Flo Wilkes sat down with staff writer Aleesha Naqvi to explain how she started her music career, the inspiration behind her songs, and how studying at King’s has made her a better artist.
Student and Artist
Florence Wilkes is a pharmacology student at King’s College London by day, and an award-winning rock star by night. She leads a band that won the 2025 Isle of Wight competition, defeating 5,000 other competitors, all during exam season. Her new single Henry recently dropped on Spotify, along with a music video that has already reached over 3K views in its first two weeks of release, and was featured on BBC Radio 1.
Flo is remarkably down to earth, respectful to her fellow performers and crew. She is a champion of the artistic process, and when asked about her words of advice for aspiring artists, she simply said to “be kind to people, don’t be melodramatic and rude.”
A Star is Born
Flo fell in love with music at 9 years old when she first attended a Rock’n’Roll camp, but her songwriting really took off during lockdown, where she honed her musical skills. She is entirely self-managed, booking her own gigs and building her own production teams for her music videos. However, she does speak very highly of her band that accompanies her for live shows and recordings, especially Freddie and James, her drummer and bassist, who have played with her for over a decade now.
While Flo received an offer from a music college, she decided to study an academic degree to maintain music as her creative outlet. During her gap year, while isolated with her music, she realised that she felt as though she was in a vacuum, since the passion had become the source of her stress instead of a release. As a pharmacology student at KCL, her music provides an escape from her coursework and becomes a true expression of her feelings and artistry.
Flo’s discography draws inspiration from her favourite artists: the indie rock pop vibes of Madison Beer, the honest and cheeky lyricism of Sabrina Carpenter, the harmonies of Queen, and the sassy vocals of Cil. She describes her ‘sound’ as “indie rock and roll in the shoes of pop”, which undoubtedly rings true. The evolution of her music is evident in the lyricism and production, the lyrics becoming more honest as she becomes more sure of herself. She is also always thinking of how the music she writes will translate live, as performing is her favourite part of being an artist.
Henry
Flo’s latest single, Henry, was written after a conversation she had with her producers about a bad date. The man was a “Textbook Performative Male” and had spent most of the date telling her about how amazing his best friend was instead of asking her questions about herself. In the music video, the “Textbook Performative Man” tells his date that he wants a low-commitment, sexual relationship. He follows it with, “I’m just really emotionally in touch with myself right now, babe.”
When ROAR asked Flo about the inspiration for the characters in the song and video, she didn’t hold back. She explained that the real person behind the song, and quoted his texts in the lyrics and video, including the line, “I let you feel smarter than me”. Flo mentioned that she wanted him to feel sick when he heard the song, because there would be no doubt it was about him.
The production team and cast for the Henry music video were largely university students from London; audiences may recognise some familiar faces from the King’s musical theatre societies. The video was shot over 3 days and sponsored by the club where they filmed. Flo urges fellow aspiring artists and performers to take advantage of the people they meet at university, since we will “never be as well connected in our lives.”
Whats Next for Flo Wilkes
In addition to her degree, part-time nannying job, and musical career, Flo is heavily involved with musical theatre at KCL. She stands on the committee of KMT (King’s Musical Theatre) as the Social Secretary, and has performed in productions of Carrie and Grease this year. She will be performing in KMT’s upcoming mid-term show of 13: The Musical at the end of April. The worlds of musical theatre and pop music do not usually mix, but Flo argues that musical theatre has benefited her vocal and dance abilities. While rehearsing and vocal training for the show, musical theatre performers are constantly critiquing and improving their vocals, a practice that helped her enhance her skillset and apply the essence of theatricality to her live performances.
Flo Wilkes will be performing a gig at the Strongroom Bar on April 15th and the Lower Third on June 20th. Discover more information and tickets on her Instagram @flowilkes
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