L.E.X

Lionell Edward Xavier Bennett
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Lionell Bennett
Background information
Born	May 28, 1990 (22)
Origin	Texas, USA
Genre	Urban/Soul
Years active	2010-present
Label	Blacklight Records
Associated acts
Moodring Kirby L. Avalon Danelle Becker Cassie Fox Becca Hayworth Coral Harris

L.E.X is a Russian-American singer, rapper and songwriter. His URAPS career began in March of 2010, when he participated in the Tango Challenge. He didn't make it through the heats, but proceeded to build his career independently with the release of his debut single "Sabotage, Inc.". The single was a minor success, peaking in the top 10 on release. The singer/rapper followed this up with a string of top 5 hits. His debut album "The Perfect Storm" was released in May of 2010 preceding his debut single, entering at #2, and was eventually certified diamond with sales exceeding 1.15 million. Lionell released his sophomore album "Lionheart" in the latter half of 2012, becoming his first #1 album in both the US and the UK.

Early Life

Lionell Bennett was born on May 28th, 1990; the son of Tyson Bennett, a Texan oil tycoon; and Ludmilla Zelenka, a Russian-American socialite and former beauty queen. He was born in Texas, where he and his family lived for three years before they moved to the Hollywood Hills, as Lionell's mother was still attempting to achieve her dream of becoming an actress. Lionell learned quickly growing up to be self-sufficient, because his parents never made much time for him due to their careers. Lionell managed to avoid many of the pitfalls of growing up in the Hollywood Hills, avoiding the nightlife with its alcohol and drugs, which put him at odds with many of his peers who busied themselves with partying and becoming famous-for-being-famous. Lionell ventured out from the Hills to the urban community where he was initially met with contempt, but he eased himself into urban culture and developed an interest in urban music.

Music

"The Perfect Storm" Era

Lionell was originally gearing himself up as a straight-up urban-rap artist, with the first songs he worked on being "Molotov Cocktail", which was intended to be his debut single until his loss at the Tango Challenge heats, and "Miss Fortune" which in its early form was the song Lionell performed at his Tango Challenge heat. Lionell suffered rejection from the competition; this inspired his track "Sabotage, Inc." which went on to become his debut single with guest vocals from Cassie Fox and Butterscotch. Future material kept him firmly in the urban genre; but as he developed his material, more and more of his songs featured him singing his lyrics rather than rapping, so he switched gears and re-tooled himself as an urban-soul singer/rapper. The resulting album "The Perfect Storm" was met with surprisingly strong reactions, with its hard-hitting lyrics, slick production and an all-star list of collaborators and producers. The album showcased Lionell's rapping abilities as well as his rich, soulful vocals. While predominantly urban in style, the album incorporated elements of jazz (the horns used on "Soul Suicide"), dance (Timbaland's production on "Unmake My Promises") and world music (tribal drums on "Drummer Boy" featuring Paulo Araujo). The resulting blend of styles was a hit with critics and the buying public, which consequently resulted in a strong opening for the album when it debuted at #2. It spent over a year on the chart, and is certified diamond with sales tallying over 1.15 million copies. Stateside, the album opened at #5, and peaked at #3. It is certified double platinum with sales exceeding 2,500,000. A Russian version was released in 2011, debuting and peaking at #1.

Singles from the album were spread out among various territories; "Sabotage, Inc." was Lionell's debut single in the US and UK. The single hit the top 10 in the UK and the top 20 in the US, a solid introductory hit for Lionell. After some indecision and a public vote, "Nothing Of Me" was chosen as the second single. It was a bigger hit than its predecessor, building on Lionell's hype, by hitting the UK top 3 and US top 10. "Soul Suicide" was the third single released from the album, and Lionell's debut Russian single. It became Lionell's first #1 hit in both the US and Russia, and another top 3 hit in the UK. After this point, single releases diverged between territories. "Chasing Ghosts" was released as the fourth US single, becoming Lionell's second career #1, while the UK and Russia received "Unmake My Promises". In Russia it was a #1, while in the UK a remix was released as a double A-side with "She's Screaming" by Becca Hayworth, hitting the top 5. Lionell teamed up with Paulo Araujo for 'The Boss' EP as his fifth UK release, including "Drummer Boy" and "Chasing Ghosts" from Lionell's album. It became the biggest UK hit from Lionell's debut era, peaking at #2 and giving Lionell his biggest sales hit of the era. The era concluded in Russia with "Molotov Cocktail" as the third Russian single and his third Russian #1. No video for "Molotov Cocktail" was ever shot. In August 2011, Lionell suffered misfortune when a flight he was on went down over the Bermuda triangle. Lionell survived but had to undergo intensive surgery to repair his injuries.

