Stooshe
English girl group formed in London, nominated for Sound of 2012.
Stooshe are a London-based English girl group with three members: Alexandra Buggs, Karis Anderson, and Courtney Rumbold. They were up for the BBC Sound of 2012 award and had top-five UK hits. Their first album, London with the Lights On, came out in 2013.
Quick Facts
- Origin
- London, England
- Genre
- R&B
- soul
- hip hop
- Years active
- 2010–present
- Label
- Warner; Trilogy Records
- Current members
- Karis Anderson
- Alexandra Buggs
- Courtney Rumbold
Facts from the source article.
History
Stooshe came together in May 2010 under creative director Jo Perry, landing a deal with Warner Music in August 2011. The plan was to build a group with an urban, soulful twist on the Spice Girls. The lineup of Alexandra Buggs, Karis Anderson, and Courtney Rumbold came together after nine months of auditions and scouting inside Topshop stores. Rumbold was spotted first, then Buggs by a stylist in the shop.
Anderson, who had attended the Brit School, was the last to join after management found her demos on MySpace. The members admitted the group was manufactured but said their chemistry felt genuine. They worked with the writing and production duo Future Cut, spending a year shaping their sound and image. Anderson explained that the band name comes from 'stoosh', urban slang for something pricey, a stuck-up girl, or being high; they added 'she' to stand for female empowerment.
The name is said like the Scottish word 'stooshie'. Their first song, "Fuck Me", hit YouTube on 14 March 2011 with rapper Suave Debonair, and was later reworked as "Love Me" with Travie McCoy. They also shot a video for "Hot Stepper", a cover of Ini Kamoze's "Here Comes the Hotstepper", at Hyde Park's Wireless Festival in July 2011. The second single, "Betty Woz Gone", dropped on iTunes on 28 October 2011 and made it onto BBC Radio 1's In New Music We Trust playlist.
In March 2012, they put out "Fuck Me" again as "Love Me", which became the lead single from their debut album, Stooshe. It was their first chart entry, debuting at number five on the UK Singles Chart with 37,789 copies sold, and hitting number seven on the Scottish Singles Chart for the week ending 17 March 2012. Their next single, "Black Heart", came out on 15 June 2012 and peaked at number three in the UK. In June 2012, it was announced they would open for Nicki Minaj on the UK part of the Pink Friday Tour.
Stooshe played a short set on the main stage at Bingley Music Live on 31 August 2012. In October 2012, they were set to support Jennifer Lopez on a section of the European leg of the Dance Again World Tour.
More in British Contemporary R&B Musical Groups
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