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Biography
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LEMAR RETURNS WITH NEW SINGLE AND GREATEST HITS ALBUM
New single 'The Way Love Goes' and hits album 'The Hits' – both OUT NOW!
Superstar Lemar has returned with a brand new single and a Hits album. The new single, 'The Way Love Goes' was released on Valentine's Day, Sunday 14th February, and was followed by a collection of Lemar's hits, 'The Hits', on 8th March.
'The Hits' gathers together all of Lemar's unforgettable hits on one record, including Top 10 tracks, 'Dance (With U)', '50/50', 'If There's Any Justice', 'It's Not That Easy' and 'Time To Grow'. The album also features fthe single 'The Way Love Goes,' as well as another three brand new recordings; 'Coming Home,' 'You Don't Love Me,' and an exciting exclusive re-recording of 'What About Love' from 2003's 'Dedicated' album, featuring JLS.
The multi-platinum, chart-topping, award-winning singer who hails from Tottenham is one of the UK's biggest success stories to date. From working in Natwest Bank to winning two BRIT awards and selling over 2 million albums, Lemar's story is one of dedication, determination and an undeniable amount of talent.
As well as awards, acclaim and sold-out shows across the UK, Lemar helped put soul back on the pop map. Six top 10 singles including 'If There's Any Justice', 'Dance (With U)', '50/50' and 'Time To Grow' established Lemar as a successful commercial act, and proved that British soul music had the power to go pop. Both the record industry and music fans acknowledged Lemar's contributions with two BRIT and three MOBO awards achieved over successive years.
'The Hits' is Lemar's fifth album since 2003. Over the years he has proven himself to be an enduring talent, one of Britain's best loved voices, and a true pioneer of the UK Urban scene, paving the way for the current crop of artists who are ruling the charts and airwaves.
Lemar breaks down his incredible career, track by track:
Debut Album: 'Dedicated'
“After Fame Academy finished, I was in a good place. It took a while to get a deal though, and I got nervous after a couple of months. Thankfully, I got signed in the third month. All I ever wanted was the opportunity for people to hear me sing, so you leave the rest to fate. Before that, I'd supported Usher and Destiny's Child, and I'd been doing the rounds from the age of 17; all of the labels were given the opportunity to sign me, but nothing ever materialised, so it got frustrating. To think this came from me taking a chance and stepping out of my comfort zone to do Fame Academy is really amazing. I got signed to Sony after my A&R's mum told him to watch me on the show. After the show had finished and Mercury didn't pick up on the option to sign me, Nick Raphael [Sony A&R] and I went to a football match – I think Tottenham lost, which was a shame! We hung out, had a chat about music and what I wanted to do, and then about two weeks later I was signed to Sony and my journey began. Before I knew it, I was in these huge recording studios with cars, and hotels, and famous producers and it was all really exciting. With your first album, you just want to show people that you deserve the opportunity; I wanted to make sure that everyone knew by the end of that album that I could really sing."
'Dance (With U)'
"For me, just releasing a single was enough. I set out to do something in music at the age of 15, and so to have a single, and a major label deal was incredible. If it had ended there I would have been extremely happy. I made the song at Brian Rawling's (Girls Aloud, David Bowie) studio with him, Craig Hardy (Elbow) and Fitzgerald Scott [Another Level, Keith Sweat]. Fitz had just flown in from the States that day, so he was really tired and he fell asleep in the session. He woke up after an hour or two, and Craig was playing the keys, and after about an hour of us jamming together, we had the song written and recorded. So we knew that team really worked, and we went on to do a lot of work together. We released it as the first single, and I remember it got some radio play here and there. Then it started to steamroll and every single radio station added it, which was amazing. It went in at No.2 – Blu Cantrell just pipped me to the post! But to me, it was as good as getting a No.1. I was so happy. The 'fame' side was very strange at first. I remember walking to my local petrol station in Tottenham one day to buy some bread; these two guys spotted me and started shouting. I didn't recognise them so I thought I was about to have a fight! Obviously, that wasn't the case; for that moment I'd forgotten I'd been on a TV show, and had a single out. After five minutes I had quite a few people around me and I ended up having to call my brother to come and pick me up."
'50/50'
"I recorded that with Stargate [Beyoncé, Shakira, Rihanna] at their place in Sweden and I remember thinking I'd never been on a plane so much in my life as I had that year. I went to all these countries and places; Denmark, Sweden, France... With Stargate, their reputation preceded them; they'd sold some 10 million records by that point. So it's hard as a new artist stepping into a studio with someone who has a history already and trying to put your stamp on stuff. But I was really adamant that I'd do it and learn. I was there for three or four days and we did '50/50'."
'Another Day'
"One of Fitz's mates in Atlanta had written that song, and he played it for me. I really liked it so I recorded it. What I really remember about that song though is the video. I read the script and it was all 'You're walking through the rain, all dramatic, it will be great.' When you read a script you don't actually think what it will be like doing it; it was a 14-hour shoot through the night, outside, and it was -4! I had a wetsuit on underneath my clothes, and I remember trying to walk through tonnes of artificial rain that they had pouring down on me, just absolutely soaked and shivering. After 14 hours I was like 'I'm never, ever doing that again!' I learnt early; an outdoor shoot in the rain? No. The end result was good, but never again."