"Lionheart" Era

In May 2012, Lionell announced his imminent return, beginning with his mixtape "The King Has Returned", which was released for free on the internet in June. Later in August, Lionell made his comeback official with the confirmation that his album "Lionheart" would be released in late September alongside its lead single "Lzherusskie". The album was recorded in both English and Russian language versions, for simultaneous release in the UK, US and Russia, where it topped the albums chart in all locations. The album again featured a long list of A-list collaborators and producers. The collaborators on the album include Coral Harris, L'Mondrea, Jackson Bradshaw, Kirby L. Avalon and Aurora Reed, with Russian artists featured in their place on the Russian version. Producers Lionell worked with on the album include Just Blaze, Walter Millsap, Darkchild, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Dre & Vidal, Tim & Bob, Major Lazer, Timbaland, Diplo and Blackout. Lionell himself received his first production credits, having produced two songs on the album himself. The album debuted at #1 in all three territories it was released, and it spent two consecutive weeks at #1 in the UK.

"Lzherusskie" has so far peaked in the top 50 on the Hot 100 in the US, and is rapidly climbing. In Russia it is Lionell's fourth consecutive #1 hit, despite the highly controversial video getting banned for its depiction of Lionell overthrowing both the government and the monarchy. In the UK the single debuted and peaked at #2, becoming Lionell's biggest UK sales hit.

Other Projects

Lionell was cast as the male lead in the film, "The Dreidel Room", an action-thriller which served as the launching vehicle for Lionell's acting career. In the movie he plays Jonas McKee, boyfriend of Candy Rayne (co-star Just Ginger). Lionell wrote the song 'Run For You Life' which he recorded with Ginger for the soundtrack. He and Ginger shot a video for the single which was featured on a special EP of music related to the film. Lionell received praise from critics for his acting abilities in the movie, with particular focus put on his portrayal of Jonas toward the end of the film. "The Dreidel Room" was a box office success, opening at #1 on both sides of the Atlantic. "The Dreidel Room" is Lionell's first acting role in any capacity; he is currently signed on for a dark thriller that was to be shot in 2011, with Lionell playing the a psychotically disturbed college student methodically killing off the other men in his dorm one by one. According to publicised details, the role is significantly reduced compared to his role in "The Dreidel Room", and that Lionell's character isn't heavily featured until the second half. The project was put on hold indefinitely following Lionell's plane crash, given the importance of Lionell's character and the producers' unwillingness to re-cast.

Lionell was one of the competitors on the 2010 season of "Strictly Come Dancing", having been partnered up with dancer Kharizma Smirchoff. Lionell had never danced before prior to the show, and Kharizma had never taught before. The couple showed great chemistry both on and off the floor during the show's run. Lionell impressed audiences with his dancing ability, finally being eliminated in 4th place. Kharizma shot the video for "Soul Suicide" with Lionell in September 2010. Lionell re-recorded the entire "Perfect Storm" album in Russian for release in the Russian market to combat his arch-rival Kirby L. Avalon on Kirby's home turf. The album and all of its singles were major #1 hits. The singles were "Soul Suicide", "Unmake My Promises" and "Molotov Cocktail". In 2012, Lionell recorded his sophomore album "Lionheart", recording so much material that he preceded the album's release with the mixtape "The King Has Returned". The mixtape was released in June, with the album following later in the year.

Personal Life

Lionell is close friends with Cassie Garcia of Moodring. His other friends include Danelle Becker, Cassie Fox, Bre Washington, L'Mondrea Brown and Jackson Bradshaw. Lionell's arch-rival is Kirby L. Avalon, having developed an intense dislike for each other over the Tango Challenge, when Lionell was eliminated and Kirby made the cut. Lionell and Kirby have both been romantically linked to Cassie, however it has never been proven that any romantic links exist between Lionell and Cassie. Nevertheless the close friendship has been a point of contention for gossip columnists who in recent times appear to have a vendetta against Kirby. One point of interest in the mud-slinging was how Kirby lied about his Russian heritage, and Lionell was accused of sharing this Russian heritage.

