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M.O

Not to be confused with Mo or MØ.

M.O are an English girl group consisting of members Annie Ashcroft and Chanal Benjilali, and previously Frankee Connolly until her departure in June 2017 and Nadine Samuels until her departure in 2020. The group was formed in 2012 by the members themselves, after their previous groups Mini Viva and Duchess had disbanded.[1] Starting out on independent label Operator Records, they have been signed to Polydor Records since early 2016. On 19 October 2020, Nadine Samuels confirmed her departure from the group.[2]

M.O
M.O before a Kiss FM session in 2015
M.O before a Kiss FM session in 2015
Background information
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Years active2012–2022[A]
Labels
Members
  • Annie Ashcroft
  • Chanal Bejilali
Past members
Websitewww.officialmo.com

Career

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Beginnings

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Frankee Connolly was a part of Mini Viva until the duo's split in 2010, whereas Nadine Samuels and Annie Ashcroft were both members of the girl group Duchess until 2012.[3][4] M.O was formed in late 2012, after Connolly met Samuels and Ashcroft at music industry events.[5] M.O stands for Modus Operandi,[6] which is a Latin term for "a particular way to do something." M.O's initial aim was to bring old school 1990s music back, naming TLC, J.Lo, Aaliyah, and All Saints as an inspiration amongst others.[5][7]

M.O made their debut as a group with a remix of Brandy and Monica's "The Boy Is Mine" on the YouTube channel SB.TV in 2012.[8] At this point they received positive feedback from the music industry and were championed by the likes of Ed Sheeran.[9] They followed up their debut on YouTube with their first promotional single "Wait Your Turn", which was followed by other releases in 2013, including "Ain't Got Time" and "Hot".[10]

In early 2014, M.O announced that the Jess Glynne-penned track "For a Minute" would be released as their official debut single.[10][11] It was released in April 2014 and entered the UK Indie Chart at number 6.[12] In May, the group joined Little Mix as the main support act on their sold out Salute Tour, and performed at numerous festivals in the UK, including Wireless festival.[13][14] In August, they released their garage-influenced second single "Dance on My Own", which entered the UK Singles Chart at number 49.[15][16] Also in 2014, the group was nominated for a MOBO Award in the Best Newcomer category.[17]

In 2015, the single "Preach", which was co-written by Starsmith and Joel Compass, was released.[18][19] The same year, they signed a record deal with Polydor and released the promotional single "Love the Most", a collaboration with the HeavyTrackerz. In 2016, M.O released the extended plays Good Friends and Who Do You Think Of?, the latter of which spawned the single of the same name. "Who Do You Think Of?" reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart, becoming their highest-charting single yet. The song was certified silver and sold over 375,000 copies.[20] In July 2016, it was announced that the group signed a US deal with Interscope Records.[21] Their next single, "Not in Love", featured rapper Kent Jones and was released in December 2016, peaking just outside the top 40 at No. 42.

On 26 June 2020, the group released the EP Modus Operandi, featuring tracks such as "Who Do You Think Of", "Ex at the Party" and "Going Out of My Way" featuring Mr Eazi.

Line-up changes

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After a quiet 18 months, including the departure of Connolly, the group made a comeback with their new single "Bad Vibe", featuring Lotto Boyzz and Mr Eazi. It peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart.[22]

During 2020, founding member Nadine Samuels left the group.

Final single and split

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In October 2021, M.O released their first single since the COVID-19 pandemic, "U No" with producer collective Jodapac and British rapper French the Kid.[23]

In September 2022, group member Chanal Benjilali revealed via an Instagram Q&A that the group had been inactive for a while after the release of "U No" and that it was unlikely that fans could expect new music anytime soon.

Discography

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Extended plays

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Title Details
Good Friends
Who Do You Think Of?
  • Released: 2 August 2016
  • Label: Polydor
  • Format: Digital download
Modus Operandi
  • Released: 26 June 2020
  • Label: Universal
  • Format: Digital download

Singles

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As lead artists

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Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds) 		Album
UK
[24] 		UK
Indie
[12] 		IRE
[25][26]
"For a Minute" 2014 103 6 — Non-album singles
"Dance on My Own" 49 4 —
"Preach" 2015 51 4 —
"Who Do You Think Of?"[B] 2016 18 — 56 Who Do You Think Of?
"Not in Love"
(featuring Kent Jones) 		42 — 75 Non-album single
"Bad Vibe"
(with Lotto Boyzz and Mr Eazi) 		2018 18 — 31 Modus Operandi
"Wondering"
(with Chip) 		91 — —
"Choose Sides"
(featuring AJ Tracey)[29] 		2019 — — —
"Ex at the Party"[30] — — —
"Going Out of My Way"
(with Mr Eazi)[31] 		2020 — — —
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.
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Title Year Peak chart positions
UK
[24] 		UK
Indie
[12] 		IRE
[25][26]
"Running"
(USG featuring M.O) 		2014 — — —
"With You"
(DUSK featuring M.O) 		2018 — — —
"Family Tree" (Remix)
(Ramz featuring M.O) 		35 — —
"Feelings (Wifey)"
(Crazy Cousinz featuring Yungen and M.O) 		— — —
"Pon Me"
(Abra Cadabra featuring Sneakbo and M.O) 		— — —
“U No”
(Jodapac featuring M.O and French the Kid) 		2021 — — —
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.

