Flo are crowned winners of the BBC’s Sound of 2023, an annual poll that identifies the next big thing in music.
The British R&B trio — Renée Downer, Stella Quaresma and Jorja Douglas — was formed in 2019 and signed the following year to Island Records, a division of Universal Music Group.
Their debut single, “Cardboard Box,” dropped last March and was followed in July by EP The Lead.
Subsequent appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and the BBC’s Later… With Jools Holland confirmed their talent with audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
Flo’s message is “to be strong in yourself, to be confident,” the group tells the BBC.
“There is female empowerment – but everyone who listens should feel supported, inspired, independent,” says Quaresma. “We want them to feel the way music used to make us feel.”
The Sound Of 2023 was voted on by a 130-strong music industry panel, which included former nominees Dua Lipa, Stormzy, Sam Smith and Foals.
With the Corporation’s seal of approval, Flo joins an elite circle of winners which includes Adele, Sam Smith, Haim, Ellie Goulding, Sigrid and last year’s winner, PinkPantheress.
Producer Fred Again (real name Fred Gibson) is runner-up in the 2023 list, which was open to new artists yet to achieve a top five album or more than two top 10 singles by Oct. 31 2022. Those artists who had appeared on reality TV shows within the past three years were ineligible for the competition.
The competition was open to new artists who had yet to achieve a top five album or more than two top 10 singles by Oct. 31, 2022. Artists who had appeared on TV talent shows within the last three years were ineligible.
The BBC Music Sound of 2023 top five:
- Flo
- Fred Again
- Nia Archives
- Cat Burns
- Gabriels
