CLICK ON THE LINKS AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THIS PAGE FOR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LEMAR AND PHOTO GALLERY >>  | | RnB / Soul singer Lemar |
We had the great opportunity of going backstage and speaking with the man himself before he went on to perform live to a sell out house.
Talking about his first debut album ‘Dedicated’, Lemar explained how pleased he was with the public’s support.
“It was a real excitement for me, to come out with my first venture, my first assault on the charts after my Fame Academy experience. And for people to get behind me so strongly and buy that album, in the number that they did, was absolutely amazing”.
When I asked him about his new album titled ‘Time To Grow’, which is his second release, Lemar spoke about how it reflects a new stage in his career. “That’s’ why I picked that title, myself, my management and the close team that works around me. We all decided it was time to take it to the next level and with this album I think - it’s as an album that runs more consistently, it’s got an overall sound. I try and deal with one or two topics that I thought aren’t usually dealt with in songs. There’s a song on my album called ‘Call Me Daddy’ which is about a miscarriage. There’s a song on my album about young people being pressured into having sex a bit too early, which is ‘Don’t Give It Up’… Music nowadays can be all about the club and the diamonds, and the cars and the women, and the champagne… you know it gets a bit boring, so on my album you have one or two songs which are party songs, one or two songs which are celebrating me and one or two songs which are giving a bit of advice and cause people to think a little bit.” Lemar’s second album which was released back in November last year, had sales over 500, 000 in just eight weeks, illustrates how popular his music it is. “The second album’s always a big test… you know, the first album could be a fluke, it could be because of the TV show, it could be for whatever reasons. And you know my second album has already out sold my first album, we’re close to double gold-platinum already, so you know I think that kind of shows that I’ve made one or two right decisions and people are behind me, so it’s good..it’s a nice thing.” I also asked him how he felt, when his first single ‘Time to Grow’ reached No. 3 in the charts.
“I was really happy. For that quarter, for the three months it was out, was the most played record in England, it was the top airplay song, so I was really proud of that and you know it set off the album in a big way. You know we did nearly half a million, just off the one single, so I was over the moon.” Lemar’s live performance was absolutely outstanding. He completely shook the house down with his harmonising vocal abilities and upbeat presence. I don’t think I’ve been to the Ipswich Regent and seen so many screaming girls and women, and an audience that was truly supportive of the artist they were seeing. Doing birthday shouts to people in the crowd, is just something singers rarely do, but to do it actually sets you aside. His Top 10 singles 'Dance (With U)' which at the time reached No. 2 and the hit '50/50' which reached No.5 were definitely appreciated by the fans. His track, ‘If There’s Any Justice’ off his new album is one of my favourite songs, so it was great to see him sing it live. Without a doubt, Lemar is an all rounder – he sings and performs from the heart, revealing those smooth soulful sounds which put him ahead of many artists both in the UK and abroad. If you weren't at the gig - you definitely missed out! |
