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Mollie King

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This article is about the singer. For the silent film actress of the same name, see Mollie King (actress).

Mollie King
King in 2011
Born
Mollie Elizabeth King

(1987-06-04) 4 June 1987 (age 37)
Wandsworth, London, England
PartnerStuart Broad (engaged)
Children1
Musical career
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • radio presenter
Years active2004–present
Labels
Formerly ofThe Saturdays
Websitemollieking.com

Mollie Elizabeth King (born 4 June 1987) is an English pop singer, songwriter, radio presenter and a member of girl group The Saturdays.

As part of The Saturdays, King has had 13 Top 10 and eight Top 5 singles, including the UK number-one hit "What About Us" on the UK Singles Chart and five top-ten albums on the UK Albums Chart. Before The Saturdays, King was a member of another girl group, Fallen Angelz, with whom she appeared on The X Factor. In 2015, King signed a solo deal with Island Records.

In August 2017, King was the first contestant announced for that year's series of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with AJ Pritchard. King was eliminated in the semi-final in December 2017, finishing in fifth place. In April 2018, it was announced that King would join BBC Radio 1 to co-host a show with Matt Edmondson beginning in June on that year on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.[1]

Life and career

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Early life and career beginnings

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King was born in Wandsworth, London, England, the youngest of three daughters born to Susan (née Wykes) and Stephen King. She attended Surbiton High School, in Kingston-upon-Thames, London. She has two sisters, Laura Ann (born 1983) and Ellen Catherine (born 1985). King had a successful skiing career and was on the Surbiton High Ski team with fellow pupil Chemmy Alcott.[citation needed]

By the age of 11, King was a member of the British Children's Ski Team resulting in her receiving a scholarship to the British Ski Academy. King later raced for Great Britain as one of the youngest on the team and later went on to ski for the British Alpine squad although she turned down a ski career to pursue her dream of becoming a singer.[citation needed] King achieved three As in her A levels, in Psychology, Business and Economics, and Sport in spite of having been diagnosed with Dyslexia.[2]

2007–2015: The Saturdays

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The Saturdays onstage, 2009

Since 2007, King has been a member of girl group The Saturdays. The group achieved 13 Top 10 hits, and four Top 10 albums.[3][4] The girl group released their debut single "If This Is Love" in July 2008, and it peaked at number eight in the UK.[5] The group released a second single "Up" which charted at number five in the UK[5] and later the song was given a Silver Disc in the United Kingdom.[6] In late October 2008, the group released their first studio album Chasing Lights. It charted at number nine in the UK, and went platinum according to the BPI.[6] The group released a third single from the album, "Issues", which also went silver.[6] The Saturdays released a cover of "Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode. The song debuted at number two in the UK, behind Flo Rida's "Right Round". The fifth and final single from the album was "Work", which was the first single by the group to fail to reach the Top 20. The group later went on a tour entitled The Work Tour.

In October 2009, the group released a second studio album, Wordshaker, which charted at number nine and was given silver certification by the BPI.[6] The first single, "Forever Is Over", charted at number two in the UK. The Saturdays appeared in advertisements for several products including a brand of deodorant, tampons,[7] mobile phones, an operating system, and hair removal products.[8] But in early 2010, the girls released a second and final single from their second album, "Ego", which charted at number nine,[5] the single gained a certification of silver by the BPI.[6]

In summer 2010, the Saturdays released their first mini album (their third album overall) Headlines!,[9] which charted at number 3 in the UK and number 10 in Ireland.[5] The band released their eighth single, "Missing You", which charted at number three in the UK and number six in Ireland.[10] Rochelle Wiseman confirmed that the second single from the album would be "Higher"[11][12] It was later confirmed, by The Saturday's official website that Flo Rida had recorded vocals for "Higher".[13][14] On Your Radar was the girls' third studio album, reaching a disappointing number 23 in the UK and spending only three weeks in the UK Top 75, but featured the top-ten hits, "All Fired Up" and "Notorious" as well as single, "My Heart Takes Over". In December 2011, the group went on their first headlining arena tour, All Fired Up Tour!

