Floetry
| Floetry | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | R&B, neo soul, hip hop |
| Years active | 1997–2007 |
| Labels | Geffen Records, DreamWorks Records |
| Associated acts | Common, |
| Website | Floetry.net |
| Members | Marsha Ambrosius Natalie Stewart |
Floetry was an English R&B duo comprising Marsha Ambrosius ("the Songstress") and Natalie Stewart ("the Floacist"). The group recorded two studio albums, one live album, and sold over 1,500,000 records worldwide. Formed in 1999, Floetry started on the performance poetry stage.
In 2002, the duo released their first album entitled, Floetic. The album sold over 864,000 copies in the United States.[1] The album spawned the singles "Floetic", the top ten song "Say Yes", and "Getting Late". Following their success, Floetry released their live album Floacism, featuring the single Wanna B Where U R (Thisizzaluvsong).
In 2005, Floetry released their second album Flo'Ology. Two singles were released from this album, "SupaStar" and "Lay Down". Ambrosius left the group in 2007.
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Early life [edit]
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The two both attended the Brits Performing Arts School, Ambrosius took courses in voice, performance technique, and recording. Stewart majored in Performance Arts and English. Ambrosius planned to attend Georgia Tech on a basketball scholarship, but injury forced her to bow out. Stewart headed for Middlesex University, eventually transferring to North London University before leaving university completely. After university, the two performed together as part of a poetry group in London, and subsequently formed Floetry.
Musical career [edit]
Beginnings (1997-2002) [edit]
Since moving to the US in 2000, they have written for Jill Scott, Jazz of Dru Hill, Glenn Lewis (Marsha only), Bilal, and Michael Jackson, for whom Marsha penned the hit 2002 single "Butterflies".
Floetic and Floacism (2002-2003) [edit]
In 2002, they signed with DreamWorks Records and released their debut album Floetic, which featured the singles "Floetic", "Say Yes" (released March 2003), and "Getting Late". The album was also released in the UK with additional tracks, one of which features British singer/songwriter and producer Sebastian Rogers. Their song "Where's The Love" was featured in the film Bringing Down the House.
Floetry released a live album titled Floacism in 2003. The two-disc set consisted of a CD and DVD and included the single "Wanna B Where U R (Thisizzaluvsong)" featuring rapper Mos Def.
Flo'Ology (2005-2006) [edit]
Their third and final album Flo'Ology was released in November 2005. The album debuted at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 200 and number two on the Top R&B chart, and sold over 77,000 copies in its first week.[2] The album included the single "Supastar" featuring rapper Common.
New Beginnings [edit]
Flo'Ology was the third and final album. During the promotion of Flo'Ology, the group separated. Marsha Ambrosius signed as a solo artist to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment in 2006.
Epilogue [edit]
In November 2010, Stewart released her first solo CD, Floetic Soul, on the Shanachie Record Label. Her second solo album The Floacist presents Floetry Re:Birth was released November 2012, also through Shanachie.[3]
As of 2010, Ambrosius has been recording her first solo studio album Late Nights & Early Mornings which was released 1 March 2011 on J Records.
Discography [edit]
Studio albums [edit]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] |
US [5] |
US R&B [6] |
|||||||
| Floetic |
|
— | 19 | 4 | |||||
| Flo'Ology |
|
167 | 7 | 2 | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Live albums [edit]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| US [5] |
US R&B [6] |
||
| Floacism |
|
74 | 11 |
Singles [edit]
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] |
US [8] |
US R&B [8] |
US Dance [8] |
||||||
| 2002 | "Floetic" | 73 | 113 | 29 | — | Floetic | |||
| 2003 | "Say Yes" | — | 24 | 8 | — | ||||
| "Getting Late" | — | 114 | 31 | — | |||||
| "Wanna B Where U R" (with Mos Def) | — | — | 116 | — | Floacism | ||||
| 2005 | "Supastar" (with Common) | — | — | 55 | 15 | Flo'Ology | |||
| "Lay Down" | — | — | 102 | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Awards [edit]
- Grammy Awards
| Year | Category | Genre | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Best Contemporary R&B Album | R&B | Floetic | Nominated |
| Best R&B Song | R&B | "Floetic" | Nominated | |
| Best Urban/Alternative Performance | R&B | "Floetic" | Nominated | |
| 2004 | Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal | R&B | "Say Yes" | Nominated |
| 2006 | Best Urban/Alternative Performance | R&B | "Supastar" | Nominated |
References [edit]
- ^ Ex-Floetry Member Marsha Ambrosius Readies Solo Set. Billboard. Retrieved: March 23, 2011.
- ^ 'Road' Returns Chesney To No. 1. Billboard. Retrieved: July 4, 2009.
- ^ The Floacist interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' January 2013
- ^ a b "Chart Log UK: Adam F - FYA". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
- ^ a b "Floetry Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
- ^ a b "Floetry Album & Song Chart History - R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
- ^ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - March 14, 2011: Floetic certified awards". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Billboard - Singles Chart Search Results". Retrieved 31 October 2012.
External links [edit]
- English hip hop groups
- People educated at the BRIT School
- Musical duos
- British rhythm and blues musical groups
- Musical groups from London
- English soul musical groups
- DreamWorks Records artists
- Geffen Records artists
- Female hip hop groups
- Musical groups established in 1997
- Musical groups disestablished in 2007
- English girl groups
