Lemar biography
Lemar Obika (born 4 April 1978), professionally known simply as Lemar, is an English soul and R&B singer. Obika has had a run of chart success in the UK, Europe and Australia. He rose to fame after finishing in third place on the first series of British talent show Fame Academy, which was won by songwriter David Sneddon.
Since then Lemar has had seven top ten UK singles and sold over two million albums. He is seen as one of the most successful artists to come out of a reality TV show. Lemar has won two Brit Awards and three Mobo Awards to date. Lemar is due to release his fifth studio album in the summer of 2012.
Early life
Lemar Obika was born in Muswell Hill, North London, England to Igbo parents of Enugu State, South Eastern Nigeria. He grew up listening to R&B and soul music. He used to sing at home with his brothers and sister, pretending to be The Jacksons.
He was 17 when he had his first concert at the Junior Jam at the Temple in Tottenham supporting Usher. Later on he gave up an opportunity to study pharmacy at Cardiff University to pursue a musical career. Lemar had some success supporting various artists such as Destiny's Child, Total, Uncle Sam and Usher Raymond on their UK club tours and after some years, managed to secure a recording contract with BMG. Following this, he released his debut single "Got Me Saying Ooh". Unfortunately his record deal with BMG fell through in less than a year due to restructuring at the record label. He had to eventually take a job working as an accounts manager at NatWest in Enfield, north London.
Lemar was most notably brought to public attention on the BBC's Fame Academy in 2002, a combination of a talent quest and reality television show. 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 third in the show, which was won by David Sneddon, he caught the eye of fellow British 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. He was also the contestant from Fame Academy chosen to represent the UK in Eurobest, coming fifth (the eventual winner being Chenoa from Spain).
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. Following the success of the album, he commenced his first headlining tour of the UK. After completing his UK tour, Lemar was the opening act for Justin Timberlake's UK tour dates.
2004-05: Time to Grow
On 12 November 2004 Lemar guested on
Radio 1's Live Lounge and performed a cover of U2's song "Vertigo". He has also performed for
Prince Charles' Prince's Trust.
Biography from 
, the free encyclopedia.
It may not have been reviewed by a professional editor, and recent changes may not show up straight away. See the latest version of this article. Used under licence. Subject to disclaimers.