(Music Medication, March 17, 2009)
Single review
Smooth and soulful, sexy and stylish - never mind David Sneddon, Lemar was the real star of Fame Academy 2002, and garnered a true music education at the knee of experts in the field.
Oh, sorry... are we not supposed to mention that?
Regardless of how he came to the attention of the great British public, Londoner Lemar is blessed with a pretty striking voice.
This, unbelievably, marks the boy's 12th single. Mature, slick R&B with a heart, his singing is imbued with the sort of lovelorn desperation that he has honed so well throughout hit career. "It feels like the weight of the world/Have the angels turned their back on me?/ Because I still remember how it felt when you loved me," he delivers plaintively, and there's a special heartstring tug that goes with the lyric.
Vocally, Lemar is beyond great. His strong, assured voice is rounded and deep, making soulful singing sound effortless with a really quite expansive range.
Unfortunately, there are errors with the song - not least its tempo, which jars slightly with the emotional content - but the whole enterprise flows much American R&B which is too often so over-stylised that the real feeling is drained from the lyrics with aplomb.
Go to the top of the class, Lemar.
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