Alessia Bisini
The UK has been the home of girl power since the 1990s, with a very strong tradition of iconic girl groups. Say Now, formerly known as needanamebro, seem to follow in these footsteps.
First, there were the Spice Girls. Then came the sleek sound of Girls Aloud and The Saturdays with their futuristic pop reverberations. More recently, the global phenomenon Little Mix have been rewriting pop culture for the past decade.
How can you reinvent yourself? How do you distinguish your own sound from those of the past to make your own history? Say Now, seem to have very clear ideas. Originally formed as a duo, from friends Ysabelle Salvanera and Amelia Onuorah, once they signed with Atlantic Records Madeleine Haynes was brought on board, completing the line-up.
https://www.tiktok.com/@saynow/video/7259823406470761754?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7260505433616680475
With the support of Modest! Management, the agency behind the success of One Direction and the aforementioned Little Mix, made their presence known through Gen-Z’s favourite marketing tool: social media.
They decided to back the most unexpected horse on the Web: SoundCloud. The Swedish music service and music-sharing platform allows people to collaborate, promote and distribute music for free. In recent years, the platform has come to shape a generation of young musical artists.
Their growing influence
“The band’s musical profile blends the pop sound of the 90s with a more refined soul influence from the early 2000s”
The Say Now cover of Drake’s hit, Massive, became a turning point in the band’s trajectory. The girls quickly amassed 31,000 followers on Instagram, and 250,000 followers and nearly 12 million likes on TikTok. Say Now built a loyal fanbase, who become involved in a number of group projects. For example, fans celebrated the band’s anniversary with a meet-up at Creams, complete with a themed menu.
The band’s musical profile blends the pop sound of the 90s with a more refined soul influence from the early 2000s. Here, garage culture collides with a constructed narrative, finding its fulcrum in the beautiful friendship at its core.
The future of Say Now
It’s incredible to think that the group has only released three singles in 2023. The R&B-infused romantic ballad Better Love, the catchy, harmony-laden pop of Not A Lot Left To Say, and the summer break-up anthem Netflix (Better Now Without You).
The recent needanamebro EP is equally worthy of celebration. The record contains the acapella version of Not A Lot Left To Say, the sped-up version of debut single Better Love, and the very cover that allowed Say Now to take their first steps into the music Olympus.
“You only have one life, tell that person you love them, don’t hold back your feelings”
Among those involved in shaping the needanamebro project are Greg Abrahams, Joe Brown, Issy Cross, and Manchester-based writing and production collective The Six. In addition, DJ duo Punctual, and producer Moon Willis, who recently worked on Stromae’s Multitude also played a key role.
As Maddy, Yssy, and Amelia explained, their new name is first and foremost meant to be a motto for life: “Say Now is something that we live by. It’s about saying what you feel when you feel it.”
The band wrote on Instagram: “You only have one life, tell that person you love them, don’t hold back your feelings, and do that thing you’ve always wanted to do.”
A declaration of independence which has the flavour of a beautiful promise for the future.
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Featured image courtesy of Icons8 via Unsplash. Image licence found here. No changes have been made to this image.
Alessia Bisini
Alessia Bisini is a freelance writer and publicist based in Milan, Italy. Since 2014, her writing has been mainly focused on music, entertainment, and pop culture. She's also a gender equality advocate, especially in the music industry. Twice a month, she runs a newsletter called "Let's Go Girls!".