''Dedicated'' is the debut album by English singer

Lemar Lemar Obika (born 4 April 1978), known mononymously as Lemar, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially rising to fame after finishing third on the Fame Academy (series 1), first series of British talent show ''Fame Acade ...

. It was released on 24 November 2003 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

. The now defunct girl group

The 411 The 411 are an English girl group comprising Carolyn Owlett, Tisha Martin and Tanya Bryson. The group was formed in late 2002 after Martin and Bryson sang backing vocals on Lemar's version of Al Green's " Let's Stay Together". The 411 took i ...

provided backing vocals for a number of tracks.

Background

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

signed Lemar to a five-record deal after his success on the

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

programme ''

Fame Academy ''Fame Academy'' was a British television talent competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner would receive a chance to become a successful music artist and part of the international franchise ''Star Academy'' known un ...

'' in 2002. His first single " Dance (with U)" was written with Craig Hardy and Fitzgerald Scott who had previously worked with

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. An early figure in the new jack swing musical movement, he is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her," "Make It Last Forever (song), Make It Last For ...

. The second single "50/50" was recorded by the Norwegian

Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...

production team. Fingaz, who has produced hits by British group Big Brovaz, also produced the song "What About Love". Lemar also recorded a version of "Let's Stay Together" by

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...

which was one of his featured songs by ''Fame Academy''.

Critical reception

BBC Music BBC Music is the arm of the BBC responsible for the music played across its services. The current director of music is Lorna Clarke. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio operational division; however, its remit also includes music used i ...

critic Karen Goodchild called ''Dedicated'' "a great album that is packed full of potential hits that showcase Lemar's amazing vocal ability. That, coupled with the fact that Lemar co-wrote several of these tracks, will surely mean that he'll be around a lot longer than the other over-hyped reality TV stars." Caroline Sullivan from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' found that ''Dedicated'' presented Lemar "as

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

's answer to

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

: a romantic of the old school who sells a song with understated sleekness and a hint of chest fur. The contents are all Obika co-writes save for a hip-hoppety version of

's "Let's Stay Together;" the mid-tempo boudoir grooves hardly do justice to the voice, but at least lay the foundations for what could be a substantial future."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

rated the album three stars out of five.

Commercial performance

The first single from the album, "Dance With U", reached number 2 on the UK singles charts 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. ''Dedicated'' was certified platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI) for sales in excess of 300,000 copies.

Track listing

Personnel

*Jarl Ivar Andersen – multi instruments *Pete Beachill – trombone *Joe Belmaati – keyboards, programming *Dave Bishop – saxophone *Tim Briley – assistant engineer, mixing assistant *James Cruz – mastering *Snake Davis – saxophone *Joe Fields – engineer *Fingaz – keyboards, producer *The 411 – background vocals *Matt Furmidge – assistant engineer *Carrie Grant – vocal arrangement *Simon Hale – horn arrangements, string arrangements, horn conductor, string conductor *Michael Hansen – percussion *Craig Hardy – producer *Lawrence Johnson – vocals, choir arrangement *Marc Lane – engineer *Vanessa Letocq – production coordination *The London Session Orchestra – strings *Andy Love – producer *Nigel Lowis – producer *Paul Meehan – arranger, programming, producer *Roy Merchant – engineer, mixing *Mikkel SE – multi instruments *Matz Nilsson – mixing *Nicole Nodland – photography *Adam Phillips – guitar *Nick Raphael – A&R *

Brian Rawling Brian Rawling is a British record producer and songwriter. He is the managing director of publisher and production company Metrophonic. Rawling has produced singles and albums for artists such as Cher, with whom he won a Grammy in 1999 for his w ...

– arranger, producer *Fitzgerald Scott – vocal arrangement, vocal engineer, vocal producer *Alan Simpson – guitar *Alexis Smith – assistant engineer *Stargate – producer *Ren Swan – mixing * John Themis – guitar * Derek Watkins – trumpet *

Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, ...

– orchestra leader *Jong Uk Yoon – engineer, mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Lemar Online pageLemar Top of The Pops Interview
{{Authority control 2003 debut albums Lemar albums RCA Records albums Albums produced by Stargate Albums produced by Brian Rawling