REALITY talent shows like Pop Idol and Fame Academy throw up all manner of wannabes but as Gareth Gates and Alex Park show, only a handful have what it takes to go the distance.

It doesn't seem to be just about talent - David Sneddon proved he had that when he won the first series of Fame Academy but it didn't stop him slipping into pop obscurity, followed closely by most of his classmates.

Longevity it seems is more about the choices you make after your career has been given the TV kickstart.

Like fellow survivor Will Young, Lemar Obika has made his wisely and three years after he first appeared in Fame Academy, the 26-year-old is one of today's hottest R'n'B stars.

"I've just been trying to keep it as real as I can to what I know," says Lemar of his beating the music industry odds.

"The record company give their input but ultimately I talk to management and the people that have been around me for years.

"It's a discussion all the way, the direction I want to take things in and the kind of music I want to do. I always try to make sure I don't veer from anything I like because people always see it for what it is."

Keeping it real is a phrase which also suits Lemar's personal life.

Despite the Londoner's incredible success - he released his second album Time To Grow in November and already it's out-selling his debut album Dedicated - he's allowed very little to change in his life.

He spends as much time as he can with his family and he made sure he went away with his father for Christmas. Sadly his mother missed witnessing her son's success. She succumbed to cancer shortly before he released his debut single in 2003.

The sexy soul crooner broke off from his love songs at a gig in Folkestone to preach to the youngsters about the importance of staying in school - and laying off snogging.

Not even girls hurling their bras on stage could distract him from his message.

"It was like a mini sermon. He told a long-winded story about how he caught a 15-year-old girl skiving off to see her boyfriend when he was driving past his old school in Tottenham," says our source.

"But the Dedicated singer told the girl to think again as he signed an autograph for her, and said it's not worth it. And that inspired his song Don't Give It Up."

The fans were having none of it, though.

Our spy continues: "Girls were throwing bras at him, and young couples just wanted him to hurry up so they could carry on smooching."

Well, they were at the gig to dance, dance, dance...