From Fame Academy to ‘Dance’-ing On Ice, Lemar is “Dedicated”, Lemar is “Invincible”.
24 year old Lemar Obika came to everyone’s attention when he appeared in the first series of Fame Academy in 2002. Watched by over six million people, Lemar reached the final with Ireland’s Sinead Quinn and Scottish singer David Sneddon. Sadly, Lemar was the first out and David went on to win the contest. But that was not the last we had seen or heard from Lemar. He was snapped up by RCA records and developed into a singer in his own right.
It wasn’t long before Lemar had everyone up ‘dancing’ with his debut single “Dance (With U)” which charted all over Europe and made No.6 in New Zealand in 2003. The song debuted at No.2 in the UK becoming one of the biggest hits of the year. Lemar followed this with “50/50 Lullaby” which peaked at No.5, the week before he released his debut album “Dedicated”. The album was a sure fire hit, gaining a double Platinum certification for sales of over 600,000 copies.
“Another Day” was the third and final single lifted from the album, which gave Lemar his third consecutive top ten hit. He supported Juston Timberlake on his Summer 2004 tour, before heading into the studio to begin work on his next album. The first single, “If There’s Any Justice” came at the end of the year and went straight into No.3 in the UK singles chart and again proved a big hit across Europe.
Loyal support was afforded to his second album “Time To Grow”, which replicated his debut in being certified double Platinum in the UK as well as being a sizeable hit in France, Germany and Sweden. The title track gave Lemar his fifth top ten hit at home, while “Don’t Give It Up” was a top thirty hit. Lemar performed on the 2004 version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, which sold over 1.1 million copies that festive season, the same year he was nominated for two Brit Awards and winning Best Urban Act.
Lemar took time before delivering his third album “The Truth About Love” in 2006, nevertheless, the album quickly gained Platinum status and won Lemar a sixth top ten hit on the singles chart with “It’s Not That Easy”. The album also produced the singles “Someone Should Tell You” and “Tick Tock”. He also received the Brit Award for Best Urban Act for a second time the following year as well as being nominated for Best Male Solo Artist and two Mobo Awards for Best UK Male and Best R&B Act.
Lemar released his fourth album “The Reason” in 2008 along with the singles “If She Knew” and “Weight Of The World” and a well deserved “Hits” collection in 2010, from which came another top ten single “The Way Love Goes”. Lemar took to the road and spend the next two years touring, along with the likes of Mary J. Blige and Enrique Iglesias. He released the albums “Invincible” in 2012 and “The Letter” in 2015, which featured a duet with Joss Stone, a cover of The Supremes “Someday We’ll Be Together”.
More recently, Lemar took part in the 2018 series of Dancing On Ice, but sadly he was eliminated at the end of round four. And if you’re wondering when he’ll be releasing some new music, wait no longer! He has been in the studio this year and his seventh album, as yet untitled, is slated for release next month! He has already released the track “Starlight”, and judging by the quality of this R&B groove fest, the new album should see him make a welcome return to the charts and the public domain as one of the very best British singers, songwriters and talents to emerge this century.
NB: Lemar returns in 2023! Check out his brand new single “Future Love” here!
Stay in touch with Lemar through his WEBSITE and his FACEBOOK page
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