# Lemar
**Lemar** (born Lemar Obika, 1978) is an English R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer who rose to fame by finishing third on the first series of the BBC talent show Fame Academy in 2002. Over a career spanning more than two decades he has placed seven singles in the UK Top 10, sold over two million albums worldwide, and won two BRIT Awards and three [MOBO Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/mobo-awards).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lemar-mn0000865729) • [2](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14220/lemar/) • [3](https://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/lemar-live)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978, Tottenham, London, England[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lemar-mn0000865729) |
| Breakthrough | Third place on the first series of BBC's Fame Academy, 2002[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lemar-mn0000865729) |
| UK chart record | 7 Top 10 singles, 11 Top 40 singles, 13 Top 75 singles; no No. 1 singles[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14220/lemar/) |
| Highest-charting album | The Truth About Love (2006), No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14220/lemar/) |
| Awards | Two BRIT Awards (Best British Urban Act) and three MOBO Awards[3](https://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/lemar-live) |
| Albums | Eight studio and compilation albums from Dedicated (2003) to Page in My Heart (2023)[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14220/lemar/) |
| Other work | Acting roles in Little Darlings, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, and Sister Act – The Musical in the West End[3](https://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/lemar-live) |
## Early life and first record deal
Lemar Obika was born in 1978 in [Tottenham](https://www.edgepedia.org/tottenham), in the London borough of Haringey, to Nigerian parents David and Edna Obika.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lemar-mn0000865729) • [4](https://celebmix.com/lemar-in-many-ways-it-feels-like-im-starting-all-over-again-and-i-like-it/) He grew up listening to soul and R&B music and sang at home with his brothers and sister, imitating the Jacksons.[5](https://www.antena1.com.br/artistas/lemar) His parents wanted him to study, and he was accepted to [Cardiff University](https://www.edgepedia.org/cardiff-university) to study pharmacy, but he chose music instead.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lemar-mn0000865729) In interviews he later described telling his parents he would take a year off to do pharmacy, then following music instead.[6](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/lemar-obika-chris-difford-b1076721.html)
**The long apprenticeship.** It took about eight years of performing before he secured his first record deal.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lemar-mn0000865729) During that period he worked as a bank accounts manager at NatWest in Enfield while singing at night, including supporting the American acts Usher and [Destiny's Child](https://www.edgepedia.org/destinys-child).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lemar-mn0000865729) • [5](https://www.antena1.com.br/artistas/lemar) A deal with BMG Records produced one single, "Got Me Saying (Ooh)", before the contract was rescinded after the label's restructuring.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lemar-mn0000865729) • [5](https://www.antena1.com.br/artistas/lemar)
## Fame Academy and the Sony years
Fame Academy, a BBC combination of talent search and reality show, required musical talent and songwriting ability from its contestants, and Lemar reached the final of its first series in 2002, finishing third.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lemar-mn0000865729) • [7](https://headlinerhub.com/lemar-the-letter.html) He later said he had £3 to his name and regarded the show as a last-ditch attempt.[6](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/lemar-obika-chris-difford-b1076721.html) The exposure led to a contract with Sony Records (RCA), and within his first three years as a recording artist it produced six UK Top 10 singles, two MOBO Awards, and two BRIT Awards for Best Urban Artist.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lemar-mn0000865729)
His debut single "Dance (With U)" entered the UK Singles Chart in August 2003 and peaked at No. 2, staying 11 weeks on the chart.[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14220/lemar/) The debut album *Dedicated* followed in December 2003, peaking at No. 16 and spending 25 weeks in the Top 75; it was certified double Platinum for sales of over 600,000 copies.[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14220/lemar/) • [8](https://poprescue.com/2015/10/21/pop-rescue-time-grow-lemar-cd-2004/)
## Albums and chart trajectory
Lemar's second album, *Time to Grow* (2004), reached No. 8 on the [UK Albums Chart](https://www.edgepedia.org/uk-albums-chart) and contained the single "If There's Any Justice", which peaked at No. 3.[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14220/lemar/) A Guardian review at the time called him the one Fame Academy contestant with "a full helping of actual talent" and compared his path to [Will Young](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-young)'s, a second album shedding the reality-TV label.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/nov/26/popandrock.shopping6)
