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[5]
Stella Quaresma was born 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.[6] 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.[7]
Jorja Douglas was born in Eastern Germany, before moving to Hertfordshire at eight months old.[5] She grew up listening to R&B music introduced to her by her mother.[7] 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?.[8][9] Prior to being in the group, Douglas worked for an accountancy firm.[7]
Renée Downer was born 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.[7]
Flo formed in 2019.[10] Quaresma and Downer knew each other having met studying at Sylvia Young Theatre School and discovered Douglas from her singing videos on Instagram.[7] Their debut single, "Cardboard Box", was produced by British record producer MNEK and was released on 24 March 2022, after they signed to Island Records.[11] The song performed well on social media,[12] and weeks later, an accompanying music video followed in April 2022, which amassed 900 thousand views in a few days.[13][14] An acoustic version of the song was released the following month.[15] Also produced by MNEK, their second single "Immature" and its accompanying music video was released in July 2022,[16] ahead of their debut extended play The Lead on 8 July 2022.[17][18] A music video for "Summertime", also produced by MNEK, was released.[19] Flo re-released The Lead in September 2022 along with a promotional single, "Not My Job".[20]
Flo performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the first time on 6 October 2022, which was their television debut.[21] They made their UK television debut on Later... with Jools Holland the following month.[22] On 1 November 2022, they were included in Vevo DSCVR's Artists to Watch 2023.[23] They performed their songs "Feature Me" and "Not My Job" on the channel.[24] The same month, they took to social media to announce their upcoming concert tour in North America and Europe during spring 2023.[25][26]
Flo then made their first award show performance at the 2022 MOBO Awards with a medley of the songs "Immature" and "Cardboard Box".[27][28] In December 2022, Flo became the first female group to top the BBC's Annual Sound of... poll and win the Brit Rising Star at the Brit Awards in the same year.[3][4]
In early January 2023, Flo were featured on "Hide & Seek" by British rapper Stormzy. The song is from the latter's third studio album, This Is What I Mean (2022).[29] In an Apple Music promotional interview with Elton John, Flo revealed that their debut album is expected to be released in 2023, adding that "There sure is. It's going to be amazing".[30]
On 30 March 2023, Flo embarked on the "Flo Live" tour, which sold out all tickets in North America and Europe.[35] Prior to their next show in Chicago, Flo made an appearance on The Tonight Show, performing "Fly Girl" for the first time on television.[36]
Flo at Mighty Hoopla in 2023, which took place in Brockwell Park
On 3 July 2023, Flo released the surprise extended play titled 3 of Us, including the tracks "Control Freak" and "Change".[41][42] These songs had already been performed during their previous "Flo Live" tour. The surprise release was a decision made by them while finishing their debut album. On social media, they called it "a gift to the FLO Lifers who have been waiting so patiently for new music."[43][44] Their performance of "Losing You" on the MTV's Push series in June 2023 has been nominated for Push Performance of the Year at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.[45][46]
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'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.[14]
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.[50]
