SOULFUL crooner Lemar Obika is feeling so inspired he is in danger of giving himself insomnia.
The smooth singer's creativity is in overdrive, which is great for his songwriting, but not when brilliance strikes in the wee small hours.
"I have to keep a pen and pad with me all the time because any little thing can be turned into a song," he says.
"I wake up in the middle of the night with ideas and usually if I go back to sleep I have forgotten them by the morning so I have to get up and write them down there and then!"
It's not exactly the nocturnal activity you would expect of the smouldering 28-year-old, but he is prepared to suffer for his art. "It's not turned into insomnia yet but maybe by the fourth or fifth album it might have!
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By the time he hit the studio to record his album The Truth About Love, Lemar had written a staggering 62 songs, which he then shortlisted for his album under the guidance of top producer Brian Rawling, who has worked with Lionel Richie and Tina Turner.
"I just get inspired by life, by travelling a lot, speaking to people, watching people in their relationships and there is usually a lot of things to write about," he says.
The urban star is particularly proud of his third album, which includes the heartfelt single It's Not That Easy, and was recorded the old fashioned way for a more holistic sound.
"I wanted to record it with one band just to get that one sound and one feel to the whole album.
I'd say it's quite soulful yet contemporary, with live music from beginning to end. I do feel like it's my best yet.
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The album was recorded live in a London studio with a band of top session musicians and features collaborations with rapper Styles P and soulful songbirds Mica Paris and Joss Stone (a rumoured love interest of the singer). "It was great because those ladies really can sing!" says Lema.
"Mica Paris is a great performer and an amazing vocalist."
Lemar is just one of a handful of reality TV stars, alongside Girls Aloud and Will Young, who have gone on to make it big in the music industry, while Gareth Gates and Michelle McManus have fallen by the wayside. Ironically, David Sneddon and Sinead Quinn, who beat him to first and second place on Fame Academy, have crashed and burned.
But to be fair it was only a matter of time before Lemar's raw talent was going to be spotted.
As a child growing up in Tottenham, he was inspired by Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and R Kelly and would perform Jackson numbers with his brothers. By the age of 18 he was making a name for himself in the R B world and landed his first concert at The Temple in Tottenham, supporting Usher.
"That was really nerve-wracking," he recalls, "but we got quite a few phone calls off the back of it." He went on to support Destiny's Child and win a recording contract with Sony BMG.
But his single was never released; he was dropped by the label and resigned himself to taking a normal job as an accounts manager for NatWest.
"It was a blow.
I had been working hard to get into the music business but it obviously wasn't the right time for me."
The knock-back did nothing to dull his yearning, and Lemar deferred his place to read pharmacy at Cardiff University to audition for BBC1's Fame Academy.
"I didn't go on the show thinking I would take over the whole of England but I was confident that I would be able to show enough for a company to take notice," he says. "I just wanted an opportunity - there's nothing more frustrating than writing a song and no-one listening to it. It was a chance to show people 'this is me'.
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His rich silky voice appealed to urban connoisseurs, while younger fans loved his R B stylings. He won plaudits from the judges for his rendition of Al Green's Let's Stay Togetherand even got to sing Easy Like Sunday Morningwith his hero Lionel Richie. And he is not bitter about coming third, seeing it as a blessing because he was under no obligation to rush out a first album.
Soul diva Beverley Knight also had a helping hand, inviting him on stage at a gig at Hammersmith Apollo. "That was absolutely awesome and I felt really honoured to have been on stage with her.
She's amazing and has a beautiful voice," he enthuses.
Dedicated, Lemar's first album was a bestseller, with his debut single Dance With Youbecoming a huge club hit and reaching number two in the charts.
"To bring out a song which connected with people so much was great," he says in his typically laid-back way. Since then his success has known no bounds with If There's Any Justice, from his second album Time to Growbecoming one of the biggest hits of 2004.
More than album sales though, getting recognition in the form of two Brits and three Mobos has meant the most for the Tottenham-born singer.
"You can never predict if you're going to get an award - you can produce a good album but that still doesn't mean that someone else hasn't produced a better one. Getting an award and being recognised is fantastic.
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Lemar kicks off his UK tour this March, but he it still amazed people will pay to come and see him. "I often have to pinch myself to believe what has happened. I mean everyone has dreams but not everyone achieves what they want in life.
"Just to know that people actually feel you're good enough to pay money out of their pocket to come and see you is an amazing thing," he says with incredulity. It's good to know that, while his profile and album sales are on the up, his ego isn't following suit.
■ Lemar plays a sell-out show at Cambridge Corn Exchange on Sunday, March 25.
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