For other persons named
Lemar, see Lemar (disambiguation).
| Lemar |
| Background information |
| Birth name |
Lemar Obika |
| Born |
4 April 1978 (1978-04-04) (age 29)
Tottenham,
London,
England |
| Genre(s) |
Soul, R&B |
| Occupation(s) |
Singer, songwriter |
| Years active |
2001–present |
| Label(s) |
RCA |
| Website |
Lemar-Online.com |
Lemar Obika (born 4 April 1978), professionally
known as Lemar, is an English soul and R&B
singer
and songwriter
who has had a run of chart success in the United
Kingdom since appearing on BBC Television's Fame
Academy. He is one of a number of British acts
to have launched a career through reality
TV.
|
Contents
- 1 Life
- 2 Fame
Academy
- 3 Recording
career
- 4 Discography
- 5 Trivia
- 6 See
also
- 7 External
links
|
Life
Lemar was born in Tottenham, London to Nigerian (Igbo) parents, and grew up listening to
soul music and R&B and used to sing at home with his brother
pretending to be The Jacksons. He was eighteen when he
had his first concert at the Junior Jam at the Temple in Tottenham
supporting Usher. He gave up an opportunity
to study pharmacy
at the Cardiff University to pursue a
musical career. Lemar had some success supporting Destiny's
Child and secured a recording contract. Following this, he released his
debut single "Got Me Saying Ooh", which did not
chart on the UK Singles Chart. When the record
deal fell through due to restructuring at the record label he was
signed to, he had to eventually take a job working as an accounts
manager at NatWest.
Fame Academy
Lemar was first seen on Fame
Academy in 2002, a combination of a talent
quest and reality television show and decided to put his name forward.
He made the finals of the show winning plaudits for his version of "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green and
singing a duet with Lionel Richie on "Easy". While he
ended up finishing 3rd in the show, he caught the eye of fellow
English soul singer Beverley Knight, who
invited him to sing a duet with her during her concert at the Hammersmith
Apollo. Sony
Music was so impressed with his potential that they signed him to a
five year record deal worth £1 million.
Recording career
Lemar's second single "Dance (With U)" reached number two on
the UK Singles Chart in early 2003. His first album Dedicated
was released late in 2003 with additional singles "50/50"
and "Another Day" also achieving
chart success in the UK. Lemar won a BRIT Award for "Best Urban Act" in 2004.
Following the success of the album, he commenced his first headlining
tour of the UK featuring an appearance at Party
in the Park in Birmingham. He has also done work with Prince Charles the Prince's
Trust and appeared on Band Aid 20's "Do They Know It's
Christmas?".
In February 2006, he won a second BRIT Award for "Best Urban
Act".
4
September 2006
saw Lemar return with his eighth single, entitled "It's
Not That Easy", which became his sixth UK top ten hit. A week later his
new album The Truth About Love
was released, which saw guest appearances from Styles P from The L.O.X., Mica Paris
and Joss
Stone. The album became Lemar's highest charting album to
date, peaking at number 3 on the UK
Albums Chart, outpeaking Time to Grow
(number eight) and Dedicated (number sixteen).
Lemar will feature on Kano's upcoming second album London Town,
one the song "You're the One". This will be the first time Lemar has
featured on an album. It has also been reported that Lemar will feature
on UB40's
upcoming album aswell.
Discography
Albums
- Dedicated
(2003) UK #16
- Time to Grow
(2004) UK #8
- The Truth About Love
(2006) UK #3
Singles
| Year |
Title |
Chart Positions |
From Album |
| UK
Singles Chart |
UK
Download Chart |
New
Zealand Single Chart |
| 2001 |
"Got Me Saying Ooh" |
- |
- |
- |
Single-only release |
| 2003 |
"Dance (With U)" |
2 |
- |
6 |
Dedicated |
| "50/50" / "Lullaby" |
5 |
- |
- |
| 2004 |
"Another Day" |
9 |
- |
- |
| "If There's Any Justice" |
3 |
- |
21 |
Time
to Grow |
| 2005 |
"Time to Grow" |
9 |
- |
- |
| "Don't Give It Up" |
21 |
- |
- |
| 2006 |
"It's Not That Easy" |
7 |
29 |
- |
The Truth About Love |
| "Someone Should Tell You" |
21 |
23 |
- |
| 2007 |
"Tick Tock" |
45 |
- |
- |
Trivia
- Many people in Barbados believe Lemar's last name to be
Bedingfield, and not Obika; because they heard a female radio announcer
indicate that his name appeared as Bedingfield on Billboard
magazine.
- Lemar has co-written for other artists as well
- he notably co-wrote a track on boyband V's debut
album You Stood Up, entitled "Walk On".
- He is a fan of Tottenham Hotspur, an English
football team based in the area
where he went to college.
- He appeared on the March 4, 2007 episode of Top Gear,
where James
May attempted to drive him to Earl's Court for an awards show in his
homemade stretch limousine. When James May got lost, he got angry and
left.
See also
- Live
from London (iTunes)
External links
