UK girl group SAY NOW stopped by NYC and we had to catch up with them!
While they were in New York for a short visit to hit the studio, see the sights, and meet their amazing fans (the SAYLORS 💛), Chantel Nicole sat down with SAY NOW for an exclusive chat on CCTV: The Non-Stop Pop Show.
We talk all things: their origins as NEEDANAMEBRO, how they evolved into SAY NOW, their sound and visuals, and their journey as a girl group. The girls also open up about building their brand as artists, finding their blend with 3 unique vocals and aesthetics, and what’s next for them as they continue taking over the pop scene.
From London to NYC -- this is SAY NOW unfiltered 🎤✨
Members of Say Now:
Amelia Onuorah
- Instagram: @ameliaa.norah
Ysabelle "Yssy" Angeli (also known as Ysabelle Salvanera)
- Instagram: @ysabelleangeli
Madeleine "Maddie" Haynes
- Instagram: @madzhaynes
🎶 Topics covered:
- How SAY NOW was formed
- Their former name NEEDANAMEBRO
- Creating their signature sound + visuals
- Their time in North America visiting both Toronto and NYC
- Things to do in the UK
Media featured in this video:
- Say Now - Live from London | Full Performance https://youtu.be/_KRVsbWrdgI?si=FqrCyWx1qVddNvgx
- Say Now - Brick By Brick Official Music Video https://youtu.be/AH6K8VV73PQ?si=OeYfyWErwscZMDQQ
- Say Now - Trouble M/V https://youtu.be/KPMSyTH-fS0?si=tRSH9KJMDJkc9OH3'
- needanamebro / SAY NOW Netflix (Better now without you) https://youtu.be/IGXH-ZPgPro?si=Bgg__opr1v4JU6q7
- Say Now - Can't Keep a Beat [Dance Video] https://youtu.be/f1ogxTFufIc?si=HteKOvY_haMLz5OD
- Say Now - Super Market https://youtu.be/3e6B9fLj7oY?si=ZfOC1yCcgFSo__pZ
- Say Now NYC Vlog https://youtu.be/3pXVnedQrhk?si=1E8oVwDCHLsyRXBC
Special thanks to Say Now's management team, and ROGUE ARMS for allowing us to film!
Join us on Patreon!: https://www.patreon.com/CCTVPOPS
Follow us on social media: https://linktr.ee/cctvpops
00:00:00 --> 00:00:20 Hey, CCTV crew, it's Chantal Nicole, co-host of CCTV, the nonstop pop show. And I'm here at Rogue Arms, the vintage store of New York. I'm going to interview, say now, you guys know the song. I'm at the supermarket. You can't see me. You can't see, but I'm doing something. I'm doing something. But yes, follow me as we talk to the girls.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:46 Hey CCTV crew, Chantel here. I just wanted to let you guys know that this interview is going to be a little different from our typical format. We couldn't exactly do a huge deep dive, but we did get to talk to the girls about their music and what they're doing while they're here in New York because this interview was facilitated by a long-time partner, Pop-Up Girls NYC. Pop-Up Girls NYC is a curated digital guide and community dedicated to discovering unique pop-up events, immersive experience, and free activities throughout New York City.
00:00:46 --> 00:01:11 And one of my favorite things about Pop-Up Girls is that they post music events happening in the tri-state area. So special thanks to Pop-Up Girls for making this interview happen. And hopefully in the future, we get to have a sit-down with Say Now in our studio in New York City. Until then, be sure to subscribe and enjoy the interview with Say Now. Hi, it's Chantelle McColl with CCTV, the non-stop pop show. And I'm here with... Say Now!
00:01:12 --> 00:01:39 Girls, I'm super excited to be here. But for those who don't know you, could you introduce yourselves and let us know how you reformed? So we're Say Now. I'm Anilia. I'm Izzy. I'm Maddie. We met three years ago and the way that we met was actually through Instagram and management. Me and Izzy were introduced by our manager and then I found Maddie on Instagram. That's amazing. That's absolutely amazing. Now in the beginning, you girls didn't have a name. You even had socials with need a name, bro.
