Leondre Devries is a British rapper known as one half of the duo, Bars and Melody. He hits under the nickname bars while his second, Charlie Lenehan, sings as Melody. The duo rose to prominence after coming third on British reality television series Got Talent. They are signed to Simon Cowell’s label Syco and released their debut single Optimist in July 2014. It was followed by studio album 143 which charted at number 4 in the UK. They have since released an EP and two other albums.
Biography of Leondre Devries
The British national was born on October 6, 2000, in Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot, United Kingdom. Named Leondre Antonio Devires, he was born under the star sign of Libra. He is the fourth of five children. three older brothers, Ben, Jacob and Joseph (Joey), and a younger sister, Matilda (Tilly), born to her parents Antonio and Victoria. Two of his siblings, Joseph and Mathilde are also singers.
Growing up, he had to live through bullying for four years, which caused him to change schools. Leondre Devries attended Glan Afan Comprehensive School. Before Bars and Melody, he hit under the nickname Little Dre. Devries wants to raise awareness about bullying and thus bases each of his songs on his personal life and experience. He has yet to reveal where he aspired from for singing, but one can easily assume that the talent runs in the family, judging by his other siblings.
He was visiting Facebook one day in September 2013 when he came across one of Charlie Lenehan’s videos. Leondre Devries was immediately captivated and wanted to meet the talent in real life. They finally met and instantly shared their love for music and decided to form the duo, Bars and Melody. He provides the raps for the band in the form of bars while Charlie sings under the nickname Melody. However, they didn’t just form a band but auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent in February 2014.
They performed a rendition of Hope by Twista and won a Golden Ringer from Simon Cowell, sending them straight to the semi-finals. For their semi-final performance, the duo performed Faith Evans and Puff Daddy’s I’m Gonna Miss You. They eventually finished in third place and in turn landed a £500,000 music deal with Cowell’s label Syco in June 2014. With this label they released their debut single, Optimist the following month. It charted at number 5 in the UK, number 56 in Ireland and number 6 in Scotland. They appeared on TV shows, Bonjour la bretagne and Ce matin to promote their project. They were also on theEllen DeGeneres Show
Bars and Melody followed with their debut studio album, 143 in August 2015. The album peaked at number four in the UK and spawned new songs, including the singles Stay Strong and Keep Smiling, the two also released mapped. They released their EP, Teenage Mind, a five-track project in 2016 and two more albums, Blankets and Generation Z in 2017. Bars and Melody have appeared in the UK, US, Japan, Europe and in Australia.
Outside of the band, Leondre Devries was also a presenter of the UK TV series Friday Download. He also likes karting, paintball and bowling.
The British rapper’s family life
As mentioned earlier, Leondre Devries was the fourth oldest child in a family of seven. He grew up alongside his three older brothers and his younger sister. His father, Antonio Devries, is a stonemason as well as a promoter and helped promote the group’s business. His mother Victoria Lee, on the other hand, is a personal trainer.
Joey is also a singer and was part of the boy band Generation Overload who competed on the eleventh series of The X Factor. His sister, Mathilde, is also a singer and is part of the duo, Papa dit, which is also produced by their father. His father threatened a lawsuit against the band in March 2016, claiming he wrote the song, Optimist
Until UK Got Talent, Leondre Devries lived with his father but went to live with his mother after he became famous.
Melody was born on October 27, 1998 in Frampton Cotterell, South Gloucestershire, but lives in Cologne, Germany. His family consists of his mother, Karen James, a cook, his stepfather, a businessman, and his younger sister, Brooke.
On the dating front, he has been with Carla Brocker and was in a relationship with one Eloise Lindsay.
Net value
The 5ft 9in tall rapper has come a long way in his career. In 2017, his net worth was already in the millions. It was estimated at $3 million and has reportedly seen an increase since then.