'Lullaby'
"I wrote this while I was in Fame Academy. I'd written the verses but I didn't want the song to be too R&B, so I approached [Fame Academy contestant] Ainslie Henderson cos I knew he was very indie and I thought it needed that stamp on it. He came up with some melodies that I wouldn't have come up with, and then we wrote the chorus together. I thought it was a cool blend of the two genres. I always try and keep my writing extremely personal or something that I relate to. Even if I'm singing someone else's song, if I can relate to it then you get that emotion out. If you tell a 6 year-old to sing a love song, they might get the notes but not the emotion because they haven't experienced it."
Second Album: 'Time To Grow'
"It was nerve-wracking going from the first to the second album because the first had done so well. It sold 700,000 copies, but then this one did closer to 900,000, so for the second to sell more than the first was a great thing; I was on the peak of a wave I suppose. I'd love to have a 15million-selling album, but what was great about recording this record was that it was big, so that my feet were off the ground but not so big I couldn't see the ground. I felt there was somewhere still to go, I still had something to achieve. I really wanted to see if I could better the last album, and move it forward."
'If There's Any Justice'
"I recorded this for 'Dedicated' but we never used it. It didn't quite fit; it was largely an R&B record, though there were pop and soul moments on it. But with this album, when I finished Nick didn't think we had the first single to set if off quite right. We remembered that we'd recorded this track a year or two earlier, so we played it again and realised it was quite good. We put some horns and strings and some finishing touches on it at Brian Rawling's place and we decided to take a punt on it. I'm glad we did because it was the biggest single I've had. But it was quite groundbreaking at the time because it was going against the grain of what was popular then, which was all indie, pop and rock. This was a straight-out soul record so it could have gone really badly with no one playing it apart from Radio 2! But luckily Radio 1 really liked it and it went down well. I think it helped to reignite the soul movement, and since then there's been a lot of soul coming through with Duffy, Adele and Amy. It's cool to think I helped contribute to that."
'Time To Grow'
"I recorded that with Fitz and I remember doing the video for it in LA. I had to do some boxing, which was interesting because I'd never actually boxed before. I thought I'd done quite well but when I got back home I got cussed by my boxer friends who said I boxed like a woman! Life had definitely changed a lot by that point. I was all over the world, I went to more countries on that album than any other; Australia, America, France, Germany, Sweden, Austria... everywhere. That was a big change in my life. I had a bit more money then too, so I bought my own place. Everything was so good; I felt like there was no limit to what I could do. I felt so positive. I'd get to go to all these parties and awards shows. I think I've won 14 awards now, which isn't bad going. The MOBO's in 2003 was great because I got an award and I got to perform with George Benson as well. Two years before that, I was trying to sneak in. My friend actually stole a whole stack of tickets by the door – I can't tell you how! – and so we all ended up sat in a box. From sneaking in to winning and performing with George Benson was such a transition for me. The BRITS were amazing as well. I'd just finished supporting Justin Timberlake at Wembley, and I was sat with two of my mates, just behind Justin. I remember them saying I'd won, and my friend hitting me to get up because I was just sat there, shocked. I didn't know where to go, and I remember asking Justin should I go left or right! He didn't know either. Eventually I made it to the stage and did my speech but I forgot to thank my managers. Luckily I won two awards that night so I rectified that when I won the next one!"
Third Album: 'Truth About Love'
"I lost my mother to cancer when I was recording the first album, and of course that was very hard. It was a very hard time. Everything was going nicely and then you lose one of the most important people in your life. It was hard to adjust because you're trying to mourn but at the same time you're having to smile and sign autographs. I'm glad that I got through it, though I don't know how I did get through it. I think I just buried myself in work so deeply that I didn't really deal with it. It was on this album that I felt like I had enough. I started to record the album and I just got overwhelmed and felt like I had to get away. So I booked a holiday to Thailand and went away on my own for 10 days. No phone, no nothing, and I was able to mourn then properly and deal with things. Up until that, I just let work take my mind of things but it comes to a point when you have to deal with it. It's very hard, but I know she's watching. Life throws at you what it's going to, so you have to deal with it and make the most of it. The most I can do is try and make her proud."
'It's Not That Easy'
"I did that song with Deekay (P. Diddy, JLS). I think we were almost done with the album and Deekay had been writing stuff for me in Denmark, so they sent it over. I liked it, so I went over and recorded it because I liked the soul vibe. We'd recorded at least 30-odd songs by this point and you do get to the point where you think 'Oh, it's good enough.' But if you are real with yourself, you know you're four songs short and so you have to go that extra mile. I think it's about making music that thinks outside the box. I try and make good music and put lyrics out there that hopefully say what I want to say, not only for people on my street to understand, but others too."
