Mollie King
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| Mollie King | |
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Mollie King on stage for the The Saturdays.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mollie Elizabeth King[1] |
| Born | 4 June 1987 Wandsworth, London, England |
| Genres | Pop, electropop |
| Occupations | Singer/songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Polydor, Fascination |
| Associated acts | The Saturdays, Fallen Angelz |
King has had a number of sponsorship deals while being in The Saturdays. She studied A Levels at college. King had a minor acting role in Hollyoaks Later, where she appeared as herself. King skied for United Kingdom and was one of the youngest on the team, gaining a scholarship with the British Ski Academy.
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Early life
Mollie King was born in Wandsworth, London, 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, Ellen and Laura.[2] King had a successful ski career and was on the Surbiton High Ski team with fellow pupil Chemmy Alcott.[citation needed] By age eleven, 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 turned down a ski career to pursue her dream of becoming a singer.[3] King achieved three As in her A levels, in Psychology, Business and Economics and Sport. She has been diagnosed with Dyslexia.[3] King also was a Finalist for Miss Guildford at just the age of 18.[4]Career history
2005–2007: Fallen Angelz
King joined a group titled Fallen Angelz in 2006 alongside Nikki, Bobbi and Rachelle. Fallen Angelz evolved through auditions held in London in 2005, where Bobbi selected three other "sassy girls with bags of attitude" after watching VT footage of the singing and dancing auditions and photo shoot apparently and describes the selection process on their website. During their time the Saturdays have appeared on stage with Chico, Simon Webbe, Lemar, Girls Aloud, Journey South, Lee Ryan and Atomic Kitten.[5]After the Fallen Angelz still failed to gain success, they decided to audition for the talent show The X Factor in 2007, which was eventually won by Leon Jackson. During the audition the group entered the auditions room singing "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne. However, the group had changed some of the lyrics, singing "Hey, hey, you, you, I wanna be your girlband". As their main audition song, the girls sang "Obviously" by McFly. The group gained four yeses from the judges, which sent them to the next stage of the competition, called "bootcamp". At the second stage of the show, the girls failed to impress the judges a second time around, and were eliminated from the show. Later, Mollie and Nikki decided to leave the group.
2007–present: The Saturdays
After leaving Fallen Angelz, King auditioned to become a member of girl group The Saturdays. She successfully auditioned and joined the group. The group signed a record deal with Fascination and Polydor Records. The girls accompanied Girls Aloud on their Tangled Up Tour from 13 May to 4 June 2008. The Saturdays released their first single "If This Is Love" which featured samples from the song Situation by Yazoo. The single entered the UK Singles Charts at number 8. The second single released from the Saturday's album was titled "Up" which was produced by Quiz & Larossi. The production was described as an upbeat bubblegum pop, dance-pop and electropop song.[6][7][8] Its style has also been described as "electro-tinged" and "robotic disco-pop".[8] Chasing Lights was the group's first studio album, which charted at number 9 on the UK Album Charts. The album gained a Platinum certification by the BPI, selling over 400,000 copies. The album, and band, were compared heavily to other British girl band's such as Girls Aloud and Sugababes[9] however the album ultimately received mostly positive reviews.[10] The album produced two more UK Top-Ten Singles: "Issues" and a cover version of "Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode for Comic Relief. The album's last single was "Work", which charted at 22 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's lowest charting single, and only single to peak at a higher position in Ireland than in the UK. They then embarked on their first concert tour, The Work Tour.Wordshaker was released as The Saturday's second studio album in October 2009. The album debuted at number 9 on the UK Album Charts, equalling the peak position of their debut album. The album was later certified Silver by the BPI.[11] "Forever Is Over", a track previously recorded by Kelly Clarkson,[12] was released as the lead single from the album, charting at number 2 in the UK and number 8 on the Irish Singles Charts. "Ego" was released as the second and last single from Wordshaker. The single charted at number 9, becoming one of the group's lower charting singles. However it became one of the band's best-selling singles, gaining a Silver certification by the BPI.[11]
Headlines! was released as a "mini album",[13] with the first single chosen as "Missing You". It gained positive reviews and King's voice was described thus: "King uses the natural croak in her voice".[14] It was written by Lukas Hilbert and Alexander Kronlund.[15] Headlines! and "Missing You" both charted at number three on the UK Album Charts and the UK Singles Chart. The album performed better than their previous releases in Ireland where it peaked at number 10. As the band were promoting "Missing You", King had to pull out of performing on T4 on the Beach due to a horsefly bite which left her right leg swollen and resulted in King being dependent on crutches for a while.[16] "Higher", a collaboration with Flo Rida was released as the second and final single from Headlines!. It charted at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's 8th top-ten single at the time. In 2010, King appeared with her bandmates in a documentary series aired on ITV2 entitled The Saturdays: 24/7.
