The UK’s latest girl group obsession drops a slowed-down version of their R&B anthem ‘Cardboard Box’, alongside an intimate, dreamy new music video
“I got a confession, I don’t think I want you anymore / There’s no room for questions, I saw her panties on the bedroom floor,” sings FLO’s Stella Quaresma on “Cardboard Box”, a ‘fuck you’ breakup anthem blending honeyed early 00s harmonies with old-school R&B vocals. The London-based girl group dropped the track – their first-ever single, born from a DMC (deep meaningful conversation) between the group about past relationships – in March after two years of perfecting their sound with producers MNEK (known for his work with Dua Lipa, Little Mix, and Beyoncé), Aston Rudi (Mahalia), and more.
Comprised of three members, Renée Downer, Jorja Douglas, and Stella Quaresma, the band first formed after childhood friends Renée and Stella met Jorja at an audition. “I saw the girls and we screamed across the room. I knew from that moment we were about to start something big,” says Jorja.
Since then – besides going viral for resurrecting the long-lost UK girlband – the group has amassed a following of over 158,000 on TikTok, 1.9 million Spotify streams, and stamps of approval from Missy Elliot, SZA, Victoria Monet, and JoJo. “It feels so surreal to have praise from the people we grew up listening to and are fans of,” FLO tells Dazed. “Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves to make sure it’s real.”
Now, FLO has released its latest track: a slowed down, acoustic version of “Cardboard Box”, alongside a dreamy, intimate music video. “We always like listening to different versions of songs that we love. Especially acoustics,” explains the band. “We also love to bring the creative and change things up, so it was a no brainer to make an acoustic version.”
The band continues: “The reception has been so great that we wanted to give everyone another version.”
Next up, the band plan to release their first EP this summer, an R&B-obsessed record filled with “girl power, sultry, feel-good songs that make you want to dance, have fun with your friends, get dressed up, and be that independent boss babe”. Further, as three young Black women, the band hopes to empower people like themselves through their music and work.
“We always like listening to different versions of songs that we love. Especially acoustics. We also love to bring the creative and change things up, so it was a no brainer to make an acoustic version” - FLO
“It’s important that everyone, especially young black women, have someone they can relate to and someone they see themselves in,” they say. “The experiences we all go through are so universal, and no one should feel alone in that.”
While FLO still has a ways to go, everything you love about girl bands of the past seems to already be working for them: harmonious chemistry, it-girl lewks, and relatable anthems. “It’s something that’s been missed in today's current industry,” says FLO. “People keep saying that they’re glad we’re bringing it back, and that means the world.”
They add: “When multiple people come together to make art, it’s a really beautiful thing, and we’re so glad we get to do that.”
Watch the “Cardboard Box (Acoustic)” music video above.