Say Now have something to say: we need more girl groups. And these three plan to rank among the greats.
On a Tuesday morning in Soho, the trio – Amelia Onuorah and Madeleine Haynes, both 23, and 22-year-old Ysabelle Salvanera – bundle into the -tinged green dining room at The Broadwick. With iced matchas in hand, their hair blown out and make-up perfect, Ugg boots are swiftly kicked off in favour of vintage Prada platforms, and sequined tote bags are slung onto chairs as they gather to take selfies and film TikToks on a deliberately old iPhone. They finish one another’s sentences, interrupt each other with anecdotes and frequently dissolve into laughter. Maddie and Amelia are particularly quick to take the conversational reins, but all three share the same infectious energy. “They’re the yin to my yang,” Yssy says.
Today, dressed in coordinated floral-patterned Sophie Wang minidresses, plastic tiaras and frilly socks, they are making the case for revisiting the pop girl glam of old: playful and deliberately imperfect. Amelia is temporarily shrouded in a huge black fluffy coat after spilling coffee down her dress; their hairstylist, Ashley, is in a corner attempting to blow-dry it back to life. “We’re not perfect proper princesses, but we princesses,” Amelia explains. “In a very British way.”
The band’s aesthetic – “very girly, English rose, florals… we’ve been really trying to bring back Cath Kidston,” says Yssy – takes its cues from the things they wanted to wear at 12: old Topshop, Jane Norman, Ted Baker, Laura Ashley. “I kind of feel like I’m living my teenage dream,” Amelia says. “I think [12] is your most authentic age, before you get indoctrinated by high school.”
Since forming, Say Now has built a following of over 750,000 on TikTok and amassed over 100 millions streams. Their debut EP, , arriving on November 13, marks the band’s next step: a project co-written and executive-produced by PinkPantheress, furthering their sonic landscape with floor-filling bangers like “Met my match”, and more emotional ballads like “Girl of the moment”. Pink, one of the most prominent female producers in the industry right now, is not only a fan of the group but has taken on the role of mentor. Take “Hot & talking”, their empowering earworm of a single currently sweeping social media – the girls didn’t love it at first. But then, “[Pink] heard it and was like, ‘Wow, girls, you’re sleeping on this song,’” says Maddie. Pink wrote a new bridge, reproduced it, and everything clicked.
Their musical reference points transcend the British girl group lineage they clearly adore. Growing up, they looked to the obvious: Girls Aloud, Little Mix, The Saturdays, Sugababes, Destiny’s Child, TLC, Pussycat Dolls. But they also have a deep affection for UK rap. J Hus, Kojo Funds, Knucks… “One day it would be musical theatre in my ears, then Madonna, and the next day it’s underground rap,” Maddie says, giggling. “If you popped on ‘Tropical’ [by SL] right now, I could sing that bar for bar,” she says. Yssy and Amelia concur. They are not bluffing: for the next 45 seconds, the trio recite it perfectly.
Say Now are as interested in how their music looks and moves as how it sounds. All three are strong, very capable singers, but their uncompromising commitment to holistic performance and spectacle – chiefly, strong choreo and striking visuals – is central to their identity, and speaks to their potential to reach the heights of their predecessors. That being said, “We’d love for people to look back and say, ‘Say Now is one of my favourite girl groups,’ but also, ‘Say Now is just one of my favourite artists,’” Amelia explains. Her bandmates nod in agreement. “That would be how we know that we’ve done it in the right way.”
Say Now formed in 2022, before they even had a name (you might remember them cropping up on TikTok with a viral cover of Drake’s “Massive”, under the moniker “@needanamebro”). Amelia and Yssy began working together first, then scouted Maddie from a video of her singing on social media. “Working with each other every day, you’re going to get sick of each other and you’re going to disagree on some things, but the core is always us,” Yssy says. “If you don’t have a foundation, then there’s nothing,” Amelia agrees. For Maddie, the only Londoner in the group (Yssy is from Birmingham, Amelia is from Luton), those early days mostly involved driving the girls around the capital in her Fiat, showing them the local sights and delights. “I don’t even have memories of us working,” she laughs. “It was like… going to the pub.”
Their journey thus far has been “fulfilling for the soul”. Despite changes in their personal and professional lives, they have had the support of one another. The EP, which some lucky fans have already heard a bit of live, makes them beam with pride. “Every single song is a banger,” declares Maddie. There are “no skips”. And they aren’t pressed about looking for validation, either. As Amelia says: “It makes it so much more exciting when we don’t have those doubts in our heads like, ‘I hope people will like it.’ Because I know this is amazing.”