Taio Cruz

Biography

Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere (; born 23 April 1980), known professionally as Jacob Taio Cruz ( TY-oh), is a British singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer.
Cruz was discovered in the mid-2000s by American record producer Tricky Stewart, joining the latter's record company RedZone Entertainment as in-house talent. After several years in songwriting, he released his R&B-styled debut single "I Just Wanna Know×I Just Wanna Know1 January 2006 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1I Just Wanna Know (radio edit)3:33" in 2006. A modest hit and his first UK singles chart entry, its success led him to sign with Republic Records and Island Records' UK branch. The labels released his debut studio album, Departure×Departure1 January 2008 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1I'll Never Love Again3:492I Just Wanna Know3:583I Can Be3:454I Don't Wanna Fall In Love3:225So Cold3:276Fly Away4:037Driving Me Crazy3:168Moving On3:519Come On Girl [Explicit Radio Edit]3:3410Never Gonna Get Us3:5211She's Like A Star3:3912Can't Say Go3:2313Your Game (iTunes Exclusive Bonus Track)3:39 (2008), which he solely wrote, arranged and produced. It received gold certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and earned critical praise, as well as a nomination at the 2009 Music of Black Origin Awards (MOBO).
Cruz adopted an EDM-pop sound for his subsequent releases. His second album, Rokstarr×Rokstarr12 October 2009 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Break Your Heart3:232Dirty Picture3:413No Other One3:384Forever Love4:145Take Me Back3:356Best Girl4:107I’ll Never Love Again3:508Only You3:459Falling in Love3:3310Keep Going3:3011Feel Again3:4212The 11th Hour3:37 (2009), was met with further commercial success, entering 13 international music charts and peaking within the top ten of the Billboard 200. Despite mixed critical response, it was preceded by the single "Break Your Heart×Break Your Heart1 January 2009 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Break Your Heart3:23", which peaked atop both the UK singles chart and Billboard Hot 100, and spawned the single "Dynamite×Dynamite30 July 2010 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Dynamite3:242Dynamite (Mixin Marc club remix)5:34", which peaked at atop the former chart and peaked at number two on the latter. Two further singles, "Dirty Picture" (with Kesha) and "Higher" (featuring Kylie Minogue or Travie McCoy), peaked within the UK chart's top ten. Cruz performed the song "Telling the World×Telling the World8 April 2011 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Telling the World (From the Motion Picture Rio)3:332Telling the World (radio version)4:09" as the lead single for the 2011 animated film Rio's soundtrack. His third studio album, TY.O (2011), moderately entered several international charts, but failed to enter the UK Albums or the Billboard 200; it contained the UK hits "Hangover" (featuring Flo Rida) and "There She Goes" (featuring Pitbull).
He has since released several non-album singles, and co-wrote several hit songs including Tinchy Stryder's "Never Leave You" (2009), Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Into You" (2011), David Guetta's "Without You", "Wish U Were Here" by Cody Simpson (both 2012), and "Kiss Me" by Olly Murs (2014).

Early life and career

Cruz was born as Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere on 23 April 1980 in London to a Nigerian Yoruba lawyer father and a Brazilian mother who had a hairdressing business. He was raised in Kensal Rise. He was educated at fee-paying independent schools, attending Bilton Grange preparatory school in Warwickshire and Battle Abbey School in East Sussex, before relocating to London where he went to Stanmore College.
Cruz's songwriting career began as part of Tricky Stewart's writing collective, RedZone Entertainment and achieved notability in 2005 when he was awarded a Brit Award for co-writing Will Young's 2004 single, "Your Game".
Cruz is the founder and chief executive of Rockstar Music London, which in 2006 released his debut single "I Just Wanna Know×I Just Wanna Know1 January 2006 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1I Just Wanna Know (radio edit)3:33". The single charted at #29 in the UK singles charts. It won him some admirers including Island Records's Darcus Beese and Monte Lipman, who, according to manager Binns, "both believed 'I Just Wanna Know' fitted the format on both sides of the Atlantic". In 2006, Cruz signed a split single deal with Universal Music Group companies, Republic Records and the UK branch of Island Records.

