Newly signed to Mercury Records in the U.S., Taio Cruz is established as a major UK artist with two Top 20 albums and a string of top-charted hits that culminated in the #1 “Break Your Heart.” It was the lead single from Taio’s second album, Rokstarr, released late-2009 in the UK. Mercury Records has announced a May 18 release date for the U.S. release of Rokstarr, which will differ from the U.K. album.
In less than two years, Taio Cruz has become the go-to producer and songwriter for an A-list of American and UK performers. In the wake of success of his debut album Departure (2008), which spun off a quintet of UK chart hits (“I Just Wanna Know,” “Moving On,” “Come On Girl,” “I Can Be,” “She’s Like a Star”), Taio was tapped to work in the studio with X Factor champs Alexandra Burke, Leona Lewis, and Shayne Ward. Sessions followed in Philadelphia with Britney Spears, Brandy, and Justin Timberlake. The year climaxed at the MOBO Awards with a Best Single nomination for “She’s Like a Star,” which Taio performed with Sugababes.
With the completion of Rokstarr in 2009, overlapping the success of “Break Your Heart,” Taio kept himself busy writing and producing for Cheryl Cole’s double-platinum UK debut album 3 Words. Taio also scored his second #1 UK single as writer of the Tinchy Stryder/Amelle smash “Never Leave You”; Taio previously wrote and performed on Tinchy’s Top 3 hit “Take Me Back.”
In addition to writing and producing, 25-year old Taio Cruz is an accomplished multi-instrumental musician. The son of a Nigerian father and Brazilian mother, Taio is the founder and CEO of his own Rokstarr Entertainment Division (R.E.D.), formerly known as Rokstarr Music London, established in 2006.
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