From Left: Courtney Rumbold, Alex Buggs, Karis Anderson
Name: Stooshe
Locality: London, United Kingdom
Color: Neon Sourpatch Orange: Tangy and sweet, and really, really bright.
The Story: Stooshe (pronounced "stew-shē") is a chic group of chicks with wild child style, attitude, and gargantuan voices. Alex Buggs, Courtney Rumbold, and Karis Anderson push the limits with their in-your-face personas, humorous dialogue, and edgy lyricism. It’s the best of doo-wop, reggae, and pop, and while genre crossing, their hits have the quality to transcend epochs as well.
Songwriter Jo Perry and stylist Di Barrand were the brains behind the group, who each has a significant part in making things run. Karis, otherwise known as the “Bootylicious Brit Brat,” brings the knowledge and discipline to the group. She danced and sang from a very young age, and trained with Adele’s vocal coach. She met Jo on Myspace and they became net buddies. Alex, a.k.a. the “Big Boobied Blue Blood” brings the “Geek Chic.” A descendant of royalty (her grandmother was Queen of the Ashanti region in Ghana), she met Jo and Di at the ultimate fashion stop, Topshop. Courtney, who could be called “The Quirky Haired, Bubbly Batty,” is the calming member. She was at a crossroads post theatre school when Jo and Di met her (within a few weeks of meeting Alex), also at Topshop. Jo and Di decided to bring them all to Perry’s Gravesend Studio to see what they were made of.
They all got together and realized the girls each wanted certain songs to themselves. Then, eureka! A light bulb went off. They should sing together! Stooshe was created then and there.
The girls put their voices to the test on "F*** Me" (radio version “Love Me” which Travie Mccoy jumped on) and released it online; the blow-up was imminent. Warner Music saw the potential and locked them down. They’ve toured with Nicki Minaj on the UK leg of her Pink Friday Tour, and now are in preparations to drop their debut album sometime in 2013.
Time to spice up our lives with some more girl power—Stooshe is ready for a takeover.
Coloring Outside The Lines Because: Rules schmules. Who says you have to match? Overshadowing order is something these girls do in their sleep; past the image, their chops have made the cut, with each having an extensive range. They’re fun, funny, colourful, and relatable as well, and tell stories through songwriting, making light of serious situations.
Think: canvas filled with splashes of paint in all different colors, wearing two patterns at the same time, sticking out your tongue, a hand stand, doing cartwheels in unimaginable places, sass, free expression, party plane.