2007–08: Departure

In September 2007, Cruz released his second single "Moving On×Moving On10 September 2007 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Moving On (radio edit)3:162Moving On (Spencer & Hill remix)5:473Moving On (Kardinal Beats remix)3:504Moving On (P*NUT remix)4:18", which made the top 30 in the UK. In March 2008 his next single, "Come On Girl×Come On Girl3 March 2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Come On Girl (radio edit)3:242Can’t Say Go3:263Come On Girl (Wideboys remix) (radio edit)3:154Come On Girl (Delinquent remix)5:08", featuring Luciana, peaked at No. 5 on the UK charts. The related album Departure×Departure1 January 2008 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1I'll Never Love Again3:492I Just Wanna Know3:583I Can Be3:454I Don't Wanna Fall In Love3:225So Cold3:276Fly Away4:037Driving Me Crazy3:168Moving On3:519Come On Girl [Explicit Radio Edit]3:3410Never Gonna Get Us3:5211She's Like A Star3:3912Can't Say Go3:2313Your Game (iTunes Exclusive Bonus Track)3:39 appeared on 17 March and peaked at No. 17. This was followed by the single "I Can Be×I Can Be2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1I Can Be2Disco Fever3I Can Be (Digital Dog club mix)4Moving On (Rokstarr remix)", 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 recorded by Rihanna and ended up topping charts around the world.

2009–2011: Rokstarr, international breakthrough and The Rokstarr Collection

Cruz was featured on Tinchy Stryder's breakout single "Take Me Back×Take Me Back29 December 2008 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Take Me Back (radio edit)3:152Take Me Back (remix)4:153Rollin'3:31" 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 changed its name to Rokstarr Entertainment Division, abbreviated to R.E.D Inc. During 2009, he worked on his follow-up album entitled Rokstarr×Rokstarr12 October 2009 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Break Your Heart3:232Dirty Picture3:413No Other One3:384Forever Love4:145Take Me Back3:356Best Girl4:107I’ll Never Love Again3:508Only You3:459Falling in Love3:3310Keep Going3:3011Feel Again3:4212The 11th Hour3:37. It was released on 12 October through R.E.D Inc./Island Records and is 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×Break Your Heart1 January 2009 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Break Your Heart3:23" was released on 14 September and reached number one in the UK, where it stayed for three weeks. In the US it went directly from number 53 to number one, breaking the record for the largest leap of a début single. At the 2010 Brit Awards, "Break Your Heart" was nominated for Best British Single. 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 United States on their label. 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.
The single reached the top spot in the United States for one week on the Billboard Hot 100. In an interview with The Guardian, it was stated that Cruz was "clever" to have hooked up with US rapper Ludacris on his breakthrough hit. In order to introduce Cruz into the U.S. market, David Massey had suggested that the single feature an American rapper with chart credibility. The album spawned two other UK singles, "No Other One×No Other One30 November 2009 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1No Other One3:392No Oher One (Ian Carey remix edit)3:34", and the top-ten hit "Dirty Picture" featuring American electropop singer Kesha. The album's fourth single (second in the United States) titled "Dynamite×Dynamite30 July 2010 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Dynamite3:242Dynamite (Mixin Marc club remix)5:34" debuted at 26 and peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. At the 2011 Brit Awards, "Dynamite" was nominated for Best British Single, and at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards the song won three Billboard Awards, including Top Hot 100 Song.
Rokstarr was followed by the compilation album The Rokstarr Collection×The Rokstarr Collection20 September 2010 · Album · CompilationSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Dynamite3:232Break Your Heart3:223Dirty Picture3:394Take Me Back3:275Come On Girl3:336Forever Love4:137She’s Like a Star3:398I Just Wanna Know3:599I’ll Never Love Again3:4910Falling in Love3:3211I Can Be3:4612Higher3:0813Moving On3:5214Feel Again3:3815Break Your Heart3:05 which includes songs both from Departure×Departure1 January 2008 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1I'll Never Love Again3:492I Just Wanna Know3:583I Can Be3:454I Don't Wanna Fall In Love3:225So Cold3:276Fly Away4:037Driving Me Crazy3:168Moving On3:519Come On Girl [Explicit Radio Edit]3:3410Never Gonna Get Us3:5211She's Like A Star3:3912Can't Say Go3:2313Your Game (iTunes Exclusive Bonus Track)3:39 and the international version of Rokstarr. Cruz later released four versions of his single "Higher"—one featuring Kylie Minogue, one featuring Travie McCoy, one featuring both, and one with just himself.
Cruz has also been featured on the soundtrack of American reality TV series Jersey Shore.