Lionell used to be the godfather of Sunkissed-Ryvita, baby daughter of ex-girlfriend Ginger; Lionell made the request close to the baby's birth to be named godfather prior to he and Ginger dating. In order to be a good father figure, Lionell invited Ginger and Sunny to live with him in his Los Angeles home. While shooting "The Dreidel Room", Lionell and Ginger entered into a relationship, but this proved to be a publicity stunt on Gingers part; in January of 2011, Ginger and Sunny moved out of Lionell's home after a highly publicised split with Ginger. Lionell would later reveal his true feelings on the issue on the song "Ginger Snaps" from his mixtape "The King Has Returned". It was revealed that part of the reason Lionell and Ginger split was due to a brief affair Lionell had with Becca Hayworth in 2010 before he and Ginger got together. Lionell's affair with Becca was brief, however she became pregnant with his baby. In early 2011, Becca miscarried what would have been their son.

On August 28th, 2012, it was revealed that Lionell was married to a Russian model, Svetlana Alexandrova. Lionell met Svetlana by chance in January 2012 and the two entered into a whirlwind romance including a wedding in February. Svetlana is 7 months pregnant; the couple are expecting their first child together, a boy, due in November.

Controversy

Due to his close relationship with Cassie Garcia, it had been rumoured that he is the father of Cassie's baby daughter, rather than Kirby, who was widely reported to be Cassie's boyfriend. Lionell has never personally addressed these rumours, preferring to let them perpetuate just to annoy Kirby. Less persistent rumours state that the entire rivalry is a sham, and Cassie is a beard for the two of them to cover up a gay relationship. These rumours have been emphatically denied by both parties. Lionell professes to be 100% straight, and is known to have had several girlfriends. He is not actually the father of Cassie's daughter.

In January, 2011, Lionell was involved in a hostage situation; his collaboration partner Becca Hayworth took label boss Esmeralda Dimuzio hostage, as well as four employees of the record label. Having just suffered from a miscarriage, Becca believed that she had been wrongfully treated with only a small amount of down-time allowed before she was expected to return to work to improve her album sales. Lionell attempted to intervene and calm Becca down, only to be taken as a sixth hostage and held at gunpoint. Lionell did not take well to the experience, due to overheard conversations between himself and friend Jackson Bradshaw. Lionell currently will only be near Becca when they are working, and otherwise is keeping his distance from his former duet partner. Ever since the events between himself and Becca, Lionell has been staunchly anti-gun and has gained attention for his vocal depreciation of gun violence.

In mid-September 2012, Lionell's arch-rival Kirby L. Avalon was found stabbed to death in his St. Petersburg home. Lionell was arrested as a prime suspect in his murder, having been in St. Petersburg at the time to shoot his music video for "Lzherusskie". Motive has been established for Lionell, and opportunity (due to Lionell being in the country) but means have not been established. Lionell himself has plead innocent of the crime and was released from 48-hour lock-up after prosecutors found insufficicent evidence to prove his guilt.

Discography

Albums

Album	Album details	Peak	Certification	Sales
The Perfect Storm	First studio album Released: May 2010 Label: Alias	#2	Diamond	1,151,112
Lionheart	Sophomore studio album Released: September 2012 Label: Blacklight	#1	Silver	166,837+

Singles

Year	Single	Peak	Album	Certification	Sales	Digital
2010	"Sabotage, Inc." (with Cassie Fox & Butterscotch)	#9	The Perfect Storm	Silver	133,790	21,500
	"Nothing Of Me"	#3		Silver	148,024	132,208
	"Soul Suicide"	#3		Silver	154,435	94,072
2011	"She's Screaming / Unmake My Promises" (with Becca Hayworth)	#4		Silver	155,518	48,998 (SS) 13,001 (UMP)
	"'The Boss' EP" (with Paulo Araujo)	#2		Silver	190,110	102,535
	"Chasing Ghosts"	#1 (US)		Double Platinum	N/A	2,683,529
	"Molotov Cocktail"	#1 (Russia)		Double Diamond	207,413	N/A
2012	"Lzherusskie"	#2	Lionheart	Silver	176,183+	101,617+
	"TBA"	TBR		TBR	TBR	TBR