Lemar
There can be few artists who manage to appear in a movie and bag a Brit Award for "Best Urban Artist" - all in the same year. However, it’s Lemar’s ability to do just that that makes the singer such a unique presence in the UK music scene.
Add in three Top 10 singles, "Dance (With U)" (No. 2), "50/50" (No. 5) and "Another Day "(No. 9), a debut album, "Dedicated", with sales of over 600,000 and a sell out UK tour, and, you have an artist who genuinely transcends the normal musical boundaries: equally at home on the street or in the living room.
Lemar’s second album "Time To Grow", will no doubt build on this success. The first single, "If There’s Any Justice", certainly makes clear the level of Lemar’s ambition and ever growing confidence. Produced by Brian Rawling, the song features a brooding seventies style symphonic backing track with strings and horns arranged by Jerry Hey (Earth Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson, George Benson). Lemar delivers a vocal performance so soulful it’ll stop listeners in their tracks.
"I looked at the chart to see what’s going on at the moment and a lot of the R&B out there is pretty standard sort of stuff," explains Lemar. "So, I thought I’d go against the grain and do something a bit more old school sounding."
On the more straight forward R&B side of things Lemar is looking to build on the massive street level success of his hit "50/50."
"Even now when people talk to me it’s usually "50/50" that’s the point of reference. I think it’s imperative that I keep my R&B audience involved in my work because that’s the core of who I am," he says.
Lemar has got the nod from some other American stars as well. It was the Neptunes who presented Lemar with his Brit Award, whilst Justin Timberlake asked Lemar to support him for four of his Earls Court dates in 2004. Meanwhile, the rapper of the moment, Cassidy, appears on a remix of "If There’s Any Justice" which in turn has been produced by legendary New York DJ/producer Ron G (B2K, Michael Jackson, Mary J Blige, Fat Joe).
Before the new albums release Lemar will have made his movie debut in the aforementioned Cole Porter biopic Delovely where he is a featured singer alongside the likes of Robbie Williams, Alanis Morrissette and Elvis Costello.