2011–12: TY.O

In March 2011, Cruz premiered an all-new song called "Telling the World×Telling the World8 April 2011 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Telling the World (From the Motion Picture Rio)3:332Telling the World (radio version)4:09", which was written by Cruz and Alan Kasirye for the Rio soundtrack. The track was not featured on any of Cruz's prior studio albums. On 23 May 2011, Cruz received his first Billboard Award in the United States. He announced onstage that his third album, entitled Black and Leather, would be released in the fourth quarter of 2011. In June 2011, Cruz released a collaborative single, "Little Bad Girl", with French DJ David Guetta and American rapper Ludacris. The song was a worldwide smash, topping singles charts across the world. During July and August 2011, a series of unreleased songs, recorded during the album sessions, were leaked to YouTube. in an interview, Cruz promised a "fun" and "energetic" album, and claimed that due to the leak, none of the tracks posted on YouTube would be included on the album. Cruz claimed, "It's a shame really, because one person has spoilt it for all the fans. They could have had an album packed with 17, 18 tracks, and now, they're only getting eleven because of one stupid act of tomfoolery." During the interview, Cruz also claimed that the title of the album had been changed to Troublemaker×Troublemaker1 January 2011 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Troublemaker3:402Troublemaker (DJ Wonder remix)4:273Troublemaker (Vato Gonzalez remix)5:044Troublemaker (JWLS remix)5:51, after one of the tracks included on the album. On 4 October 2011, the single "Hangover" was officially released in Germany and the US, and it was rumoured that a solo version of the song, that features on the physical release, would be included as a bonus track on the album. However, these rumours were later quashed.
Around October 2011, the album was made available for pre-order, and in turn, the album's final title, TY.O, was revealed. Cruz announced, via his Twitter account, that he made the decision to phonetically name the album TY.O in hopes that it would help people pronounce his name correctly. The album was first released in Germany on 2 December 2011. Originally slated for release in the US on 17 May 2012 it was rescheduled to 31 December 2012 to coincide with the UK release, along with new tracks, including the U.S. single "Fast Car×Fast Car7 August 2012 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Fast Car3:45".
Cruz was scheduled to co-headline Pitbull's Australian leg of Planet Pit World Tour in August 2012. On 12 August, Cruz performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The performance at London's Olympic Stadium saw Cruz sing his own song "Dynamite×Dynamite30 July 2010 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Dynamite3:242Dynamite (Mixin Marc club remix)5:34", and also perform "Written in the Stars" alongside Jessie J and Tinie Tempah.

2013–present: #Black, Roses Collection, and business ventures

In early 2013, Cruz recorded vocals over the song "Brazil" by electronic artist Deadmau5 and titled the remake "Touch the Sky".
In August 2013, Taio Cruz announced on his Facebook and Twitter account that he would be releasing a new app. It is called Kewe and is a social media app for Android and iOS, where people can interact and keep up with what Taio Cruz is doing. It was launched on 18 August 2013.
On 24 November 2013, Cruz announced his fourth studio album, #Black via his Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages.
On 21 June 2014, Cruz released a new track titled "Don't You Dare" produced by Dr. Luke for his upcoming #Black album.
On 27 April 2015, Cruz released his first single in two years. "Do What You Like×Do What You Like27 April 2015 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Do What You Like3:20", produced by Taio and the Grammy Award-winning production team, The Monsters & The Strangerz, was fully released on 24 July 2015 through a joint venture between the multinational Cruz owned venture capital company, Tourean and Kobalt Music Group. The "Do What You Like" full release features remixes by Bel Air, Billy Da Kid, KREAM and Zoo Station. "Do What You Like" is the first single from Cruz's Roses Collection. According to his biography, Cruz will henceforth release collections of singles; rejecting the outdated album format. Cruz called this particular collection Roses, "because every rose is unique". Roses will consist of around ten tracks, each with its own lifecycle.
On 4 December 2015, Tujamo re-released his song "Booty Bounce×Booty Bounce4 December 2015 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Booty Bounce3:152Booty Bounce (extended mix)4:01", featuring vocals from Cruz.
On 10 November 2017, Cruz released his first song in two years, titled "Row the Body×Row the Body10 November 2017 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Row the Body3:57", via Warner Bros. Records. The single features rapper French Montana.
On 6 September 2019, Cruz released "Time For You×Time For You6 September 2019 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Time For You3:19", which features Wonder Stereo.