The Saturday's released the first single taken from their fourth studio album "30 Days" in May 2012, which peaked at number seven. Later in the year, they temporarily moved from London to Los Angeles in the hope of breaking America. Helping increase their single sales in America, E! Network broadcast Chasing The Saturdays, a reality TV show following the girls during their three-month stay in America. The show premiered in January 2013, and was cancelled after one series. The Saturdays released "What About Us" (featuring rapper Sean Paul) in March 2013, which became their first number one single and was the biggest selling single of the year (at that point). Later on in the year, "Gentleman" and "Disco Love" were released; with both of them charting in the Top 15. Their album Living for the Weekend became the band's fourth Top 10 album. The final single taken from the album was a fan favourite. The radio mix of "Not Giving Up" was released in April 2014 and was their seventeenth Top 40 single. The band went on hiatus in 2014, and released a greatest hits album Finest Selection: The Greatest Hits the same year. The only single released from the album, "What Are You Waiting For?" charted at number 38, making it their lowest-charting single to date.

2015–present: Debut solo album

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On 11 October 2015, King confirmed she had signed a solo deal with Island Records, with the intention of releasing a solo album in 2016.[15] Her debut solo single, "Back to You", was released on 19 August 2016.[16] On 24 August 2017 King announced that her new single, "Hair Down", would be released on 1 September.

Co-written by King, UK pop group Steps released "To the Beat of My Heart" as the fourth promotional track on 26 November 2020 from their sixth studio album What the Future Holds. The track is believed to be from the recording sessions from her scrapped debut solo album.

Other endeavours

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Television

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King appeared in a number of episodes of Hollyoaks Later, along with Frankie Sandford. As a part of The Saturdays, she has appeared in BBC series Myths. King has appeared in two episodes of bebo-based online show Sam King portraying herself as an ex-girlfriend. King also appeared on The King is Dead on BBC Three and Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2010. Along with her colleagues, King appeared on Ghosthunting with... where they look for paranormal activity. She also appeared in a Reality TV show with her bandmates, known as The Saturdays: 24/7. On the show, The Saturdays performed exclusive tracks. In early 2013, The Saturdays appeared in another reality TV documentary about their lives, Chasing The Saturdays. The programme followed the girls as they tried to break into the American market after signing with Island Def Jam Records and Mercury Records.[17] The show aired on TV network E! on Sunday nights. The US premiere received 914,000 viewers.[18] Upon its premiere in the UK, the show received 72,000 views and became the network's most watched show of the week.[19] In October 2013, King appeared as a panellist on an episode of Through the Keyhole.[20] On 28 June 2014, King appeared, with The Saturdays, and competed in a celebrity edition TV show The Cube, where she reached the final round, but did not continue and won £100,000 for her chosen charity, the British Heart Foundation.[21]

On 7 August 2017, King was the first contestant announced to be taking part in the fifteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One.[22] She was partnered with AJ Pritchard. On 10 December 2017, King was eliminated from the show's semi-final.

Mollie guest-presented the children's television show Blue Peter on 8 January 2018 in place of usual host Radzi Chinyanganya. In January 2018, she stood in for Dan Wootton for a week on breakfast show Lorraine with the entertainment news. Throughout August she presented This Morning alongside a variety of co-presenters including Ben Shephard, Matt Edmondson and Mark Wright and is now the senior female relief presenter on the show.

Sponsorship deals and autobiography

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It was revealed in 2009 that The Saturdays would be the new faces of hair removal product Veet.[23] They later became the new faces of a major campaign for Impulse women's deodorant. The group recorded a television ad, which featured their songs "Forever Is Over" and "Ego". It was also dubbed "The Impulse Diaries". The TV content, which involves a sponsorship package on Channel 4, will show the girls in various settings, including a hotel room, a tour bus and backstage before a gig. This first aired on 23 October.[24] The Saturdays also did a photoshoot, posing on a giant sofa as they launched T-Mobile's Big Sofa Night In campaign in London, United Kingdom. The group sat on the sofa for more than 12 hours, the sofa was the size of a double decker bus.[25] In 2013, King created a collection for Oasis Stores titled 'Loved by Mollie'.[26] During September 2013, King designed shoes to help raise funds for UK charity Save The Children.[27] King also was an ambassador for Maybelline during the Vodafone London Fashion Week.[28] In 2017, King became the face of the Christmas campaign for Boux Avenue lingerie.

