Jacob Taio Cruz, better known professionally as Taio Cruz, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer from London, currently based in Los Angeles. In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which he wrote, arranged and produced. The album achieved certified gold status in the United Kingdom and earned him a Music of Black Origin Awards (MOBO) nomination.
Departure is the debut studio album by English singer and songwriter Taio Cruz. It was released on 17 March 2008. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 17.
"I Just Wanna Know" is the debut single written and produced by English singer and songwriter Taio Cruz. "I Just Wanna Know" was released as the lead single from Cruz's debut studio album Departure (2008). The single was released on 4 November 2006, via digital download, and two days later physically. It charted on the UK Singles Chart at #29. Despite having a lower peak position than his second single, "Moving On", "I Just Wanna Know" managed six weeks inside the UK top 75 compared to the four weeks "Moving On" charted for. The single is the only of Cruz's releases to be made available on two physical single formats. The B-side, "Backseat Love", features rapper Erick Sermon.
"Moving On" is a song written and produced by Taio Cruz, and was the second single taken from his debut studio album Departure (2008). "Moving On" became his second top thirty hit, peaking at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart, outpeaking his debut single by three places. It did not, however, spend as long inside the UK top 75 as previous single "I Just Wanna Know", which had a six-week chart run, in comparison to the four-week chart run for "Moving On".
"Come On Girl" is a song written and produced by Taio Cruz, featuring a guest vocal from singer Luciana. It is the third single from his debut studio album Departure (2008). It was his biggest hit to date, peaking at number five in the UK Singles Chart, outperforming both of his previous top 30 UK hits, until his 2009 hit "Break Your Heart", which peaked at number one. The single features the B-side "Can't Say Go", written and produced by Cruz himself.
"She's like a Star" is a song written, produced and performed by British singer and songwriter Taio Cruz. It was released on 18 August 2008 as the fifth single from his debut studio album Departure (2008). An R&B ballad, the lyrics of "She's like a Star" are about the theme of parenthood, an idea which inspired Cruz to compose the song. The song was remixed to feature vocals from English girl group Sugababes and American rapper K.R., and American rapper Busta Rhymes. It received generally mixed reviews from critics, who were ambivalent towards the composition. Upon release, it peaked at number twenty on the UK Singles Chart. The song's music video features Hollyoaks actress Roxanne McKee as Cruz's love interest. Cruz performed the song with the Sugababes at the 2008 MOBO Awards ceremony, and at Radio 1's Big Weekend 2011.
"Break Your Heart" is a song by British singer and songwriter Taio Cruz. The song serves as the lead single from his second studio album, Rokstarr (2009). It was written by Cruz and Fraser T Smith and produced by Smith. It was first released in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2009, followed by a release in the United States and other markets on 2 February 2010. The single version features US rapper Ludacris; that version was the single released in North American countries. The song, originally penned for Cheryl Cole, is an electropop song with dance-pop elements, accompanied by Cruz's vocals. The song is lyrically a warning to someone about being a heartbreaker.
"No Other One" is a single by Taio Cruz, the second single from his album, Rokstarr. It was released on November 30, 2009. The song peaked at #42 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the lowest charting single from the album.
"Dirty Picture" is a song by British R&B singer Taio Cruz, which features vocals from American singer Kesha and was released from his second studio album, Rokstarr (2009). The song was written and produced by Cruz alongside Fraser T Smith, and later released as the album's third single on 5 April 2010. Originally, Cruz wanted the female vocals to be done by Lady Gaga but opted to switch to Kesha due to heavy influence by Dr. Luke and for finding her voice unique. The song was later re-recorded as an album bonus track for Kesha's debut album, Animal (2010), and dubbed the "Kesha edit" or "Dirty Picture Pt. 2". Lyrically, the song is about sending a dirty picture to a significant other whom you miss.
"Dynamite" is a song by British singer and songwriter Taio Cruz from the revised version of his second studio album, Rokstarr (2010). Cruz co-wrote the song, along with Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Benny Blanco, and Dr. Luke; the latter two are also the producers. The song features additional instrumentation by Cruz himself. It was released internationally as the fourth single from Rokstarr. In the UK, the song was released as the first single from Cruz's compilation album, The Rokstarr Collection (2010). On 30 May 2010, it was released to US and Canadian radio stations as his second single and across Europe as his fourth single. An official remix was released featuring new label mate, Jennifer Lopez.