Writing and production

Cruz has written songs on albums by Cheryl, JLS, The Saturdays, The Wanted and David Guetta. Cruz wrote and featured on Tinchy Stryder's hit single "Take Me Back×Take Me Back29 December 2008 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Take Me Back (radio edit)3:152Take Me Back (remix)4:153Rollin'3:31". Pop rock band McFly recorded "Shine a Light×Shine a Light7 November 2010 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Shine a Light3:392Dynamite (live)3:573I'll Be Your Man (acoustic)4:574End of the World (acoustic)3:36" which not only features, but was also penned and produced by Cruz for their fifth studio album. Cruz also penned Jennifer Lopez's 2011 single "I'm Into You", featuring Lil Wayne. He also contributed significantly to David Guetta's fifth album Nothing but the Beat, penning two of his hit singles "Without You", featuring Usher and "Little Bad Girl", featuring Cruz and Ludacris. He also wrote "Mechanics of the Heart" for Cheryl's album A Million Lights. In 2025, he co-wrote "Dopamine", the lead single for Robyn's Sexistential album.

RXTR/Rokstarr brand

On 1 September 2009, Cruz launched the brand Rokstarr, a fashion and accessories brand which had a focus on sunglasses. Speaking in October to R&B writer Pete Lewis, Cruz promoted his brand: "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×Rokstarr12 October 2009 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Break Your Heart3:232Dirty Picture3:413No Other One3:384Forever Love4:145Take Me Back3:356Best Girl4:107I’ll Never Love Again3:508Only You3:459Falling in Love3:3310Keep Going3:3011Feel Again3:4212The 11th Hour3:37' and the fashion brand that are my two main focuses at the moment."
Meanwhile, speaking again to Lewis in April 2010, Cruz gave his brand more free publicity: "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."
In 2012 the brand was renamed to RXTR, a backronym for Riots and Twelve Rebels. The new name came along with new products, watches, which were immediately stocked at Selfridges on Oxford Street in London.
As of 2015, the RXTR website redirects to Cruz's artist website.

Philanthropy

Cruz filmed a public service announcement with Little Kids Rock, a national nonprofit that works to restore and revitalize music education in disadvantaged U.S. public schools.

Writer discography

Nitin Sawhney, "Rainfall"
Tinchy Stryder, "Never Leave You"
Tinchy Stryder, "Take Me Back×Take Me Back29 December 2008 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Take Me Back (radio edit)3:152Take Me Back (remix)4:153Rollin'3:31" (with Stryder)
Tinchy Stryder, "Second Chance" (with Stryder)
McFly, "Shine a Light×Shine a Light7 November 2010 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Shine a Light3:392Dynamite (live)3:573I'll Be Your Man (acoustic)4:574End of the World (acoustic)3:36"
Nightcrawlers, "Cryin' Over You" (with Nightcrawlers)
David Guetta, "Little Bad Girl" (with Guetta & Ludacris)
David Guetta, "Without You" (featuring Usher)
Jennifer Lopez, "I'm Into You" (featuring Lil Wayne)
Will Young, "Your Game" (Credited as Tayo Onile-Ere)
The Wanted, "Made"
Cheryl Cole, "Stand Up"
Cheryl Cole, "Mechanics of the Heart"
Cody Simpson, "Wish U Were Here"
Keshia Chanté, "Set U Free"
Nick Jonas, "I Want You"
Olly Murs, "Kiss Me"
Robyn, "Dopamine"