Combining elements of Salt & Pepa, Odd Future, En Vogue, Jay-Z, TLC, The Supremes, Stooshe have become one of the mostly hotly tipped new artists since the video for their best single ‘Betty Woz Gone’ accumulated 100,000 views within a day of its initial upload. It became YouTube’s most viewed music video in the UK and the 14th most viewed in the world. Subsequently retweeted by the likes of Ed Sheeran, Rizzle Kicks and Wretch 32, it prompted Time Out to describe them as “A fresh voice in UK R&B.”
Now Stooshe’s profile has received another major boost with the news that they’ve made the fifteen artist longlist for the BBC’s Sound of 2012 competition. The artists on the list were chosen by 184 UK-based tastemakers who each named their favourite three new artists, with the top fifteen artists making the longlist. The top five artists and the ultimate winner will be announced in January.
News of Stooshe’s inclusion in the BBC Sound of 2012 longlist is just one of a number of indicators of their impending mainstream breakthrough. They’ve received over a million online views split between their YouTube site and special sessions recorded for iD, SBTV, MTV and Virgin, while positive press coverage has come from a diverse array of publications including The Independent, The Daily Star, RWD and Top of the Pops.
Fresh updates on Stooshe are available from their YouTube channel (StoosheTV) which is hosting brand new episodes from their online video series The Only Way Is Stooshe. The first two episodes: can be seen at
And you might well be able to spot Stooshe on their adventures around the UK: the girls are currently travelling in an electric pink, GPS-tracked, Web-cam equipped, Stooshe-logoed tour van.
Boisterous, mischievous, outgoing and witty, Alex Buggs, Courtney Rumbold and Karis Anderson are three brilliantly distinct personalities, as attainable as they are aspirational. Doing away with outdated ideas, when it comes to who they are and the music they make, Stooshe are determinedly deconstructing stereotypes. Packed full of provocative, punchy wordplay, cutting-edge choruses and three incredible vocals, their sound is as bold as it is edgy. Filling a huge gap in the girlband market, Stooshe deliver a ‘90s sensibility with a futuristic sound.