"Let the Sun Shine" is the debut single from English musician, Labrinth. It was produced and written by Labrinth and Da Digglar, and was released on 27 September 2010 on Simco Ltd and Sony Records. The single is available on iTunes as an extended-play, which also includes 4 remixes of the song.
"Shine a Light" is the second single from English band McFly's fifth studio album, Above the Noise. The single features vocals from singer Taio Cruz. The single was released on 7 November 2010 via digital download, with a physical release following the next day. A free download was available for members of the band's new website, SuperCity. The song received mostly positive reviews from pop music critics. On 3 November 2010, the song was added to BBC Radio 1's A-List. The song peaked the number 9 in UK Airplay Chart. McFly secured their fifteenth Top 5 hit with "Shine a Light" on the UK Singles Chart.
"Higher" is the fifth single from English singer-songwriter Taio Cruz's second studio album, Rokstarr. It was written and produced by Cruz and Sandy Vee, and was released on 26 November 2010. This song was originally written for Australian singer Kylie Minogue's album Aphrodite, but plans fell through. However, Cruz and Minogue recorded a version of the song for the European release, while American rapper Travie McCoy recorded guest raps for the American release. The Brazilian and United Kingdom versions have parts of McCoy's rap mixed into the Minogue version. The version on Cruz's albums feature a solo vocal by Cruz with no guest vocalist and an edited version of the solo version was added to Radio Disney's playlist.
"Telling the World" is a song by English recording artist Taio Cruz, released as the seventh overall single and first single from the second re-release of his second studio album, Rokstarr. The song also appears on his third album TY.O, and in the film Rio as the main theme for the film. The lyrics are sung in the perspective of Blu, the protagonist of the film. The song was released in the United Kingdom on March 20, 2011 via digital download, peaking at #138 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video was uploaded to YouTube on March 18, 2011.
"Little Bad Girl" is a single by French DJ David Guetta, featuring vocals from English recording artist Taio Cruz and American rapper Ludacris. It was released for digital download from 27 June 2011 by Virgin Records, serving as the second single from Guetta's latest studio album Nothing but the Beat. This song later appeared on Cruz's third album TY.O.
"Bounce" is a song by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris. The song features American singer Kelis and is a move away from Harris singing, concentrating more on production. It was released on 10 June 2011 as the first single from Harris's third studio album, 18 Months (2012).
"Hangover" is a song by English singer Taio Cruz from his third studio album, TY.O. Released on 4 October 2011 in United States, 18 October 2011 in Germany and 4 March 2012 in the United Kingdom, the song serves as the album's international lead single, and follows "Troublemaker" as the album's second British single. American rapper Flo Rida contributes guest vocals. Another alternate version of the song, titled "Takeover", was leaked online via NewJams.net.
TY.O is the third studio album by British record producer and recording artist Taio Cruz which features special guest appearances from Flo Rida, Pitbull, David Guetta and Ludacris. Taking a more electronic music sound than his previous releases, TY.O was released in December 2011 by Universal Island Records but for reasons unknown to Cruz, its British and American release were held off. Instead, a year after its original release, an extended play (EP) version of the album titled The Fast Hits was released in the UK on 16 December 2012.
"Troublemaker" is an electropop song by British singer-songwriter Taio Cruz, released as the second single from his third studio album, TY.O. It was released in Germany on 9 December 2011 before being released in the United Kingdom as the album's lead single on 1 January 2012. The song was written and produced by Cruz, Steve Angello, Rami Yacoub and Carl Falk. Cruz performed the song on The Voice of Germany on 27 January 2012.
"There She Goes" is a song by English singer-songwriter Taio Cruz from his third studio album, TY.O. The track was released physically and digitally as the album's third single on 20 April 2012 in Germany. The song features vocals from American rapper, pop singer-songwriter and record producer Pitbull. The track was later selected to be released as the album's third single in the United Kingdom, being released on 25 June 2012. However, the British release of the track does not feature Pitbull. The track peaked at #12 on the UK Singles Chart.
