Taio Cruz Biography

Taio Cruz was born on April 23, 1985 with the name Jacob Taio Cruz. He went to a school in rural Sussex and developed a love for the Eighties pop/dance of Madonna and Michael Jackson. In music classes, he chose to spend his time, playing the piano. Recording his first demos as a teenager, Cruz began taking his songs and productions more seriously during his college years - resulting in him prestigiously signing a U.S. publishing deal at just 18 years old.

He formed a record label called Rokstarr Music in London and released a single called "I Just Wanna Know" in 2006 when he was just 21 years old. In the same year, his talent was recognized by people in several major labels and he signed joint-venture partnership deal with Universal Music Group Companies, US-based Republic Records and the UK branch of Island Records.

Dubbed as "a toss-up between Babyface, Justin Timberlake and John Legend", the British singer/songwriter began working on his debut album soon after the deal was sealed. In between his hectic schedule to get the album done, he was sent to the U.S. to work on new music for Britney Spears, Brandy and Justin Timberlake. He released his first effort "Departure" in 2008, the same year he was nominated for Best UK Male at MOBO Awards.

While already busy juggling his time in writing songs for other artists and making his own, he opted to try his hands at fashion business. He launched a fashion label called Rokstarr, which focused on sunglasses, in 2009. Such stars as Shontelle, Keri Hilson and Kelly Rowland have been seen wearing his brand.

He dropped another effort, again titled "Rokstarr" on May 18, 2010. The lead single "Break Your Heart" ruled Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in a row, becoming his first chart-topping single in the United States. The song was also nominated as Best British Single at 2010 BRIT Awards.

"We chose it as the single because I thought it sounded like a really catchy song that people would enjoy listening to - or the shortened version of that is, we thought it would be a HIT! And the meaning behind the song obviously is quite self-explanatory," he said.