The much-buzzed-about British R&B girl group FLO has released their highly-anticipated single, “Fly Girl,” which features Missy Elliott.
Not only is the rapper featured on the song, “Fly Girl” also samples and interpolates her 2002 hit song, “Work It.”
‘Fly Girl’ is all about confidence, good vibes and feeling your best. It’s a lively, feel good song that still incorporates clever lyrics and fire vocals, if we do say so ourselves,” the group, consisting of Stella Quarsema, Renée Downer and Jorja Douglas, said in a statement. “It’s quite literally a perfect fusion of old school meets modern day R&B, with a nod to and feature from the original fly girl Missy Elliott herself. We love it and are so happy to be putting out a song that can hopefully make whoever plays it feel confident and most importantly, FLY.”
“Working with Flo has been nothing less than amazing. I remember a few of their fans sent me clips of their performances, and I immediately felt the authentic ’90s vibe,” added Elliott. I loved the fact they all sang lead so well—great vocal control—so when I was asked to be a part of the ‘Fly Gir’ record, it was a no brainer. They used the inspiration from my song ‘Work It,’ and I felt they did it justice. I enjoyed it and I believe they have a long, great career ahead of them.”
‘Fly Girl’ ft. Missy Elliott is officially OUT NOW!
When this song was written we couldn’t have imagined a more iconic collaboration, and we want to take a moment to thank @MissyElliott and her entire team for making this a dream come true. https://t.co/gvqwjmsSsa pic.twitter.com/RLapGYUDqk
— FLO (@flolikethis) March 23, 2023
FLO was named the R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month recently by Billboard, which comes on the heels of them nabbing two prestigious UK music honors: the BRIT Award for Rising Star and the top song for BBC’s Sound of 2023 poll.
Their critically-acclaimed EP, The Lead, dropped last year, led by the viral single “Cardboard Box,” which gained traction on TikTok. It also featured songs such as “Immature” and “Summertime.”
On carrying on the legacy of British girl groups, Downer told Billboard, “It means a lot to be carrying the torch, because girl groups are so powerful — and to have the people that we grew up watching recognize us and be like, ‘You guys have got this. You can go where we’ve gone and further,’ is the biggest accomplishment ever. It’s just so deep to us.”
They are also heading on a North American tour soon, featuring stops in New York, Toronto, Atlanta and more.
“It made sense, because most of our fans are in America,” said Douglas. “And obviously, R&B is just so much more appreciated in America as well. So it’s like: Go where you’re wanted, don’t try and force it. Obviously, there’s still a love for R&B here, but it’s just something completely different in America. Majority of our fans on Twitter, they’re American. We would have been abused if we didn’t go. They would’ve cussed us out!
The group will also be on a festival tour for the summer, including Pharrell’s Something in the Water stateside, as well as the UK’s Glastonbury Festival and Wireless Festival.