In early 2010, The Saturdays were going to publish their autobiography.[29] King later announced that the autobiography would be titled The Saturdays: Our Story.[29] The book was officially released on 25 October 2010. The Saturdays appeared at WH Smith in Bluewater for a book signing on 16 October 2010. The cover of their book cover had a similar cover to their Headlines! album and their The Headlines Tour due to them all being released around the same time.[29] The book gives insight into the world of The Saturdays by telling the tale of their success. King has her own chapter in the book, which she speaks about her love interests, their friendship within the group, and a personal insight into their lives before finding fame. The book also gives fashion and beauty tips, some gossip, accompanied by photos from the girls' own collection.[30]

Philanthropy

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It was announced that The Saturdays would record the 2009 Comic Relief charity single,[31] which delayed the release of their fourth single,"Work".[citation needed] The group released a cover of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" for the charity on 1 March 2009. A week later, the song charted at number 2 on the UK Singles Charts making the group the first artist in 14 years for their Comic Relief single not to chart at number 1.[citation needed] In May 2010, the Saturdays teamed up with Manchester United and sang at a pre-match concert at Old Trafford.[32] On 12 September 2010, the girls performed at the Help for Heroes charity concert with over 60,000 fans there.[33] In March 2011, the group appeared at Westfield shopping centre with buckets and asked customers to part with their cash for Marie Curie, who provide home nursing, a helpline and hospices for end of life care.[34] The Saturdays also performed at the Sunshine Concert which was held at the Troxy in London; to raise money for charity.[35]

Radio

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From February 2018, King co-hosted BBC Radio 1 every Saturday 1pm-4pm, alongside Matt Edmondson.[36] In June 2018, King began co-hosting the show full-time alongside Edmondson on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.[37]

In September 2018, King was nominated for 'Best New Presenter' at the Audio and Radio Industry Awards (ARIAS).

King and Edmondson co-hosted the Radio 1 weekend breakfast show from November 2018 to January 2021. Since then, they've presented the weekend afternoon show on Fridays to Sundays from 13:00-16:00 until May 2024, where they moved to weekdays, presenting between 13:00-15:30, on Monday - Thursdays, replacing Dean & Vicky

King had previously presented Radio 1's Best New Pop from August 2019 to September 2022. Since then, she has also presented Future Pop. It was broadcast on Thursdays from 8-10pm, but from April 2024, is broadcast on Wednesdays on the same slot.[38]

Personal life

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In January 2010, it was announced that King was in a relationship with Lawson member Andy Brown. They broke up in February 2011. Following their split, Brown wrote the songs "When She Was Mine" and "Standing in the Dark" which he said were inspired by his break-up with King.[39][40] In 2011, King began dating supermodel David Gandy, before ending the relationship in 2012. They rekindled their relationship in 2014, before ending it again in 2016.[41] King is now engaged to England cricketer Stuart Broad. He proposed on 1 January 2021.[42] In June 2022, King confirmed that she was expecting a baby with Broad and, in November 2022, announced the birth of their daughter.[43] King announced in August 2024 that she is pregnant with their second child.

Discography

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See also: The Saturdays discography

Singles

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Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK UK Sales SCO
"Back to You" 2016 90 38 39
"Hair Down" 2017 – 104 –

Music videos

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Single Year Director
"Back To You" 2016 Lisa Gunning
"Hair Down" 2017 Kyle Lewis