"Notorious" was released in May 2011 as the lead single from the group's fourth album On Your Radar and charted at number 8 in the UK and number 19 in Ireland. The album received mixed reviews upon release, with many reviewers criticising its lack of individuality.[17] The album failed to match the success of the bands previous releases, peaking at number 23 in the UK, becoming the bands only album to not reach the top 10 in the UK to date. The second single released from the album, "All Fired Up" reached number three in the UK and number 6 in Ireland. The single received mostly positive reviews.[18] The third and last single, "My Heart Takes Over" charted at number 15 in the UK. The band embarked on their third tour, the All Fired Up Tour in December 2011[19]
In 2012 the band released single 30 Days, the lead single for their upcoming fourth studio album. n 2013, The Saturday's starred in their own E! reality TV show titled Chasing The Saturdays, in an attempt to break into the American market after signing with Island Def Jam Records and Mercury Records.[20] To coincide with the TV series, the band released an EP Chasing The Saturdays in the U.S. and Canada. The band released What About Us in early 2013 as their debut worldwide single to moderate chat success. For the UK release of the song, rapper Sean Paul recorded a verse. Upon release, What About Us gained great success in the UK, becoming the bands first number one single[21] and the fastest selling single of 2013 at the time.[22] The single has sold over 370,000 copies in the UK.[23] The band then released single Gentleman which failed to repeat the success of their previous single, becoming the bands third single to miss the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart. The song received mixed reviews.[24] The band released follow-up single Disco Love which debuted within the top 10 in both the UK and Ireland. The band released their fourth studio album, Living For The Weekend on 14 October 2013, where it debuted and peaked at number 10 on the UK Album Chart. The album performed better in Ireland than On Your Radar, peaking at number 16.
King is known for being the "posh, smiley one", earning the nickname "Miss Disney" by the other Saturdays.[25] King also plays the acoustic guitar.[25]
Other endeavours
Television
King auditioned for The X Factor in 2005, before joining The Saturdays, and was criticised by Sharon Osbourne for her outfit. She then changed her outfit and went back to sing a Christina Aguilera ballad, where they praised her and encouraged her to come back when she was older. As a result of her audition being broadcast King appeared on The X Factor in 2007, again as a part of girl group Fallen Angelz, (formed in 2005). They managed to get to the final stages of boot camp before being eliminated from the competition.King appeared in a number of episodes in the Hollyoaks Later series, along with fellow member 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 as herself in the role of an ex-girlfriend. Before The Saturdays, King appeared in Singing with the Enemy, with former band Fallen Angelz who appeared on The X Factor. She also appeared on The King is Dead on BBC Three and Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2010. Along with her band mates, King appeared on Ghosthunting with... where they look for parnormal activity. She also appeared in their own Reality TV show with her band mates, known as The Saturdays: 24/7. On the show King and the other members of The Saturdays performed exclusive tracks on the show.
In early 2013 The Saturday's appeared in another reality TV documentary about their lives, Chasing The Saturdays. The show follows the band as they try to break into the American market after signing with Island Def Jam Records and Mercury Records.[20] The show aired in on TV network E! on Sunday nights. The U.S. premiere received 914,00 viewers.[26] Upon its premiere in the UK, the show received 72,000 views and became the networks most watched show of the week.[27] The show was cancelled after one season due to poor ratings in the U.S.[28]
On 5 October 2013, King appeared on Keith Lemon fronted show Through the Keyhole.
In 2014, Mollie took part in a celebrity edition of The Cube for charity. This will be broadcast later in the year or early in 2015.
Merchandise
In early 2010, King and her band announced they were giving their name to an 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. King and the rest of her band appeared at a book signing 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 band, 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]Sponsorship deals
It was revealed in 2009, that Mollie would be the new face of hair removal product Veet, with The Saturdays. King had done a photoshoot which showed off her legs to promote the Veet's collection, They are modelling a range of micro mini-skirts and body con dresses to show off their fuzz-free pins.[31] 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.[32] 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 band sat on the sofa for more than 12 hours, the sofa was the size of a double decker bus.[33][34]Fashion
In 2013, King created a collection for Oasis Stores titled 'Loved by Mollie'.[35] During September 2013, King designed shoes to help raise funds for UK charity Save The Children.[36] King also was an ambassador for Maybelline during the Vodafone London Fashion Week[37] In October 2013 King was signed to Next Model Management, joining previously signed Alexa Chung and Lana Del Rey.[38]Philanthropy
It was announced that The Saturdays would record the 2009 Comic Relief charity single.[39] It was revealed that the girls put their fourth single ("Work") to release the comic relief single. It was confirmed that the group would release a cover of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" for the charity single. The single was released 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.[40]In May 2010, the Saturdays teamed up with Manchester United and sang at a pre-match concert at Old Trafford.[41] On 12 September 2010, the girls performed at the Help for Heroes charity concert with over 60,000 fans there.[42] In March 2011, the group appeared at Westfield shopping centre with buckets and asked customers to part with their cash for Marie Curie Cancer Care, which provides nurses to help care for people with terminal cancer. Rochelle stated; "We were collecting money in Westfield, for our charity Marie Curie! We raised a lot I think."[43] The band also performed at the The Sunshine Concert which was held at the Troxy in London; in order to raise money for charity.[44]
Personal life
In January 2010, it was announced that King was in a relationship with Lawson member Andy Brown. However, they broke up in February 2011. Following their split, Brown wrote the songs When She Was Mine and Standing in the Dark.[45][46] Then, King dated British model David Gandy from April 2011 to February 2012.[47] In 2011, King admitted she had only ever kissed three men before dating Gandy.[48] In 2012, King admitted she had dated Prince Harry for a period of time in April 2012.[49] She has been dating American music producer, Jordan Omley, since February 2013.[50]King is a fan of Britney Spears and cites the singer as a personal influence.[51]
Discography
Main article: The Saturdays discography
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