Can you tell us a bit about how you selected the tracks for your new album Invincible, you said that you wrote over 100 tracks, what was the process of picking the tracks ?

Do you know what, after you’ve written so many songs the obvious ones stand out, the best ones stand out. I think, if you write four songs you can be lulled into the false sense of security that you’ve written the best songs ever in the world. But it’s only when you write song ten, song twenty, song thirty, then suddenly song two and three don’t sound as good as they used to.

So I wrote something like 100, 150 songs and there was a clear 13 or 14 that to me really stood out. So after that it’s about just working them in to a way that they makes sense as an album from one to the other. 

You’re starting your tour in December; will your shows be a mixture of your new album and your old material, will there going to be any surprises?

Do you know what it won’t be a lot of old and new, I’m not going to make this tour ‘The Invincible Tour’. This year is more to just celebrate releasing my fifth album, being on the road 10 years, and all the music that’s gone before.

There’ll be a handful of the new ones as well just to celebrate where I’m going. So yeah it should be a lot of energy. There may be a surprise or two, I always actually try and put a little bit of a surprise in there, so I really can’t wait it’s been a while.

Do you still think there’s a place for the shows like X Factor and those type of programs that find emerging talent and was the advice and training that you received in Fame Academy a big help for furthering your career?

Yes I think there’s definitely still a place for the moment, I think a lot of people still watch the shows and are in to the shows. As a result I think there must be a market there for it.

I was very fortunate by the time I did Fame Academy I had done 8 years of gigging and going up and down the country gigging. As a result I think that’s why I was able to do well in the competition and I was able to deliver in the competition throughout the show.

Definitely what I learnt during the show helped me and set me in good stead. Although I think the show that I did was slightly different, you know focused on song writing and developing that way as well as performance. So maybe I was able to learn a little bit more.

But you know I think there is a place for the talent shows, a bit of light entertainment on a Saturday and Sunday. I’m not sure if it’s as important or hyped as it used to be now.

I think the public are quite savvy to the fact that they know what’s going to happen and the whole protocol with all the stories and how it’s going to go. I’m not sure if the acts that go up have the same advantage as three or four years ago. But definitely it’s a great platform and a lot of people watch it. And if you have already put your hours in to your craft then why not showcase it to a lot of people.

And what do you feel about yourself , One Direction, Olly Murrs and JLS not actually winning the shows you were in but  having a bigger career than the winners. Why do you think that is?

Yeah, you know, I don’t know! I’m not sure about now but a few years ago they try to rush the whole album out. I think the public aren’t silly, if you finish a show in November and then you’ve got a single out in December and an album t out in January, there can’t be too much thought that has gone in to that album.

Whereas if you come second, or third you’ve got a good eight or nine months or so to focus on the song’s. Focus on trying to get the music right and try and take it slow to give the public the best that you can give them and I think people respond to quality. People know what’s bad and know what they want.

And what does it feel like to be called the most successful British artist of the decade? What’s that like?

It feels great, I never thought I’d be releasing my sixth album or releasing on my own label or be doing it 10 years later. Still be releasing songs and doing tours, obviously I feel very fortunate that I’ve had the length of career I’ve had so far.

Hopefully it will continue for a while and I’ll be able to find different avenues of where I want to go and what I’d like to do. I’m just celebrating everyday really, it’s good stuff.

I see you also support a lot of the charities like Cancer Research UK, Christian Aid, Prince’s Trust etc, can you tell us how you got involved with those charities?

Well Princes Trust I was approached and they told me what they did about helping people who are less well off. People who are sometimes excluded from society, because they’ve gone to jail or just because they’ve been hard up. But they still have great ideas and a lot of ambition, they need that little bit of support to help them start off their idea.

Any musician will know it’s a struggle to get into the music industry and it’s hard to do anything music related that you’re passionate about.I always thought that if I could’ve had that kind of help while I was trying, maybe I would’ve made a few different decisions. So I thought that was a really good cause.

Christian Aid approached me after one of my tours quite a few years back now. They explained to me about their cause and how they help kids in Africa. Instead of just saying can you take a statement and just hold a picture up they actually said can you come on one of our trips. I went to I think it was Uganda and got to have a look at the work they did helping the farmers and bringing fresh water to places, helping people who had been kidnapped. I just thought it was an amazing cause. My parents are Nigerian so everything I could do to help the whole cause I did.