00:01:39 --> 00:02:03 So how did you land on Say Now and how does it represent all of you as a group? We actually, we were having name meetings like every week. We'd be like, come on, band meeting. And nothing was coming. And then one day we just put down on a page everything we stood for. We were like, being yourselves, saying how you feel. And then I think I said, like, say that. But, oh, it kind of sounds like take that. Like, it's not the vibe. Well, take that though. Hang on.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:28 And then I was like, say now. And then we slept on it and we were like, it's perfect. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Say now, say that. So you ladies had amazing runs with singles like Better Love and Not Left Left to Say, Netflix Better Now Without You. And you've drawn comparisons to pop royalty like Sugar Babes. Right. And you've also had my favorite, Nadine Coyle. Yeah.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:49 of Girls Aloud in your music icon. I love her. She is my daughter. No, for real. Girls. Girls Aloud, y'all. But now you've got a new version of you girls. We have a boho sleaze body, the 2000 Femme bombshell, and now we have this golden, glowing island diva. So who are you and how has this new look affected your sound and how you approach performing? Oh.
00:02:49 --> 00:03:11 I think we, as a group from the beginning, we always listened to a lot of like Y2K icons, obviously like Britney, Beyonce, like some of their debut albums were our favourite albums. And I think we've always had it there. But just this year, we've really been able to come into our own and like take inspiration from their music videos, their shoots from that era. Yeah, just.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:36 Yeah, now this feels like the most authentic tag. Yeah, and we're so different, but all of our aesthetics existed in the 2000s. So it just feels right that we all are each different part of the 2000s. It's kind of similar to our voices. All our voices are so different, but when we come together, it's like one. It's kind of like our fashion, like all our fashion is slightly different, but it's all together as one. Yeah. No, absolutely. I remember how the town boy look was going. That's why I was like, is it giving all saints? Is it?
00:03:36 --> 00:04:02 But I love that you girls are versatile. You should totally lean into that because you guys are beautiful, right? So we all love the way you look, the way you sound. But while you're experiencing life and being fabulous, could you possibly tell me when was the last time you experienced something for the first time? I mean, you're here in New York, but yeah. Yeah. I mean, this coming here is the first time we've came together. It's a new trip. We're meeting new fans in New York. So we're so excited. Yeah.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:20 Yeah, we also were in Toronto just before. So it was our first time in Canada ever for any of us, I think. And it's just been like a whole week of new experiences. Yeah, it's actually our first international trip in general together. So this feels really special. Get out of here. Welcome to New York. Welcome to New York or whatever. You know, say you're...
00:04:21 --> 00:04:49 Okay, y'all in New York, welcome, welcome. What is something that you think everyone should experience in the UK? Ooh. And don't hit us with that big Ben. Give us something like a secret. I mean, we love Primrose Hill. Yeah, and a really nice park. Definitely a roast dinner, but from a good- A good pub roast dinner is like, I think, our best food. Yeah. The girls are actually really good at cooking them. Me and Izzy make a great roast dinner. They make a good roast dinner. Come over, we'll make a good roast dinner. I can't cook, but I'll be there for the vibes.
00:04:49 --> 00:05:17 Girl, me either. I'm a good dishwasher, though. No, come on. All right. All right. So please send a New Year's message to your sailors. Aw. Happy New Year, sailors. Happy New Year, guys. Just be yourself and you will shine. Yeah. Yeah. We love you all so much. Keep being baddies because we see it. Ow, ow. And that was Say Now with CCTV Pops, the nonstop pop show. Brick by brick. Add the boy. I did the workout.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:25 I feel that boy fly
00:05:32 --> 00:06:00 Oh, I'm so jealous. You got to meet Say No and go to this cool event. So tell us about the event first. What was it like? Okay, so you know how people used to do the book signings or just sewing up in a mall randomly? I think their management did the right thing with doing this kind of grassroots meet the fan kind of thing. And the way it was set up was like group one would come in, the girls would perform, meet and greet, autograph, next group. I think they did this from what? I think what?
00:06:00 --> 00:06:22 three o'clock maybe two o'clock to like 6 p.m. It was multiple hours basically but they were very consistent. I think having to keep that stamina up is a lot for any artist but you know especially when you're like in a new place you might be really nervous but they were like on it like first performance. Even when we were finished with the interview they were doing some vocal warm-ups and I was like
00:06:22 --> 00:06:45 They're solid. Like, I think we may have reacted to them on our show. Like, not a full reaction. And I didn't know where to place them, like, sonically. But, like, after this event, I was like, I think I got a better idea. For sure. Nice. Yeah, they're definitely finding their sound. I love Brick by Brick. Supermarket's very cool. They have the unplugged versions as well. So they did do a little acoustic situation. How was the performance? Yeah.
