Lemar: Longevity, Sexual Healing and Valentines Day 

When Lemar didn’t win BBC’s Fame Academy he might have thought that his dream was over. But now eight years, a handful of awards, five albums and a new hit single later, Lemar is the only one from that show anyone ever remembers. AfterDark caught up with the King of UK Soul to find out what he did on Valentines Day, if he’s achieved his idea of success and who still manages to make him feel star struck.  

Where did your voice come from?

It was partly from church, my Mum was a pastor and so was my Dad, so church was a heavy feature in my house, and my Mum could really sing as well so I guess I was singing by default. There was a lot of music in my house. 

What music are you listening to at the moment?

I’m listening to current stuff really, like Tinie Tempah - Pass Out, Alicia Keys – Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart and Skepta - Bad Boy. But I do listen to quite a mixture, like I’ve been listening to Erik Hassle as well… I’m quite eclectic.  

If you were stuck on a desert island with only one song what would you want it to be?

Definitely Marvin Gaye – Sexual Healing. It’s classic, timeless and Marvin’s the King of Soul – but you’d need a woman with you otherwise it’d be a bit rubbish. 

What was it like working with JLS? You have some similarities, both coming from music talent shows?

It was cool working with JLS, they’re four young passionate guys. We exchanged a few words and we had a fun in there. We all started off in the same way, both on TV talent competitions and didn’t necessarily win. But I’ve been very fortunate to do five albums and with the passion and dedication they have they have the opportunity to take it far, they have a huge buzz at the moment so if they put the work in they’ll stick around.

Which of your singles have been your favourite?

My first one, it was the first time I’ve ever heard my song on the radio, for time making a video, first time for everything. And this recent one has been very good – it’s my seventh top ten hit and to still be making music people are rushing out to buy eight years on is a really good thing. 

You released your new single on Valentines Day – what did you do for it this year?

I chilled with the lady and we had a quiet one. We watched a movie, exchanged gifts, it was a romantic private evening. People put a lot of pressure on that one day, but I prefer to do things throughout the year then do a massive thing on the day they expect it. 

What’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done for someone?

One that always comes to mind is when I was 18/19 and I was working at Natwest and I didn’t have much money. I saved up and went into my overdraft and I took my lady at the time to Paris and we stayed at a nice hotel and had champagne on top of the Eiffel Tower.  I was broke for a few years after that, in fact I didn’t finish paying that off until after Fame Academy.  

You write about love a lot, do you get bored of it by the time you get home?

No…within an album you can express a whole range of emotions, like there’s a song on the album ‘You Don’t Love Me’ which is more the anger side of love. I would describe myself as being more on the ‘painful’ side of love, I think that’s what my voice lends itself to. When I sing from my painful side I think it connects well and I can carry it better. 

What’s the high point of your career been so far?

There was period where I was winning a lot of awards, MOBOs and Brits, there was a few years of dominance. But I don’t know, the most recent high point is the song I’ve just released. When I started someone asked me ‘what is it you want?’ and he thought I was going to say ‘fame’ or whatever, but I said ‘ten years’. So, to be going strong for this long, and for fans to still be buying my music, for me, that’s what I always wanted. 

What does success mean for you? How has it changed your life?

Longevity – that’s what it is for me. Anyone with a bit of hype can have a great single or album. But to consistently come up with things that people wanna hear, that’s what it is for me.

Have you ever been star struck?

I get star struck by silly people, like I don’t know, being in the studio with Brian Mcknight and Lamont Dozier (motown legend) that was quite impressive. But the people that get me are the people that I saw growing up like Phillip Schofield from Gordon the Gopher and Trevor McDonald.  

When you wrote the album ‘Time To Grow’ did you feel that you had grown by that point? 

That was a difficult second album. It’s where you win or lose people and that’s how I felt at the time, I felt it was time to grow. For me it signifies everything that I was trying to do, step up. Lucky for me it did sell.

Lastly, everyone has something they can’t resist – what’s yours? 

Technology is my downfall; gadgets and cars – I love Audis because they have everything in them, and mine are fully loaded. I buy laptops on holiday just because there’s something little wrong with mine. And I love my Blackberry and iPhone. Gadgets are my downfall for definite…

So are you an iPhone or a Blackberry person?

The iPhone is for the fun and the entertainment and the Blackberry for work, returning emails and stuff like that…

Lemar’s new album ‘The Hits’ is due out on March 8th