Tours

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The Saturdays

References

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  1. ^ "Weekend starts early on Radio 1 - Media Centre". BBC. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Singer Mollie King launches Dyslexia Awareness Week". Nursery World. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  3. ^ The Saturdays OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  4. ^ Balls, David. "The Saturdays: 'Wordshaker'". Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d "The Saturdays Official Charts Companying". Official Charts.
  6. ^ a b c d e The Saturdays certifications Archived 24 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "The Saturdays are the new faces of Tampax Pearl". Sugarscape.
  8. ^ "The Saturdays are new faces of Veet". 22 May 2009.
  9. ^ "Interview with Una Healy – RTÉ Ten". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  10. ^ "The Saturdays Missing You CD Single Release". Universal Music. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  11. ^ "Music – News – Wiseman 'reveals next Saturdays single'". Digital Spy. 5 August 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  12. ^ Ann Lee for Metro (5 August 2010). "The Saturdays all confirm Higher as next single". Metro.
  13. ^ "Future Releases". Galaxy FM. Archived from the original on 27 February 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  14. ^ The Saturdays record a track with Flo Rida Archived 4 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Bustos, Kristina (11 October 2015). "Mollie King reveals she signed a deal with Island Records". Digital Spy. United Kingdom. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  16. ^ Nissim, Mayer (15 August 2016). "Saturdays' Mollie King's solo debut is out this Friday". Digital Spy. United Kingdom. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  17. ^ "BBC – Newsbeat – The Saturdays have signed a new record deal in America". BBC News. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  18. ^ "Ratings – Sunday's Cable Ratings: "Real Housewives of Atlanta" Continues Demo Reign". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  19. ^ "Top 10 Programmes". barb.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  20. ^ "Cilla Black and Mollie King amongst stars going Through the Keyhole | Talk TV". Shows. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  21. ^ "The Cube Episode 1 | presscentre". Itv.com. 28 June 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  22. ^ "Mollie King is this year's first Strictly contestant". Digital Spy. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  23. ^ "The Saturdays Are New Faces of Veet". Female First. 22 May 2009.
  24. ^ Jacquie Bowser (12 October 2009). "Impulse signs up The Saturdays for 'behind the scenes' campaign – Brand Republic News". Brand Republic.
  25. ^ "The Saturdays sit on a gigantic pink sofa to promote T-Mobile's Night in campaign. The sofa is more interesting than them". 3am. 2 June 2010.
  26. ^ "Celebs in High Street fashion – Yahoo Lifestyle UK". Yahoo!. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  27. ^ "The Saturdays |". Contactmusic.com. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  28. ^ "The Saturdays singer Mollie King is new face of Maybelline – Showbiz News". Digital Spy. 18 September 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  29. ^ a b c "Meet the Sats at 'Our Story' Book Signing". Official website. TheSaturdays. 6 October 2010. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  30. ^ "The Saturdays Reveal New Book 'Our Story' PLUS Book Signing!". Official website. The Saturdays. 24 September 2010. Archived from the original on 2 October 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  31. ^ Subscribe to Youtube "" (30 January 2009). "The Saturdays announced for 2009 Comic Relief single". We Are Pop Slags. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011.
  32. ^ "The Saturdays to kick off charity match". BBC News. 4 March 2010.
  33. ^ "The Saturdays to perform at Help For Heroes Charity Concert". Thesaturdays.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.
  34. ^ "The Saturdays enjoy a weekend of charity fundraising". Metro. 13 March 2011.
  35. ^ "The Saturdays wore very short dresses for charity". FHM. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011.
  36. ^ "Mollie King news: Saturdays singer QUITS music - could dancing with AJ be on the cards?". Express.
  37. ^ "BBC - Weekend starts early on Radio 1 - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk.
  38. ^ "Mollie King set to host brand new show on Radio 1". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  39. ^ Andrew Williams (9 August 2012). "Andy Brown: Lawson's new album is inspired by Mollie from The Saturdays". Metro News. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  40. ^ "Lawson's Andy Brown: "'Standing In The Dark' Is Also About The Saturdays' Mollie King"". Capital FM. 14 October 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  41. ^ "Mollie King confirms split from David Gandy after on/off romance". Evening Standard. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  42. ^ Kirwin, Ellie (6 December 2021). "Mollie King says she's finding separation from fiancé Stuart Broad 'challenging'". OK! Magazine. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  43. ^ Hill, Rose (22 June 2022). "Saturdays' Mollie King pregnant as she expects first baby with fiancé". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
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