Deputy Editor Lauren Henry writes about FLO’s recent Birmingham performance, praising the trio’s stellar choreography and beautiful vocals
On October 2nd, girl group FLO found themselves in Birmingham for the fourth stop of their Access All Areas tour. After some delay, through no fault of their own, girl group FLO finally came to the O2 Academy Birmingham. Having debuted in 2022 with single ‘Cardboard Box’, the R&B girl group still managed to put on a wonderfully choreographed show with enchanting vocal performances.
The show began at 8pm with opener Sekou, an up-and-coming singer from Leicestershire with a deep, soulful voice which he layers over pop-like production. Despite being a smaller artist (naturally) than the night’s headline act, Sekou was still able to masterfully command the stage and excite the Birmingham crowd. After six songs and 30 minutes, Sekou’s set came to a close and the crowd were left to wait for the main event – a wait that went on for a bit longer than expected, if I am honest.
They sang with a cohesion and chemistry that no amount of rehearsal hours can manufacture
FLO came out just after 9pm with a memorable entrance. All three girls – Jorja Douglas, Renée Downer, and Stella Quaresma – had individual introductions with their magnified shadow cast onto a red backing screen. The screen soon dropped to the subsequent screams of the crowd and their set began with the albums’ kind-of titular song, ‘AAA’. Already, just minutes into the show, they sang with a cohesion and chemistry that no amount of rehearsal hours can manufacture.
After greeting the Brum crowd, FLO swiftly jumped into ‘Check’ – an up-tempo track with a message found in the songs of girl groups who have come before: is He good enough for you? The influence of other girl groups, such as Destiny’s Child and TLC, can be seen throughout FLO’s discography, more present in some tracks than others. Due to the nature – and some could say limitations – of R&B, some of FLO’s songs lack a certain level of originality and creativity, instead using familiar production styles with familiar beats, and singing familiar melodies. Alas, that could be chalked up to a genre issue than a FLO issue – or, perhaps, both.
Due to the nature – and some could say limitations – of R’n’B, some of FLO’s songs lack a certain level of originality and creativity
Around an hour into the show, after a small, intermission-like break, FLO launched into ‘Soft’, during which they included their own mute challenge. Sadly, this attempt at a frankly overdone challenge went over the crowd’s head – not everyone can be the Houston-born superstar. That being said, it was still a great song, and an interesting change of pace from the faster tracks that had come before.
Up next was ‘Shoulda Coulda Woulda’, during which I spent most of my time blinking at the rather intense light show. To be fair, this definitely was not a venue-wide experience but instead just my individual poor luck. Nonetheless, the performance, or at least what I caught of it, was still engaging. Despite being over half way though the show, FLO did not show signs of fatigue. These three women have talent that no one can deny, especially after seeing them live. Their voices were then showcased further as they sang a ballad from Access All Areas, to which the British crowd did what they do best: swayed their phone torches from side to side. This perhaps inspired the lighting engineers and a white spotlight was then shone on the three-women choir as they finished an acoustic rendition of the track.
The live vocals of all three women rivalled their studio tracks and, despite the complex choreography, they never fatigued
To close the show, FLO performed some of their most popular tracks: ‘In My Bag’ that found virality on TikTok; ‘The Mood’ produced by KAYTRANADA; and their debut single and fan favourite ‘Cardboard Box’. At around 10pm, FLO said their goodbye to the protesting Birmingham audience who continued to demand one more song. Still, they left the stage and the lights went down. This lasted for all of three minutes before all three of them were back on the stage. The actual, highly-anticipated final song was none other than ‘I’m Just A Girl’: one of FLO’s more genre defying tracks leaning away from their typical R&B sound, and instead featuring more a pop-punk production.
The time was now 10:25 and the show was truly over: curtains closed, lights on, stage cleared. Given that this is their first headline tour for their debut album, FLO definitely put a captivating performance, and I can only imagine where their careers will go from here. The live vocals of all three women rivalled their studio tracks and, despite the complex choreography, they never fatigued. Jorja, Renèe, and Stella move like three bodies of one brain, with nary a hand nor a finger out of sync. It was a wonderful show, and as the FLO fanbase continues to grow, tickets to their next gig will surely be much more difficult to grab. Hopefully not too difficult though, as I am planning on buying some.
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