MOLLIE KING
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 Matt Edmondson to co-host a show for BBC Radio 1 beginning in June on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
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 ski-ing career and was on the Surbiton High Ski team with fellow pupil Chemmy Alcott.
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.
Since 2007, King has been a member of girl group The Saturdays. The group achieved 13 Top 10 hits, and four Top 10 albums. The girl group released their debut single “If This Is Love” in July 2008, and it peaked at number eight in the UK. The group released a second single “Up” which charted at number five in the UK and later the song was given a Silver Disc in the United Kingdom. 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. The group released a third single from the album, “Issues”, which also went silver. 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. 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, mobile phones, an operating system, and hair removal products. But in early 2010, the girls released a second and final single from their second album, “Ego”, which charted at number nine, the single gained a certification of silver by the BPI.
In summer 2010, the Saturdays released their first mini album (their third album overall) Headlines!, which charted at number 3 in the UK and number 10 in Ireland. The band released their eighth single, “Missing You”, which charted at number three in the UK and number six in Ireland. Rochelle Wiseman confirmed that the second single from the album would be “Higher” It was later confirmed, by The Saturday’s official website that Flo Rida had recorded vocals for “Higher”. 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 band 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.