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Taio Cruz

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Taio Cruz

Taio Cruz (pronounced Tie-oh Cruise;[1] born 23 April 1983)[2][3] is an English singer-songwriter, occasional rapper, and music producer.

In 2008, after years of writing and producing songs for other artists including Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Pussycat Dolls he released his debut album Departure which he arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a Brit award as well as a Mobo award nomination.In October 2009, he released his follow up album Rokstarr in the UK, which includes his UK and US number one single "Break Your Heart". In March 2010 he released "Break Your Heart" as his debut US single. In between the two albums and at present, Cruz has been working on productions and writing songs for Cheryl Cole, Kesha, Alexandra Burke, Brandy Norwood and the Sugababes.

Early life and establishment in music

Cruz was born Adetayo Ayowale Onilere in London, England, to a Nigerian father and a Brazilian mother. His earliest foray was under the tutelage of Music manager Zues Sherlock who mentored Taio, and introduced him to an assortment of A list US producers (Dallas Austin, Ryan Leslie etc) He is the founder and C.E.O. of Rokstarr Music London, which in 2006 released his debut single "I Just Wanna Know". Also in 2006, he signed a joint-venture partnership deal with UMusic Companies, Republic Records and Island Records.[4] In the UK, Cruz has worked with many artists including Omar, Tinchy Stryder, and Will Young.

Departure: (2008-2009)

Cruz Performing at Bush Hall in London on 19 March, 2008.

His album entitled Departure was released in the UK on 17 March 2008. The album was arranged and produced solely by Cruz and the majority of the writing credits also coming from Cruz. Following the success of his own singles, record label chief Simon Cowell approached Cruz to write and produce tracks for Alexandra Burke, Leona Lewis and Shayne Ward.[5] In Autumn 2008, Cruz was sent to Philadelphia to work with US producer Jim Beanz on new music for Britney Spears, Brandy and Justin Timberlake. He was also asked to write for Anastacia and the Sugababes' next albums.[6] At the 2008 MOBO Awards he was nominated for best single for the song "She's Like a Star" and performed the single alongside the Sugababes who feature on the official remix of the song.

Rokstarr: (2009-present)

Cruz was featured on Tinchy Stryder's breakout single "Take Me Back" which peaked at number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. According to Cruz's official MySpace blog, as of the 1st January 2009 Rokstarr Music London officially changed its name to Rokstarr Entertainment Division and abbreviated to R.E.D Inc.

Since then he has been working on his follow up album originally titled T.W.O. (This Way Out) but later changed to Rokstarr.[7] It was released on 12 October 2009 through R.E.D Inc and mainly co-written and produced with UK producer Fraser T Smith. The album's lead single "Break Your Heart" was released on September 14, 2009 and reached number 1 in the UK where it stayed for 3 weeks. The single spent 6 weeks in the top 10. Cruz has worked on Tinchy Stryder and Cheryl Cole's albums and is currently working on Sugababes's new album Sweet 7. He has also contributed to JLS's self-titled album.[8]

Rokstarr (brand)

File:TaioCruzBreakYourHeart.jpg
A screen-shot of Cruz on a boat in the music video for "Break Your Heart" alluding to his new album and new brand "Rokstarr" as shown on the front of the boat and the sunglasses worn throughout.

On September 1, 2009, the brand Rokstarr, which is closely associated with Cruz, launched. The fashion and accessories brand has a focus on sunglasses. Musicians such as Fightstar, Shontelle, Keri Hilson and Kelly Rowland all have been seen wearing a pair. Speaking in October 2009 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."[9]

Producing

Taio Cruz has produced songs for many artists such as Sugababes, Cheryl Cole, Tinchy Stryder, Kesha, JLS, Kylie Minogue, and McFly, and has also produced hits for himself such as 2008's "Come On Girl" featuring Luciana.[citation needed]

Discography

Main article: Taio Cruz discography

References

  1. ^ "BREAK YOUR HEART". ASCAP. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  2. ^ [1] Ascap.com. Retrieved 2009-21-12.
  3. ^ England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916-2005 Ancestry.com. Retrieved 2009-12-07. Entry states 1980 as birth year.
  4. ^ ": Taio Cruz :... Bio". Taiocruzmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  5. ^ Post to:. "Simon Cowell reckons Leona Lewis' producer Taio Cruz is the next Mark Ronson - mirror.co.uk". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-08-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  6. ^ "The X Factor - Taio Cruz: Talent Shows Make Record Labels Lazy". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  7. ^ "Amazon:New Release - UK Forthcoming Albums". AMAZON. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  8. ^ ": Taio Cruz :... News". Taiocruzmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  9. ^ "Rokstarr In The Making - Pete Lewis Interviews Taio Cruz". Blues & Soul. 2009-10-02. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
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