Obviously my mother passed away from cancer just before I released my first single and that’s my strong kind of relation to Cancer Research.

I noticed that you don’t play a lot of festivals. You’ve played V Festival a few times, are you going to be playing any festivals in the near future?

I would love to; you know that’s going to be a major focus of mine in 2013. I love getting on the stage, I love festivals.

I love the big crowds and the no strings attached approach to festivals. Sometimes the music at these things can be filled with all the fireworks and the explosions but not the real, real music. That’s the way I feel when I go and do a festival. It’s like real people coming together just to hear some songs and I definitely intend to push and try and get on as many festivals as I can.

Any favourite ones you’d like to play at?

Well you said that I played V festival and I actually loved that festival. I’ve forgotten which tent I was in but I absolutely really enjoyed it. So I’ve been pestering my agent and hopefully next year I’ll be able to get on that.

I mean all of them, there’s the Isle of Wight, there’s Glastonbury, there’s loads, I’d love to be on all and any that I will be able to get on, why not!

November, You are going to be doing a guest presentation on Magic Radio?

Yeah that’s right.

What type of music are you going to play on that?

Well you know it will be stuff that fits in to the whole Magic kind of playlist. But I’m going to start going over that list shortly so as it stands, I don’t know. But I might try and push the boat out a little bit and flip in a few different ones as well.

I really like the people down at Magic, they’ve been really supportive and full of support for my singles and the album and everything I’ve been doing at the moment so yeah I’m going to have a lot of fun down there.

You’re saying it’s 10 years but it’s really 18 years in total you have been in the music business. Since you’ve started a lot of things have changed because of the internet and downloading mp3s, social networks; Twitter and Facebook – how do you think this helps you to connect with your fans?

I think it’s changed a lot, you’re right. I think it’s really great that you can have a connection with your fans, you can Tweet them and you can get their opinions on things. I’ve asked my fans about what songs they want to hear.

You couldn’t do that back in the day, I guess because you’re on the road a lot you kind of knew what they’d like. But the difference of hearing things from the fans and you know you can send them pictures and you can ask them directly I think that’s really good.

Obviously iTunes has made a massive difference as well with the way people can view music. The fact that you can just pick what songs you want means that artists can’t really call them fans anymore because you’ve got to have a good album or they’ll take the songs that they want and that’s it!

I think that’s a good thing in many ways, I think the one thing that’s maybe not so great is the fact that everyone knows almost the full workings of the music business. As a result the mystery to it is gone. Once you know how something works then you get a bit bored of it, you know?

I think, X-Factor these shows you see the full behind the scenes workings. I think you still get special moments, live performances you can’t download them they are online, you can look at it live.

On your new album, track 8 you’ve got Shaughnessy featuring with you. Is there anyone that you haven’t worked with yet who you would like to collaborate with in the future?

I’d like to collaborate I’ve always wanted to, for some reason I haven’t done loads. I’ve done loads of live collaborations but I haven’t been able to do loads on my album but I’m always open.

And what’s next for you Lemar, have you got anything else in the future that you might like to try and diversify in to and what have you got lined up in 2013 so far?

What’s next? I mean just more of the same. I own a label so that’s quite kind of hard but it’s great building a new team and just being spontaneous so I like that side of it.

I’d like to do some international stuff, or rather more international stuff, that seems to be picking up a bit.

I’d like to do another tour next year and there’s another event. There’s an event that I’d love to put on next year and I think that if I can then I think a lot of people will hear about that and I think it’d be a very good. So yeah, a lot of things planned in the pipeline.

OK well thanks ever so much for taking the time out today to talk to us and look forward to hopefully seeing you at V next year then.

Yeah, that’d be great.

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Lemar tour dates

December 2012

Sun 9th Bournemouth O2 Academy

Mon 10th Ipswich Regent

Tue 11th Manchester HMV Ritz

Thu 13th Birmingham HMV Institute

Fri 14th Bristol O2 Academy

Sat 15th London Indigo O2

Tickets are £22.50 (£27.50/£19.50 Ipswich, £45.00/£39.50/£27.50/£19.50 London) On sale now.