KISSES for Breakfast was a top-10 hit in the United Kingdom three months ago for singer Melissa Steel and dancehall artiste Popcaan. In 2011, Lea-Anna Gallimore, who wrote the song, also enjoyed some success with her version.

In an interview last week with the Sunday Observer, Gallimore, whose parents are Jamaican, says she was not surprised that the Steel/Popcaan cover took off.

“Ever since I wrote the song in 2011 people loved it. I had great radio success with it back then and it’s great to see that in 2014 it’s still a hit. Kisses for Breakfast will always be the song that made people ask the question, ‘who is Lea-Anna?’, she explained.

Born in South London, Gallimore lived in Jamaica for several years. She recalled her initial meeting with Steel, whose father is Jamaican.

“I had met Melissa once before when I performed Kisses for Breakfast at Maida Vale, then some years later her record label made contact (with Gallimore) saying they were interested in using the song for her first single,” she said. “It had already been an underground hit for me at radio so I was quite pleased that a mainstream artiste picked up this great song and made it the big hit it was and deserved to be.”

Kisses for Breakfast is not Gallimore’s first brush with a dancehall artiste.

“I have done collaborations with Ce’Cile and Timberlee as well as backing vocals when I was younger for artistes such as Queen Ifrica, Richie Spice and Stylo G,” she said.

The 22-year-old Gallimore says she was born into music.

“My mum was a lover’s rock singer and my dad a radio DJ. I always loved anything music-related. Growing up, I would enter talent shows and perform with my school choir. When my mum realised I could actually sing, she started introducing me to producers and people in the industry that she knew. From the age of 12, I was in the studio every day writing and recording, and that’s kind of been my life ever since,” she explained.

She has worked with a number of producers. Among them Wundah (the man behind Kisses for Breakfast); Michael Angelo (who has worked with soul singer Sam Smith, KZ (who has worked with Krishane Levy), Dwayne ‘Supa Dups’ Chin-Quee and Will Simms (known for his work with Sean Kingston).