Taio Cruz
Taio Cruz |
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Taio Cruz (born Jacob Taio Cruz on 23 April 1983) is an English singer-songwriter, record producer, occasional rapper, entrepreneur, and alter-ego of Wayne Brady.[1] In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which Cruz wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a MOBO Award nomination. In June 2010, Cruz released his follow-up album Rokstarr, which includes the number one singles "Break Your Heart" and "Dynamite". In November 2010, Cruz collaborated with Kylie Minogue and Travie McCoy on his single "Higher". Additionally, Cruz penned and recorded the song "Telling the World" as the lead single from the soundtrack to the 2011 animated film Rio.
Early life
Cruz was born in London, to a Nigerian father and a Brazilian mother.[1] He attended Christ's Hospital, a boarding school in West Sussex.[2][3]
Music career
Career beginnings
Cruz began writing songs when he was 12. His songwriting career began at age 19 as part of Tricky Stewart's writing collective, RedZone Entertainment.[4] Cruz achieved notability in 2005 when he was awarded a BRIT Award for co-writing Will Young's 2004 single, "Your Game".[5]
Cruz is the founder and chief executive of Rokstarr Music London, which in 2006 released his debut single "I Just Wanna Know". The single attracted significant attention from radio, and also from music industry insiders, who were already well aware of the artist's potential; manager Jamie Binns, who began representing Cruz at this time, later told HitQuarters: "He was a guy that everyone had earmarked to do damage in the future."[6] Although the single received a reasonable amount of radio airplay, it did not perform as well as expected in either territory.[6] However, rather than lose faith in Cruz, the labels were eager to negotiate an album deal, as by this time they had listened to his other songs and were ever more convinced by his capability.[6]
Cruz's admirers included Island Records's Darcus Beese and Universal Republic's Monte Lipman, whom, according to Binns: "Both believed 'I Just Wanna Know' fitted the format on both sides of the Atlantic."[6] In 2006, Cruz signed a split single deal with Universal Music Group companies, Republic Records and the UK branch of Island Records.
Departure (2006–2008)
Taio Cruz released his second single "Moving On" in September 2007 which made the top 30 in the UK. In March 2008 his next single, "Come On Girl," featuring Luciana, peaked at No. 5 on the UK charts. The related album Departure appeared on 17 March and peaked at No. 17.[7][8] This was followed by the single "I Can Be," which reached No. 18 in May. On 18 August, "She's Like a Star" was released, which was a remix of the previous single and featured American rapper Busta Rhymes and girl-group Sugababes. The remix later appeared on the Sugababes studio album Catfights & Spotlights, which peaked at No. 20. It was later revealed that Cruz narrowly missed out on the chance to record the song "Umbrella" which was eventually recorded by Rihanna and ended up topping charts around the world.[4]
Rokstarr and International breakthrough (2009)
Cruz was featured on Tinchy Stryder's breakout single "Take Me Back" which peaked at No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. According to Cruz's official Myspace blog, as of 1 January 2009, Rokstarr Music London officially changed its name to Rokstarr Entertainment Division and abbreviated to R.E.D Inc. [citation needed]
During 2009, he worked on his follow-up album which was originally titled T.W.O. (This Way Out) but later changed to Rokstarr.[9] It was released on 12 October through R.E.D Inc/Island Records and is entirely written and produced by Cruz, with co-writes and co-productions predominantly with UK producer Fraser T Smith. The album's lead single "Break Your Heart" was released on 14 September and reached number one in the UK, where it stayed for three weeks.[7] The success of the song attracted the attention of David Massey and Daniel Werner from Mercury/Island Def Jam who were excited and aggressive about releasing "Break Your Heart" in the US on their label.[6] According to Cruz's manager Jamie Binns, the relationship with Monte Lipman at Universal Republic had "gone a bit quiet" by this point and as Taio wanted to be with the label that was most enthusiastic about his music, a move from Universal Republic to Mercury/Island Def Jam was engineered.[6]
The single reached the top spot in the US for one week on the Billboard charts.[10] In an interview for The Guardian it was stated that "Cruz was clever to have hooked up with a US rapper Ludacris on his breakthrough hit".[11] In order to introduce Cruz into the US market, David Massey had suggested that the single feature an American rapper with chart credibility.[6] The album spawned two other UK singles, "No Other One", and the top-ten hit "Dirty Picture" featuring American electropop singer Kesha. The album's fourth single (second in the US) titled "Dynamite" debuted at 26 [10] and despite peaking at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Dynamite" peaked at number 1 on US top 40 earning Cruz his second US number 1 record.
The Rokstarr Collection
Rokstarr was followed by the compilation album The Rokstarr Collection which includes songs both from Departure and the international version of Rokstarr.[12] Cruz later released three versions of his single "Higher" - one featuring Kylie Minogue, one featuring Travie McCoy and with just himself.
Cruz has also been featured on the soundtrack of American reality TV series Jersey Shore.[13]
Cruz is the main featured artist on David Guetta's 2011 single 'Little Bad Girl' which also features US rapper Ludacris.
