Meeting the UK’s next best girl band in a dessert parlour on a weekday afternoon is as much of a sugar rush as you’d imagine. Cornered in a cosy booth in the Kings Cross branch of Creams on a damp Wednesday afternoon, NME finds sparkling new pop trio Say Now – Yssy Angeli and Maddie Haynes, both 20, and Amelia Onuorah, 21 – who warmly greet us with a round of hugs across the table.
It doesn’t take long before there’s loud squeals of laughter, impromptu singing, sharing of waffles, brownies and ice cream and too many anecdotes to keep up with. The group now live together in north west London and are best friends, but not too long ago they were total strangers to one another.
Three years ago, Amelia and Yssy – who had each been discovered online individually – were introduced by their manager with the loose idea of forming a girl band. But there was a “missing piece” until they found a perfect fit in Maddie through Instagram a year later. The first time they all met was in the same Creams we’re sitting in now.
Once the line-up was completed, they moved into Maddie’s family home and perfected their noughties-inspired R&B harmonies, getting signed to Atlantic [Cardi B, Charli XCX] a year into their journey together. But there was one problem: they didn’t have a band name. Up until July 2023, the girl group built their following under the working title of needanamebro, only settling on Say Now about two weeks before they officially announced it. “[Say Now] just reflects how we are as a band,” explains Yssy. “Communication, saying the truth, being honest with people and yourself. We reflect that a lot in our lyrics and our journey.”
Their handful of sassy singles about dating, friendship and breakups – which boast the Y2K-era attitude of groups like the Sugababes with the youthful optimism of Little Mix – has earned them a 300k-strong TikTok following and Instagram recognition from artists like Jack Harlow and SZA. With another swaggering new single, ‘Bitch Get Out My Car’, now out in the world, Say Now have their eyes set on pop superstardom – and are intent on doing it their way.
NME: You’ve documented your journey as a band from the very beginning. At a time when many rising female artists have been unfairly labelled as “industry plants”, how does it feel to reclaim your narrative?
Yssy: “We always say there’s just no point in trying to hide how we became a band. Also, it’s fucking cool to be signed to a major label. I think that was probably one of our main dreams as a kid.”
Amelia: “And we still had to work for it. When we were sharing stuff, it was kind of for ourselves. When me and Yssy first started our TikTok, we were just like, ‘How do we get people to know who we are? Let’s just post on TikTok. And Yssy came up with a needanamebro and it was so casual. And I remember when we first started posting, we were literally getting like 10 views.”
Did you find it was less pressure not having a name at the start?
Yssy: “For a bit. In terms of posting, we were doing so well that we kind of forgot that we actually had to find a name. And then the pressure was coming on.”
Maddie: “Also, people were like, ‘You have a name and you’re just hiding it!’ No, we actually just did not have a name.”
Amelia: “We released three songs under needanamebro. I wish the pressure was lower. But behind the scenes, we were stressed that we didn’t have one. But we were just glad that people liked that we didn’t have one. Though we did get a lot of hate on Twitter. They were like, ‘This name is so stupid!’”
We’ve had many successful girl groups come out of the UK – Spice Girls, Sugababes, Girls Aloud, to name a few – what do you think it is about girl bands from the UK that makes them so iconic?
Amelia: “UK culture is about being outspoken and it’s quite raw, and naturally it’s quite authentic. And I think that’s why people like Spice Girls, they were just so themselves, not very media trained. Loud, British. I feel like that’s what works for British girl bands.”
Maddie: “Unapologetic. They just give us the most fun energy. With UK girl bands, there’s something fun, silly and cool at the same time.”
You opened for Dylan across the UK and Ireland earlier this year, marking your first tour as a group. What did you learn about performing live together?
Yssy: “Performing is so much more fun than you would expect it to be. When we first started performing, we were so nervous. And then, because we had to do it every day, we got used to it and started actually having fun on stage and performing.”
Amelia: “You stop being so precious about each performance. Before, it would be a one time show, and we’d rehearse for ages. I feel like it makes your nerves so much worse, because you put all of your stakes in one show. And as soon as we did this, by the sixth show we were like, ‘It’s just another performance’.
Maddie: “As long as we’re having fun on stage then the audience will have fun too.”
Has there been a surreal moment yet where you’ve realised, “I’m in a girl band”?
Yssy: “I think it was when we first started living together. I was just sat on our balcony and I was like, ‘Wow, ‘I’m in a girl band and I live with them. That is so mad’. Being in such a dream job is such a privilege.”
Maddie: “For me it was our first ever show at Dijonss. Coming on stage for the first time and having fans singing our songs back to us.”
Amelia: “I think Hammersmith Apollo, the first day of the Dylan tour. It was just crazy, we were so nervous and once we got on the stage, I kept looking out to the top and I was like, ‘There’s so many people here’.
“There’s no point in trying to hide how we became a band – it’s fucking cool to be signed to a major label” – Yssy Salvanera
Your Instagram bio says “be that girl”. What’s a song that makes you feel like that girl?
Maddie: ‘Espresso’ by Sabrina Carpenter. That is that girl, do you know what I mean? “I’m working late, ‘cos I’m a singer!”
Yssy: “My one right now is ‘360’ by Charli XCX, because the music video gave so much, and Charli XCX is just so ‘it’ girl.”
Amelia: “‘Jump’ by Tyla. If that song comes on, I feel like that bitch.”
The music video for your new single ‘Bitch Get Out My Car’ features an epic dance break. Is there currently a gap for an all-singing, all-dancing girl band in the UK?
Yssy: “For sure. We haven’t really seen a band yet that’s actually dancing and singing fully, like Destiny’s Child. We look up to a lot of K-pop bands. We saw Blackpink last year and they were so good, and now there’s so many more coming out like NewJeans.
Amelia: “I love BABYMONSTER. They’re amazing singers, and they’re amazing dancers.”
Maddie: “There’s a few solo artists like Tate McRae, and people love her for it. Why is that not happening in girl bands? That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Say Now’s new single ‘Bitch Get Out My Car’ is out now