00:06:45 --> 00:07:00 It was so good. So they did something like that in the UK with a bunch of their songs. They had like little solo moments as well during that showcase. But because this was like a quick pop-up, three songs. Yeah. Thanks guys for coming. I was like, oh my God. But literally they are so tight.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:29 it's like, they do have very different tones, but I found myself being like, oh my God, who's singing the lows? And I asked one of them, like, who's singing the low on this part? And they're like, oh, is he here? And like, they know what to do with their voices. And like, their blend is so nice. I mean, three years of being together, you can hear it. But even when they were recording like way long, like back in the day during covers, you could hear that they kind of figured it out. And they've just been getting better and better. It was so tight. Like you heard their run. Oh yeah. It was like,
00:07:29 --> 00:07:41 tight and I love that about them so I think honestly they're so talented I'm not just you know glazing a little bit but it's one of those things where I'm like oh I need them to win look it was so good
00:07:42 --> 00:08:00 Nice. Well, the interview was very fun. Not much time. So hopefully we can get them to do a long form one with us in the studio. But they have a lot of references. Obviously, we love the reference. Take that. You got French sugar babes. Yes, they have Nadine. The music videos. Yeah. What was your impression of them just from the short time you were with them?
00:08:00 --> 00:08:15 These girls have done their homework. One thing about, I think about us, with our show, we do so many legacy artists. And you showed me so much Britpop. Yes. That now I was able to say, you guys remind me of blah, blah, blah. I even mentioned all saves. And they were like, oh my God, like, yeah. Yeah.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:34 And then one of the girls, Maddie, had said, oh, don't worry, it's coming back. She mentioned something. But I mean, if you look at like their styling from the beginning, it was like this townboy, like bloke core. And now they're in this 2000s kind of like, you know, give me some midriff, give me some, you know, some leg. Which is fine, but they're so versatile where I'm like, oh, my gosh.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:57 You know, so I'm excited and I'm trying to figure out like if I like their stuff before or now. Like now I'm kind of like stuck in between because before it was like it was getting straight up sugar babes, but not in a way where it's like they're trying to be cool. It felt like girl next door, but also like they wouldn't let you play them. Now it's like you're not going to play me, but also I'm extra fabulous and I have extra gloss. You know what I'm saying? So it's different, but it's still the same.
00:08:57 --> 00:09:25 Nice. I mean, it sounds like they were here mostly for studio time, right? Like they did some of this fan stuff, but it looked like they were mostly in the studio. So see what they do next. I really want you to meet them. Or at least like we do like a deep dive on the show or something. But like they are, I think the comparisons with Flo have come up. But after, not even just meeting them, but I think visually and sonically it's not the same.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:55 And I was like, at first I was like, is it giving that? But I think because we got exposed to flow first, they're different. It's so different. But I think that's what makes it so special is that we have like this surge of girl groups now where we can have all of it. We can have a little bit of an R&B pop moment and we can also have a pop R&B slash whatever the heck else they feel like doing it. Because I feel like for them it's all pop, but it's all different influences. Like I hear Britney. I've heard a little bit of Destiny. Even with Supermarket, Ray wrote it. So it's like. Yeah. Yeah.
00:09:55 --> 00:10:20 It's very interesting to see where it could go. Exciting. Yes. Also, special shout out to their manager. Special shout out to their manager. I'm not sure if you want me to shout you out via name. But their manager is super kind. Their whole team, actually. Photography was kind. The guitarist. I'll credit him in the description as well. Everyone was super professional. And I think maybe because they're still new.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:37 There's still a kindness there, but I feel like also, like, even without that, like, we're new. This whole team and the girls themselves are kind people, and that's so important. But, yeah, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed my time. Awesome. Well, hopefully we get more say now.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:58 very soon hopefully fingers crossed like i said i have all the words i want chris to meet them like aha but sailors let us know what your favorite say now song is if you don't have a favorite that's fine you don't have to pick honey let me know your favorite era whatever let us know in the comments below just so you know you can subscribe and follow us at all social medias at cctv pops on everything
00:10:58 --> 00:11:28 right yeah yeah and then we are also on a podcast platform anywhere you can find one we're on it be sure to leave a comment it helps us out in the algorithm and keeps us on those podcast lists and if you do want say now on the show tag them on our page and we can do an interview we can talk about the music yes let's deep dive into the music yes all right until next time that's chris and we are cctv the non-stop pop show