Mollie's Feel-Good Feed: things to look forward to in lockdown 2.0

From a dance routine, to hiking...

Welcome to Mollie’s Feel-Good Feed, a place where each week Mollie King shares her round-up of the things bringing her joy in these strange and uncertain times. Check back each week for uplifting music, self care tips and, hopefully, a smile being put on your face.

Well this has been an interesting week hasn’t it? And now that this next month means that most of us will be stuck indoors, not able to meet up with friends or eating and drinking out, I hope this column will provide you with some feel-good suggestions that we could all do with right now.

Singles

With so much great music around at the moment it’s hard to cut it down to just a few favourites, but I couldn’t write my column this week without mentioning the release of Meduza and Dermot Kennedy’s single, Paradise.

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If you're a foot tapper or a hip popper, get ready to move to this undeniably catchy song. Combining one of the most exciting new production groups with one of the most distinctive voices around right now it’s a recipe for success. Kennedy’s gravely voice brings so much emotion to his songs, and in this track it’s been laid over a basey dance beat that instantly takes you back to Meduza's huge breakout hit last year Piece of Your Heart that stormed the UK charts making it all the way to number two.

Dua Lipa has done it again. Everyone’s quite rightly excited about the release of her most recent track, Fever, with Belgian songwriter, Angele.

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In true Dua form, this track is all about strong vocals. Be sure to also catch her remix album Club Future Nostalgia with contributions from Paul Woodford, Missy Elliot and Madonna herself. Iconic.

Albums

These four girls are unstoppable right now. Not only do they have a BBC One primetime show scouting for a band to join them on their UK tour, but Little Mix have also just released a brand new album and are gearing up for another tour next year. Confetti is the band’s 6th studio album, and with tracks on there like Break Up Song, Holiday and Sweet Melody it’s guaranteed to boost your mood right now. And if you need more joy in your life, head to the band's Instagram account where you'll see the girls practicing their Sweet Melody dance routine. And they want to see everyone's own interpretation. It’s girl band choreography at its absolute finest. And I say that from experience.

TV

Last year BBC Three treated us to the great new show, Glow Up, which saw amateur makeup artists competing for the title of Britain's Next Make-up Star. Hosted by the fabulous Stacey Dooley and judged by the ever so charismatic industry professionals, Dominic Skinner and Val Garland, this up-beat show has you rolling from one episode straight into the next.

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Whether makeup is your thing or not, Dooley brings her well-loved warmth to the show and the challenges go way beyond a touch of blusher and mascara. We're talking prosthetics, red carpet, West End and drag eleganza. Get your lip gloss ready, it’s time to Glow Up.

Fitness

Hello leggings, hello sports bra, hello hiking boots! Wait, what? Yes, you read that right. This year has been a strange one, but for a lot of us it’s meant taking the time to think about what truly makes us happy. I’ve realised how much of an impact fitness and being active has on my mood. Which is why I like to start the day outside with some fresh air. However, I'm talking more than a quick dash around the park - I’ve become a hiker. Well, not really, I bought hiking boots. I went on a long walk in the Peak District a few weeks ago and fell in love.

The combination of being active, the wonderful views and the feeling of cold air on my face was perfection. So last week I headed to Buckinghamshire and went on a big stomp on National Trust land. Hiking feels like pushing a reset button. I can’t recommend it enough, especially to those who have a tendency to get a little lost in their thoughts. I'm taking my new hobby so seriously, that I've just added waterproof trousers and a walking stick to my Christmas list. Who would have thought it?

Thanks so much for reading Mollie’s Feel-Good Feed – check back on Marie Claire every Friday for more of my feel-good recommendations. Take care and stay safe!

Mollie King rose to fame as one-fifth of the multi-platinum selling girl band, The Saturdays. The last few years have seen her become a Radio 1 DJ, present across flagship TV shows and a campaign in Parliament.

During her time in The Saturdays, the group sold over five million records worldwide, achieving 13 Top 10 singles and five Top 10 albums. The band also embarked on four nationwide tours and had three primetime TV series, including Chasing the Saturdays for E! which aired in over 40 countries.

In 2018, Mollie turned her hand to presenting and after guest presenting for several weeks on Matt Edmondson’s Radio 1 show, she was offered a permanent role at the station. The duo began hosting the Matt & Mollie Weekend Breakfast show and 2021 moved their new afternoon slot. Mollie also presents her own Friday morning show Best New Pop, sharing music from her most loved genre. After only six months into her role at Radio 1, Mollie won the silver award for ‘Best New Presenter’ at the 2018 ARIA Radio Academy Awards.

In addition to Radio, Mollie has also guest presented This Morning several times, including a month-long stint in the summer of 2018. She’s covered the entertainment slot on Lorraine, and guest presented on Blue Peter. In 2019, Mollie hosted The Greatest Dancer podcast for the BBC. She also presented the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards, alongside Greg James and Maya Jama, which aired on BBC2. Mollie also took part in the 15th series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, making it all the way to the semi-finals.

Away from her TV and Radio work Mollie writes a weekly column for Marie Claire magazine, ‘Mollie’s Feel Good Feed’ and has worked with numerous brands including Estée Lauder, L’Oreal, Amazon, GHD and Aspinal of London.

Mollie is a proud ambassador for the Dyslexia Association, a learning disorder she was diagnosed with as a child. Mollie is very passionate about campaigning for early diagnostic tests in schools, as well as funding to support children through education with Dyslexia and spoke about this in Parliament in 2019.

Mollie is also a Born Free anti-captivity ambassador, has worked closely with the charity Mothers2Mothers and traveled to Ghana in 2014 with REDD charity to help raise awareness and funds for HIV.