Upcoming Third Album
On 13 January 2011, Cruz used social networking website Twitter to tells fans that his upcoming third album would be titled Black and Leather.[citation needed] Three days later, Cruz tweeted ""My new album is gonna give my fans orgasms and slap the shit out of my haters!"[citation needed] In June 2011, a music video for the song "Trouble Maker" was put into production, directed by Martin Weisz.[14] It is expected to be unveiled in July 2011 as the lead single from Black and Leather.[citation needed]
Other ventures
Writing and producing
Cruz has written songs on albums by Cheryl Cole, JLS, The Saturdays, The Wanted and David Guetta. Cruz wrote and featured on Tinchy Stryder's hit single "Take Me Back". Boyband McFly recorded "Shine a Light" which not only features, but was also was penned and produced by Cruz for their fifth studio album.[15] 2011 will see him writing for Justin Bieber's next album.[16] Jennifer Lopez's 2011 single "I'm Into You", featuring Lil Wayne, is also penned by Cruz. On 13 April 2011, Cruz confirmed that he had written and contributed vocals to a Guetta track called "Little Bad Girl" which is the second single from Guetta's fifth album, Nothing But the Beat.
Rokstarr brand
On 1 September 2009, Cruz launched the brand Rokstarr; the fashion and accessories brand has a focus on sunglasses. Musicians such as Kanye West, Shontelle, Keri Hilson and Kelly Rowland have been seen wearing them. Speaking in October to R&B writer Pete Lewis, Cruz stated: "There's a load of US celebrities that are all rocking the sunglasses already – Kid Cudi, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West... Then in the UK we have The Saturdays, JLS, Daniel Merriweather – who've all been twittering and writing on their blogs how much they love them. So yeah, it's definitely my new album 'Rokstarr' and the fashion brand that are my two main focuses at the moment."[17]
Meanwhile, speaking again to Lewis in April 2010, Cruz revealed: "We're currently looking to expand the brand and possibly go into things like watches. I've also got a new subsidiary of Rokstarr called 'Rok By Rokstarr'. And we've just started doing things like jeans and T-shirts, and stuff that more of the fans of Taio Cruz can buy. Because with Rokstarr in itself being so expensive, a lot of the kids out there who want to buy Rokstarr things can't. So we're bringing in stuff that's a little bit more High Street and more affordable."[18]
As Wayne Brady
It has been reported that Taio Cruz is the alter-ego of Wayne Brady. See Wayne Brady for a list of Wayne Brady's accomplishments.
Discography
- Departure (2008)
- Rokstarr (2009)
- Black and Leather (2011)
Awards and nominations
 | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (April 2011) |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | BRIT Awards | Best British Song (as a writer) | Your Game | Won |
| 2008 | MOBO Awards | Best UK Male | Nominated | |
| 2010 | American Music Awards | Breakthrough Artist | Nominated | |
| 2010 | BRIT Awards | Best British Song | Break Your Heart | Nominated |
| 2010 | iTunes Best Album & Song | Best Song | Dynamite | Nominated |
| 2010 | Ascap Vanguard Award | Recognition of Album | Departure | Won |
| 2011 | BRIT Awards | Best British Song | Dynamite | Nominated |
| 2011 | Virgin Media Awards[19] | Best Male | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Best Collaboration | Dirty Picture | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Best Video | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | Billboard Awards | Top New Artist | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Top Hot 100 Song | Dynamite | Won | |
| 2011 | Top Digital Song | Won | ||
| 2011 | Top Radio Song | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | Top Streaming Song | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | Top Pop Song | Won | ||
References
- ^ a b Birchmeier, Jason. "Taio Cruz > Biography". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 24 July 2010.
- ^ McCormick, Neil (24 March 2010). "Jay Sean and Taio Cruz wowing America". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- ^ "Belt up! Pupils vote to wear school uniform that's been in fashion since 1552". Daily Mail. London. 27 December 2010.
- ^ a b McCormick, Neil (27-03-2008). "Taio Cruz The Public School Soul Sensation". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30-07-2010.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ Taio Cruz - Artists - Island Records: Biography Island Records Retrieved 2010-15-10
- ^ a b c d e f g "Interview With Jamie Binns". HitQuarters. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Taio Cruz". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
- ^ Jones, Alan (25 March 2008). "Now That's What I Call Music! still has it". Music Week. United Business Media. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
- ^ "Amazon:New Release – UK Forthcoming Albums". AMAZON. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
- ^ a b "Taio Cruz > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Macrovision. Retrieved 21-04-2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Adesioye, Lola (01-04-2010). "Jay Sean and Taio Cruz Interview". London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 30-07-2010.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Text "work=The Guardian" ignored (help) - ^ "Taio Cruz – The Rokstarr Collection". play.com. Retrieved 30-07-2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Kaufman, Gil (28-07-2010). "Eminem Edges Out Rick Ross To Hold Billboard #1 For Fifth Week". MTV. MTV Networks (Viacom). Retrieved 30-07-2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ http://www.videostatic.com/vs/2011/06/in-production-taio-cruz-martin-weisz-dir.html
- ^ "McFly – Shine A Light: shit or hit?". 20-07-2010. Retrieved 30-07-2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ Vena, Jocelyn. [http "Taio Cruz Working On 'Young Pop' For Justin Bieber"].
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ "Rokstarr In The Making – Pete Lewis Interviews Taio Cruz". Blues & Soul. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
- ^ Lewis, Pete (May 2010). "Taio Cruz Comes Clean". Blues & Soul. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ "Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera Win Virgin Media Music Awards" MTV.com. Retrieved 3 June 2011.