The next generation of popstars is on the rise with the latest girl groups such as KATSEYE, FLO, Say Now, and 3Quency reaching wider audiences and making it to the charts. They’re capturing the attention of today’s music listeners in a time when music was once dominated by solo artists.
Let’s dive into these groups’ origin stories and latest music. They are relatively new, all debuting within the last three years. In 2025, especially, these girl groups have taken off in popularity by growing their followings on social media, music reality competition shows, and their captivating performances worldwide, to name a few of the many ways they have garnered attention. Their powerful vocals, choreography, production, and styling have also been huge factors in their success and growth. They have set a strong imprint on today’s pop and R&B music standards and trends through their music and content.
FLO is a London-based girl group composed of three singer-songwriters, Jorja Douglas, Renée Downer, and Stella Quaresma. The group was formed in 2019, but they didn’t release their debut single, Cardboard Box, until 2022. According to The New York Times, the group was first formed when their initial manager and their label, Island, wanted to create “an R&B girl group that would revive and update the sound and attitude of acts from the 1990s and 2000s.” The group believes that those eras were the foundations of the success in the rise of K-pop, but when it came to R&B, the American and British music markets still favored solo acts more so than groups. At the time, Jorja Douglas believed that “A girl group was missing from the industry.”
While the group has a nostalgic sound and they are acknowledged for that, they also focused on establishing their own voice as a group and sharing their own stories in their most recent album.
Their latest album is called “Access All Areas,” and it features artists like Kehlani, Chlöe and Halle, and GloRilla, along with an album intro narrated by Cynthia Erivo, which also serves as a trailer for the album. It gives listeners a bit of an introduction to the group and is an ode to the groups they are inspired by in their music. Before this album, they had only ever released singles, and before its release, the group took the time to craft the tracks on the album in a way that none of them felt like “fillers.”
Besides checking out “Access All Areas,” I also recommend listening to their latest release with KAYTRANADA, “The Mood.”
The group Say Now is another group based in London, and the members are Yssy Salvanera, Amelia Onuorah, and Maddie Haynes. They were formed in 2022 but did not announce their official group name until July 2023. Before then, they performed and built their following under the working title, “needanamebro,” according to their NME music interview. In the article, Yssy said that the name Say Now reflects them as a band: “Communication, saying the truth, being honest with people and yourself. We reflect that a lot in our lyrics and our journey.” Their music blends R&B and pop music, and in their most recent music, they also have a more Y2K girl group-inspired vibe.
The group did not have the same type of recruiting process as FLO, and instead, Amelia and Yssy were first introduced by their manager with a loose idea of forming a group, and it wasn’t until a year later that they found their “missing piece” to the group through Instagram. The first time they all actually met in person was at an Ice Cream Parlor in the UK called Creams. According to the NME, the group is now best friends and live together in northwest London, releasing music such as one of their most popular songs from earlier this year, “Don’t Text Don’t Call,” and their most recent song released over the summer, “Brick by Brick.”
One way this viral group shares their authenticity as a band is through the acoustic and unplugged versions of their songs that feature their isolated vocals and share more of their emotions. I recommend listening to both those versions of their music and the rest of their discography wherever you listen to your music.
KATSEYE, a six-member global girl group based in the U.S., was formed in 2023 through the reality competition show The Debut: Dream Academy, where the contestants who passed an audition competed for a spot to be in HYBE’s newest group, under the record label Geffen Records. The members’ names are Daniela, Lara, Manon, Megan, Sophia, and Yoonchae. The group is known as a “global group” since the members are from a variety of countries around the world.
According to a TUDUM by Netflix article, over 120,000 submissions from applicants worldwide were received before Geffen Records and HYBE revealed the 20 participants who would compete to be on the TV show. After intense training, dance missions, judging from a panel of experts, along with fan voting, the final six were chosen to debut together as KATSEYE all within 12 weeks. The process was then made into a documentary on Netflix called Popstar Academy: KATSEYE, which shows the behind-the-scenes of the reality competition.
The group made its debut in 2024, and from then on, it has risen to become one of the most popular groups this year, especially with its latest hits, “Gnarly” and “Gabriela,” off its most recent album, “Beautiful Chaos.”
The group has also become global trendsetters, especially with their most recent viral GAP ad, “Better in Denim,” with original choreography by Robbie Blue that highlights the message of expressing yourself through style. With their bold, unique music style and global representation, they stand out in pop music and redefine the modern girl group.
This year, a pop-R&B girl group, 3Quency, that also gained success from a reality show, won Netflix’s Building the Band in July 2025. This was a show where solo artists assembled to form six new groups, with each wanting to be the best. According to another article by Netflix’s Tudum, “After moving into shared apartments, the groups put everything into vocal coaching, choreography, crafting a cohesive group image, and more to be the last ones singing,” they competed to win a prize of $500,000.
After winning the competition, 3Quency agreed that half of the money would go toward supporting their families, and the rest they’d invest in the band. According to the same Tudum article, 3Quency wants to be known as a group that shows their audience something “completely different” than what they’ve seen before. The group said they want to offer a “different wardrobe, different creative, different visuals, different vocals,” and focus on “reinvention.”
Since winning the show, they’ve come out with their debut single, “Top Down,” and I think it’s worth checking out that release along with the other live music them and the other participating groups of Building the Band performed in Part One and Part Two of the show.
Dynamic girl groups like the ones I’ve introduced are important in modern pop/R&B music because they are inspiring our generation and the next one with their out-of-the-box style while also paying homage to the iconic girl groups that they grew up listening to.
I also think it’s important for people to know about the stories today’s artists have to tell through their music and their history. These stories show the struggles artists had to face and the effort they put in to reach their collective dreams. I love that through their music, they still decide to speak about the collective struggles we as women face every day in society, speak on empowering others to be confident in themselves, voice what they have to say, and what’s truly on their minds.
With the recent rise in popularity of girl groups, new ones emerging, and previous ones growing each day, it is clear that they’re more than just a trend. They’re a reminder that music can be a force of unity, honesty, and comfort in times when the listeners and fans may need it most.