'We've found our tribe' says singing Essex mum who founded viral singing group

A group of Essex mums have gone viral after their "perfect" cover of Natasha Bedingfield's Unwritten left viewers in tears.

The clip, shared by We Sing UK, based in Harlow, has racked up more than 600,000 views in just a few days, with mums from across the world flooding the comments

One person said: "This needs to be franchised! I would love this... I miss singing."

Another added: "Oh I adore this. all the feels. As a choir member, I wish I could take my kids!"

A third penned: "I’m so annoyed this showed up in my feed because this seems like something that would be PERFECT for my daughter and I but I’m from The US! So rude lol Hope you all have fun, off to find a similar thing over here!"

Speaking to OK!, founder Sarah Mapplebeck told us it's been so exciting to watch their video reach thousands across the globe.

"It feels it feels crazy, to be honest," she said. "We put these little videos online really ourselves after our sessions and then for it to get so much attention online, it's really funny. To be honest, it's so nice.

"We know how special it feels in the room and how the babies react and the young children and how it kind of lifts everyone up, and it's just lovely to see that the world is seeing that as well now.

"We've all been watching the view count go up and up and up and up!"

Sarah started the group in September 2023. After having her youngest child, Sarah decided not to go back to work as a music teacher in school, instead picking up freelance music jobs.

She said: "I always wanted to have a mum's singing group when I was on maternity leave. I had my first baby in 2020, so there were no baby groups on at all so I thought, 'Well, I'll just start one myself'. So I found a really great venue in Harlow called The Parenthood, which is fantastic.

"We have around 10 people come every week. Some of them come with their babies, and some of them come child free."

With the group's video gaining enormous traction, Sarah has been inundated with messages from people around the world asking how they can start their own singing groups.

Sharing her tips, she tells us: "This is not a business. This is just an activity that I do. It's definitely not for for making money, so I couldn't really sell it as a franchise, but I definitely would like to encourage people to start their own mum singing group.

"Find a great venue, and then just spread it within the parenting circles of your local town and people will come."

Explaining what sets them apart from other singing groups, Sarah explains: "What we do, it's kind of different because there are mums' singing groups across the UK, but our one is a bit more sort of fun. We do pop songs, songs from musicals, feel good songs.... they all have a message in, about motherhood and parenting.

"Sometimes the songs will make us cry. We've done Taylor Swift's song Never Grow Up, and we've done stuff from Disney that the kids love. And then we do songs like the Natasha Bedingfield, ones that we love. We've also done Spice Girls songs, I'd say that's our USP - singing those feel good songs.

Sarah insists that singing is for everyone, even if you're convinced you're absolutely tone deaf.

"Singing can be quite scary for people who've never done it before - they find it terrifying.

"I remember the first week we started, everyone went around and introduced themselves, and everyone said, 'I I don't know why I'm here. I can't sing.' It's not about being good at singing. It doesn't matter if you've never sang in a choir before. It doesn't even matter if you can't sing in tune - that's not the point.

"The point is just to be there and to experience the music and make friends."

Speaking about the benefits of joining a group like We Sing UK, Sarah says: "As a new mum, you can feel like your whole life is just devoted to your baby and you go to baby groups, play a few games and then you go home, whereas with something like We Sing, you get to experience something for yourself when they arrive in the class. I obviously say hello to the baby, but I am all about my mum. I'll ask how the mum is, what they've been up to. The mum gets a cup of tea and a cake, it's just such a great community experience.

"Then, of course, there's also the singing side of it. There's been studies shown that singing creates such a good sense of wellbeing. It releases so many endorphins makes you feel really good.

"It's really important that we have these spaces for new mums to feel good and come together and create a sense of community.

"There's that thing about saying, 'find your tribe', and I'm sure the singers at We Sing would agree, but they do feel they've found their tribe."