With Her". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
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