**Commercial peak.** *The Truth About Love* (2006) became his highest-charting album at No. 3 and included the Top 10 single "It's Not That Easy".[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14220/lemar/) • [8](https://poprescue.com/2015/10/21/pop-rescue-time-grow-lemar-cd-2004/) After that, chart performance declined: *The Reason* (2008) stalled at No. 41, the compilation *The Hits* (2010) reached No. 18, and *Invincible* (2012) peaked at No. 49.[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14220/lemar/) • [8](https://poprescue.com/2015/10/21/pop-rescue-time-grow-lemar-cd-2004/) His last UK Top 10 single was "The Way Love Goes", which peaked at No. 8 in 2010.[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14220/lemar/) • [8](https://poprescue.com/2015/10/21/pop-rescue-time-grow-lemar-cd-2004/)
**The Letter and independence.** After a three-year hiatus, his sixth album *The Letter* (2015) fused original songs with soul classics and was recorded at East West Studios in Los Angeles with a full live band, with production help from Larry Klein.[7](https://headlinerhub.com/lemar-the-letter.html) It reached No. 31 on the UK Albums Chart.[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14220/lemar/) The Guardian's review praised his renditions of songs by the Supremes, Al Green, and [Sam Cooke](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-cooke), and his "frayed, old-soul voice", while finding the more upbeat covers less successful.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/11/lemar-the-letter-album-review-classy-patchy-soul-makeover) For the previous album, Invincible, he had written, produced, and released the record on his own label, an experience he described as burning him out.[7](https://headlinerhub.com/lemar-the-letter.html)
His seventh album, *Page in My Heart*, was released in April 2023 and peaked at No. 74 on the UK Albums Chart.[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14220/lemar/)
## Awards and collaborations
Lemar has won two BRIT Awards for Best British Urban Act and three MOBO Awards, including two for Best UK Male and one for Best Album.[3](https://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/lemar-live) • [11](https://www.bandsintown.com/a/1266157-lemar-%28official%29) At the 2005 MOBO Awards he won best album and UK act of the year.[12](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2005/Music-Week-2005-10-01.pdf) He has performed or recorded with [Lionel Richie](https://www.edgepedia.org/lionel-richie), Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé, George Benson, and [Mariah Carey](https://www.edgepedia.org/mariah-carey), and supported [Justin Timberlake](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-timberlake) on several UK tour dates.[3](https://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/lemar-live) • [13](https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/artist/27826) His 2015 album included "Someday We'll Be Together", a duet with Joss Stone.[14](https://www.ukmusicreviews.co.uk/interviews/interview-lemar/)
## Acting and later career
In recent years Lemar has expanded into acting and theater. He played Danny Kilman in the Sky adaptation of [Jacqueline Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacqueline-wilson)'s *Little Darlings*, appeared as Lord Smythe Smith in Netflix's *Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story*, and made his musical theater debut as Curtis Jackson in the West End production of *Sister Act – The Musical* at the Dominion Theatre.[3](https://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/lemar-live) He also competed in the tenth series of ITV's *Dancing on Ice*, replacing [Monty Panesar](https://www.edgepedia.org/monty-panesar), and later toured with the Soul Legends show.[4](https://celebmix.com/lemar-in-many-ways-it-feels-like-im-starting-all-over-again-and-i-like-it/) • [14](https://www.ukmusicreviews.co.uk/interviews/interview-lemar/) In December 2025 he performed a Christmas show at indigo at [The O2](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-o2) in London with his full live band.[3](https://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/lemar-live)
In a 2023 interview he discussed two personal difficulties: his mother Edna died of cancer in July 2003, just before "Dance (With U)" was released, and he said it took him four or five years to mourn her properly; he also developed tinnitus, a constant ringing in the ears, from repeated exposure to loud noise.[6](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/lemar-obika-chris-difford-b1076721.html)
## References
1. [Lemar – Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lemar-mn0000865729)
2. [LEMAR songs and albums – full Official Chart history, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14220/lemar/)
3. [Lemar – event details, The O2](https://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/lemar-live)
4. [Lemar: "In many ways it feels like I'm starting all over again... and I like it!" – CelebMix](https://celebmix.com/lemar-in-many-ways-it-feels-like-im-starting-all-over-again-and-i-like-it/)
5. [Lemar – Biografia e discografia, Antena 1](https://www.antena1.com.br/artistas/lemar)
6. [Lemar: I didn't mourn my mother's death properly for years – The Standard](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/lemar-obika-chris-difford-b1076721.html)
7. [Lemar: The Letter – Headliner Magazine](https://headlinerhub.com/lemar-the-letter.html)
8. [Review: "Time To Grow" by Lemar (CD, 2004) – Pop Rescue](https://poprescue.com/2015/10/21/pop-rescue-time-grow-lemar-cd-2004/)
9. [Lemar, Time to Grow – The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/nov/26/popandrock.shopping6)
10. [Lemar: The Letter review – The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/11/lemar-the-letter-album-review-classy-patchy-soul-makeover)
11. [Lemar (Official) – Bandsintown](https://www.bandsintown.com/a/1266157-lemar-%28official%29)
12. [Music Week, 1 October 2005 – MOBO Awards report](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2005/Music-Week-2005-10-01.pdf)
13. [Lemar Tickets – Ticketmaster UK](https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/artist/27826)
14. [INTERVIEW: Lemar – UK Music Reviews](https://www.ukmusicreviews.co.uk/interviews/interview-lemar/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › R&B singers, 1990s and 2000s › R&B singers of the 2000s › Surnames A to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license