Sunday, February 13, 2011 7:42am ET by  
Comments (0)

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Tinie's mum warned him off Abba

Tinie Tempah talks to The Observer about his influences ahead of this week's BRITS Awards, for which he's received four nominations.

The singer's mother Rosemary got him into Abba at an early age: "She always used to tell me: 'Be careful, because Abba used to be big in their time and they're not around any more.' It was always the example she'd give me of things going wrong in the music business. I'd be like: 'Mum, Abba are bloody rich!'"

Dolly Parton was also one of his faves during his childhood. His favourite Parton track is 'D.I.V.O.R.C.E.'. Tempah says: "It's just a really cool concept, spelling out the word so the kids couldn't understand".

Though the star is currently achieving great success, he has always remained grounded and puts this down to visiting his grandmother in Nigeria during his school holidays:

"We used to visit my grandma, who lived in one of the areas that hadn't been well invested in, and I remember having to walk to get water from the mains tap. It instilled a level of discipline in us and made me thankful for how fortunate I was."

Tempah is performing at the 2011 BRIT Awards this Tuesday night (February 15), and his new single, 'Wonderman' (featuring Ellie Goulding) is scheduled for release on March 7.

Watch the official video for 'Wonderman' below: