Jamelia has opened up on how her daughter was the catalyst in her moving away from her overtly Sєxy outfits and music videos, after realising she didn’t want to influence young girls to be Sєxual.

The R&B singer, 44, recalled how her management had pushed to her to adopt a ‘hyperSєxualised persona’, as it was seen as the norm for black women in the R&B industry.

Speaking to Paul C Brunson on his podcast We Need To Talk this week, she explained how she had been ‘subtly’ pressured into behaving more provocatively, such as wearing more revealing clothing, when she was around 22 years old.

Now the proud mother of four daughters, Jamelia revealed how seeing her second child, Tiani, now 19, copying her music video dance moves at four-years-old caused her to realise she didn’t want to influence her young fans to be Sєxual to emulate her.

She explained: ‘There’s this idea that if you’re an R&B singer, a black woman, you need to have this hyperSєxualised persona. And I was fighting against that so much. I definitely fell into that at first and I loved the attention.

‘If you look at pictures at the beginning of my career I was in trainers and baggy trousers, like Aaliyah, that was my vibe.’

Jamelia has opened up on how her daughter was the catalyst in her moving away from her overtly Sєxy outfits and music videos (pictured with her four daughters last year)

The R&B singer, 44, recalled how her management had pushed to her to adopt a ‘hyperSєxualised persona’, as it was seen as the norm for black women in the R&B industry (pictured in 2004)

Speaking on Paul C Brunson’s We Need To Talk podcast (pictured), she explained how she had been ‘subtly’ pressured into behaving more provocatively, like wearing revealing clothing

The MOBO winner admitted that she was flattered by the attention at first, saying: ‘For me at that age, like 22, 23, to be seen as Sєxy, was like “Oh my gosh, me?”

‘So I definitely fell into it and lapped it up. So when they suggested shorter skirts, and I mean like really short, I was on Top of the Pops and my bottom was on Top of the Pops.’

Describing the turning point, Jamelia said: ‘But then having a daughter. When she’s a baby it doesn’t matter, but when I has second daughter in 2005, seeing my then four-year-old copying my moves and copying my music videos and stuff like that, I was just like, no.  

‘And it wasn’t just because it was my daughter, it was this is everyone’s daughter. I remember going in and saying I don’t want to do that anymore, I don’t want to influence people’s daughters to be Sєxual. 

‘My child is four and there are other four-year-olds and little girls who are big fans of mine, why am I selling this to them? 

‘And then it became this thing that this is what R&B singers do, if you want to be in R&B this is what you do. And I was like no.’

Songwriter and television presenter Jamelia gave birth to her first daughter Teja, 23, in 2001 with her ex-partner Terry Wallen.

She later married Darren Byfield with whom she welcomed Tiani, 19, in 2005 before the couple divorced in 2009.

She revealed how seeing her second child copying her music video dance moves at four-years-old caused her to realise she didn’t want to influence her young fans to be Sєxual (pictured in 2004)

Jamelia welcomed her first daughter Teja, 23, in 2001 with ex Terry Wallen, Tiani, 19 with ex-husband Darren Byfield and True, seven, and Jream, two, with her second ex-husband – whose idenтιтy she has never revealed (pictured with three eldest while pregnant with Jream)

She welcomed her youngest two daughters True, seven, and two-year-old Jream with her third husband – whose idenтιтy she has never revealed – but he walked out on her during her last pregnancy in 2022.

The Superstar chart-topper has previously revealed how her children inspired her to switch up her look.

In 2017, Jamelia told MailOnline that she covers up more on red carpets and chose to sport her natural hair, because she wants to be the ‘best role model I can’ to her girls.

She said: ‘When I was younger, I was provocative in the way I dressed, because that was what I saw as being Sєxy.

‘I remember attending the Pride of Britain Awards with straightened hair in a short, blue dress showing plenty of leg and cleavage. But even though I had everything on show, I was hiding the real me.

‘Now, I’m much more comfortable being myself. As I’ve got older, I think Sєxy is about leaving something to the imagination. 

‘It has a lot to do with having daughters: my eldest is 16 this month, and I am conscious of how she sells herself. I want to be the best role model I can.’

She went on: ‘I am obsessed with my hair. I used to have ‘relaxing’ treatments to straighten it, but in April 2015 I did the ‘big chop’ and cut off my chemically treated hair to go natural.

In 2017, Jamelia told MailOnline that she covers up more on red carpets and chose to sport her natural hair, because she wants to be the ‘best role model I can’ to her girls (pictured in 2021)

‘It’s all because of my eldest, Teja. When she was 13, she said: “I’ve got three more years and then I can straighten my hair.”

I said: “No! Why would you do that?” And she replied: “When you are a woman, you have to have straight hair.” She had this idea that she couldn’t keep her beautiful, natural Afro.

‘She challenged me to name one well-known person with natural Afro hair and I couldn’t, which was embarrᴀssing because, at the time, I was on TV three times a week on Loose Women.

‘I made an immediate decision I was going to be the one to make the change, so others can follow.’

Elsewhere in her conversation with Paul, Jamelia got candid about how her own childhood had impacted the way she parents her daughters.

The hitmaker confessed: ‘One of the very unfortunate things about my childhood was getting to see other people be loved and not knowing how that felt.

‘I just want to know what like it feels to be like unconditionally loved by your parents’.

Detailing how motherhood had helped her, she said: ‘Being a parent was the beginning of me bouncing back.

Elsewhere in her conversation with Paul, Jamelia got candid about how her own childhood had impacted the way she parents her daughters

‘I give my children everything that I never got. And I don’t mean materialistically, I mean emotionally…they get apologies, they get explanations, they they get, you know, they they see me cry.

‘One thing my girls will never do is doubt whether or not they’re loved’.

Jamelia said that despite all the success she had with her music career and the money she’s made, ‘ it doesn’t make you happy’, and now defines success as ‘taking control of my well-being and my children’s well-being.’

The nine-time BRIT Award nominee admitted: ‘I don’t think I’ve ever felt successful until now.’