'Someone Should Tell You'
"I remember Lionel Richie saying to me 'You can be all poetic and say the moon came from the stars and the shimmering sea sparkled,' or you can just say 'I love you.' What I like about that song is that it's very simple. That purity is what works in that song. I was really lucky to spend time with Lionel and then people like Lamont Dozier, one of the biggest songwriters of all time. I was able to hang out at his house, and listen to stories about Marvin and The Temptations. I've been so fortunate to have so many incredible experiences."
Fourth Album: 'The Reason'
"Father Lemar! I'd recently become a dad with my first child – I have two now, a son and a daughter. Every single song on the album is personal apart from one, which I didn't write but it resonates strongly with me. 'The Reason' was me being more thoughtful I think. I was in a philosophical mood; you analyse life a little bit more being a dad perhaps, and for me, this album is my most complete album from beginning to end. I honestly think as a body of work it's my best work. When you've done music for a while, you understand the reasons for a song or an album doing well and it's often determined by much more than just the music. But what you do have control over is the music and you have to make sure you're proud of that, and I'm extremely proud of this album. Whether people get it, or understand it, or have the opportunity to get it, is down to many reasons. You can only do your best."
'If She Knew'
"That song has two meanings. I've been in a relationship for a while now, and sometimes in a relationship the communication can go all over the place. You're pretty sure that you know you're right, and she's pretty sure that she knows she's right. So it's a guy saying 'You know what, if she only knew exactly how I felt about her then she wouldn't have to ask if I want to be with her.' I wrote that with Claude Kelly (Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera) and Soulshock & Karlin (Whitney Houston, Cheryl Cole) in LA. I went to record 'Wait Forever', and we did it so quickly that we had a spare day. Again, that song just flew out. We all felt it should be the first single, so we led with that."
'Weight of the World'
"I recorded this in Miami with Sam Watters (Anastasia, Keri Hilson, Kelly Clarkson) and Jim Jonsin (Lil Wayne, J.Lo). It has a really hard-hitting Miami bass sound to it, but with some steel pans on there too and synths. I wanted a hard-hitting club track with a haunted love song on top. The video was one of the scariest things I've ever done in my life. I wanted it to look epic and be epic. So I flew to LA and I was on a mountain for some stupid reason because I hate heights. They had to chain me to a cliff because it was so windy. I thought if I fall from here, I'm going to die; it was so high. It turned out well but whenever I see that video I wonder what on earth I was thinking going up there!"
'Mayday'
"This song is about love and war. The idea for it came to me while I was on a plane from London to Los Angeles. I was looking out of the window and thought about a fighter pilot in a plane falling to the ground and making his last call to base. (Not the kind of thoughts you're really meant to be entertaining while on a flight but hey...!) I thought; I want to write a song that likens that loss of control and chaos, to the loss of control someone feels when their partner falls out of love with them and they can't get them back. I wrote most of it on the plane and finished it when I got to the studio. I sent that one off to the record company with a few other songs and Nick called me back immediately after he heard it to let me know he thought it was a biggie. I wrote and produced the lyrics and music to 'Mayday' myself so I'm very proud of it."
2010:
'What About Love' Ft. JLS
"This is from 'Dedicated' and it's a song that I always wanted to release, but because it was slow, we decided it wouldn't be great for radio. But whenever I've sung it on tour it always seems to be the moment people are waiting for; it's all phones and lighters in the air. With JLS on the same label, we thought we'd throw it on here and give it a twist and breathe a little life into the song. They came in, we had a bit of a laugh, got their vocals down, got some live strings on there and re-did it. They were great."
'The Way Love Goes'
"This was written by Biff Stannard (Kylie, U2) and Ash Howes (Little Boots, Marina & The Diamonds). I said to Nick that I wanted to write a bunch of songs that were fun, uptempo, and something different to what people know of me. After 'Justice' and 'It's Not That Easy', I think a lot of people still thought of me as soul, so I wanted to remind people that I do all things, including soul. This track comes out on Valentines Day, so hopefully it will bring out the romance in people!"
'You Don't Love Me'
"This is definitely inspired by the older days. I'd been in the studio with people like Lamont Dozier and gotten to watch them work. I have his song 'Keep Me Hanging On' on my iPod and a friend put me in touch with a producer who happened to send me a track that borrows from that song. So I took that and mixed it up; I've reversed it so it's the guy being the one who feels he's being kept hanging on. It's got a lot of energy, it's very intense. Hopefully it's a good indication of where I'm going and where I want to go, and it shows that I am being experimental and playing around with my voice. In the future people won't know exactly what they'll get from me, but hopefully they'll like what they get."
'Coming Home'
"I went in with Novel (Alicia Keys, Leona Lewis), who was over here from the US. Again, it's uptempo, it's a little different sonically to what people have heard from me, but I hope it broadens my audience beyond the UK. I've been so fortunate to achieve what I have, but there's still a lot left I'd like to do. I really want to take it beyond England. I've proven myself here I think, so hopefully I'd like to get into Europe more heavily and into America. That would be quite nice. I feel far more ready for this year than I've felt any year. I've got some great material for my next album, I'm happy with my record company, my team and my personal life. It's been a pretty crazy journey; I've seen a lot of people come and go, get deals and lose deals, so for me to be releasing a Hits album and preparing for a fifth album, is an incredible feeling."
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