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SUPER TALENTED: Jermaine Riley

HE CALLS himself ‘Superman’ and it’s not hard to see why. Jermaine Riley, the former frontman of UK-based R’n’B trio FDM, is clearly a man of many talents.

Not content with having the ability to sing girls into a frenzy, blessed with moves only a select few can lay claim to, or even being able to write a beautiful song and edit the accompanying video, this south London star is also a dab hand at graphic design.

With all of these elements combined into one superhuman, it seems like a solo career would have been a natural choice for the Hello Earth singer.

This is why it comes as a shock when he reveals that striking out on his own was not a part of his original plan and the split from FDM was in fact “bitter sweet”.

He explains: “I loved being in a group. I wasn’t doing it to springboard myself into a solo career and I never had any intentions of going solo. I wanted FDM to be like a Boyz II Men thing, where the legacy is the group.”

Quickly addressing the elephant in the room he adds: “What led to the break-up was the fact that I did not believe in the team that we were being guided by anymore. From my end I can say that I would love to have a [FDM] reunion one day.”

However, even without the help of his bandmates, who he still affectionately calls his ‘brothers’, the singer has managed to rack up thousands of musicdownloads. Hello Earth, probably one of his most successful mixtapes, is currently being sold in 600 stores across Japan.

“I haven’t been to Japan yet,” he confesses with a laugh.

“We are trying to sort something out for me to be over there soon. So far the feedback about Hello Earth has been really positive so I am really grateful.

“I was sent some pictures of the CD on the shelves next to [US singer] Chris Brown. There were massive posters of me in the R’n’B section. That was definitely one of my highlights for the summer, I’ll never forget that,” he adds.

When I explain that the subject is about to move onto romance, the heartthrob immediately takes on a more comical tone and abruptly denies having an official ‘Superwoman’.

“No, there is no Mrs Riley. Marriage is not on the cards right now…I am still Superman! At the moment I am just focused on my music!”

Sad news for any prospective Lois Lanes.

So how does Jermaine deal with all the female attention and screaming fans?

“I think the best way to deal with fans is to hug them. I think a hug just says a lot. More so than words and more so than a wave. You can always tell how someone feels with a hug,” he says.

I can almost hear the unified ‘awww’ as you read this - you big softies! But fear not, you can now add a slow jam soundtrack to those loving thoughts with the star’s new mixtape, Ten Eleven Twelve.

He says: “The mixtape is another body of work that deals with re-fix’s [covers] as well as my original music. I just wanted to give people an insight into my ability to write songs and almost put my own spin on songs that I like.”

“Actually I am really excited about this project because this is the first time I am not speaking about my ‘Superman’ alter ego,” he laughs.

“Now I’m just trying to get to Jermaine Riley. The next album will let fans get a chance to know the real me. Things like how I love and how I feel about certain things by giving them my perspective.”

When I ask him to finish the sentence, “I want the world to know…,” he pauses and thinks for a few seconds.

“I want the world to know that I will never stop doing music, you don’t have to worry about me going anywhere.”

Ten Eleven Twelve will be released on November 10 via www.jermaineriley.com