Promotional singles

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Title Year
"Wait Your Turn"[32] 2012
"On and On"[33] 2013
"Ain't Got Time"[34]
"Come Let Me Show You"[35]
"Hot"[36]
"On Ya"[37]
"Love the Most"[38] 2015

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Outcome
2014 MOBO Awards Best Newcomer Nominated[17]
2016 MOBO Awards Best Song Nominated[17]

Notes

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  1. ^ Indefinite hiatus
  2. ^ also features on the group's EP Modus Operandi in 2020

References

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  1. ^ Younes, Nadia. "The 405 meets M.O". The 405. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  2. ^ "M.O Tease New Mixtape With "Love The Most," Featuring Yungen". The FADER. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  3. ^ Love, Ryan (10 November 2010). "Mini Viva confirm split". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  4. ^ Parke, Phoebe. "Pass the Tissues: Girl Group Duchess Split". Pappzd. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  5. ^ a b "M.O - Meeting Eachother, [sic] Last Year, Creativity - Interview [Part 1]". MOBO Awards. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  6. ^ Phillips, Noel (9 April 2014). "INTERVIEW: M.O, KICKIN' UP A STORM". Respect. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  7. ^ Magnocavallo, Fabio (21 May 2014). "M.O - Interview - May 2014". Hit the Floor. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  8. ^ Waller, Joe. "M.O Girl Group - The only girl group you need to worry about!". Flavour. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  9. ^ Lester, Paul (9 December 2013). "M.O. (New band of the day No 1,657)". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  10. ^ a b Copsey, Robert (26 February 2014). "M.O debut new single 'For A Minute' - listen". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  11. ^ Copsey, Rob. "M.O. tease debut album, next single: 'It will make you want to dance!'". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  12. ^ a b c Peak positions for single on the UK Indie Chart:
  13. ^ "LITTLE MIX ANNOUNCE M.O AS UK SALUTE TOUR SUPPORT ACT". sugarscape.com. Sugarscape. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  14. ^ "Wireless Festival 2014 Line-Up". capitalxtra.com. Capital Xtra. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  15. ^ "BBC Radio 1 - official twitter account". BBC Radio 1 on Twitter. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  16. ^ "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100". officialcharts.com/. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  17. ^ a b c "Best Newcomer". mobo.com. MOBO. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  18. ^ "M.O Get Uplifting In Their Video For "Preach"". The Fader. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  19. ^ Corner, Lewis (18 March 2015). "M.O premiere brand new R&B single 'Preach'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  20. ^ "Rob Copsey on Twitter". Rob Copsey – via Twitter.
  21. ^ "News: M.O Signs With Interscope Records". Notion. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  22. ^ "M O/LOTTO BOYZZ/MR EAZI". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  23. ^ "Jodapac offers some spirited vibes on "U No" featuring M.O & French the Kid". grmdaily.com. October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  24. ^ a b "M.O". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  25. ^ a b "Discography M.O". Irish Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  26. ^ a b "GfK Chart-Track". GfK Entertainment. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  27. ^ "British certifications – M.O – Who Do You Think Of?". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  28. ^ "British certifications – M.O, Lotto Boyzz & Mr Eazi – Bad Vibe". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  29. ^ "So much love to u lot for being so patient with us. We're so excited to share this one with u 💖 Choose Sides ft @AJTracey coming soon". 7 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2019 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ "Ex At the Party – Single by M.O". Apple Music. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  31. ^ "Going Out Of My Way – Single by M.O & Mr Eazi". Apple Music. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  32. ^ "New music: MO – Wait Your Turn". The Guardian. 12 November 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  33. ^ "FRESH: M.O - 'ON AND ON'". MTV (UK). Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  34. ^ "M.O: 'Ain't Got Time' - Single review". Digital Spy. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  35. ^ "M.O unveil new track 'Come Let Me Show You' - listen". Digital Spy. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  36. ^ "Hot - Single". iTunes (GB). 16 June 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  37. ^ "On Ya - Single". iTunes (GB). 16 June 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  38. ^ "Love the Most (feat. Yungen) - Single". iTunes (GB). 22 December 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
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