With his soaring ballads and catchy dance-pop numbers, Jason Derulo is a consistent hitmaker, racking up platinum hit after platinum hit since his debut in the 2000s. He shot to stardom while still in his teens and built his reputation as a prolific R&B and rap songwriter, composing tracks for artists ranging from Lil Wayne and Pitbull to Pleasure P. Derulo scored a surprise hit in 2009 when the Imogen Heap-sampling, Auto-Tuned reimagining of "Whatcha Say" off 2010's Jason Derulo soared to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. With albums like 2011's Future History and 2013's Tattoos, he was soon a mainstay on the chart's Top Ten, scoring with "In My Head," "Ridin' Solo," "Talk Dirty" (featuring 2 Chainz), and "Wiggle" (featuring Snoop Dogg). In 2015, he reached number four in the U.S. with Everything Is 4, featuring the enduring track "Want to Want Me." Almost a decade would pass before his next album, 2024's Nu King, which was filled with some of his career's biggest hits, such as 2017's "Swalla" with Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign and 2020's "Savage Love" with Jawsh 685. Born to Haitian parents in Miramar, Florida, Derulo started singing at an early age. He attended performing arts schools in Florida and took some early stabs at music composition, writing his first song at the age of eight. His writing skills began attracting attention, and by his teens, Derulo had begun composing tracks for artists like Lil Wayne, Pitbull, and Pleasure P. He also co-wrote "Bossy" for New Orleans-based rapper Birdman, and made a guest appearance on the song, highlighting his ability as a vocalist. After signing to Warner Bros. subsidiary Beluga Heights, Derulo began making the transition from behind-the-scenes songwriter to mainstream performer. His first hit arrived during the summer of 2009, when he wrapped a sample of Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" (a song made popular by its appearance in the second season finale of The O.C., as well as the Saturday Night Live sketch "Dear Sister") around a sleek modern soul beat. Titled "Whatcha Say," the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and cracked the Top Ten in other territories, including Canada, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K. A second single, "In My Head," peaked at number five in the U.S., and Derulo's full-length debut album arrived in early 2010. Future History followed in 2011, along with its hit single "Don't Wanna Go Home." At the start of 2012, he embarked on the Future History Tour, but broke one of his vertebrae during rehearsals. As a result of his neck injury, he canceled the entire tour. Recuperating and reflecting upon his injury, he announced details of his new album and released the single "The Other Side" in April 2013. Its follow-up, "Talk Dirty" featuring 2 Chainz, shot to number three on the pop chart during the summer of 2013, and the album Tattoos was released in September in most territories. The U.S. received a retooled version of the album in 2014 titled Talk Dirty. It featured several new tracks, including "Wiggle" with Snoop Dogg, which reached the Top Ten in the summer of 2014. With guest spots from Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and others, Everything Is 4 followed in 2015. The album featured "Want to Want Me" -- Derulo's sixth Top Ten pop hit -- and coincided with his new job as judge on the 12th season of So You Think You Can Dance. The following year, his biggest singles were compiled for Platinum Hits. Derulo returned in February 2017 with the multi-platinum song "Swalla," which featured guest appearances from Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign. Reaching the Top 30 of the U.S. Hot 100, the single was followed by more platinum anthems, such as "Tip Toe" with French Montana and "Goodbye" with David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, and Willy William. He also teamed with Maluma for "Colors," which was chosen as the FIFA 2018 World Cup Anthem. Additional international collaborations followed with a multitude of cross-genre acts like pop singer Ava Max ("Make Up"), country duo Florida Georgia Line ("Women"), K-pop acts LAY and NCT 127 ("Let's Shut Up & Dance"), reggaeton artist Farruko ("Mamacita"), and Chinese singer Tia Ray (on the official 2019 FIBA Basketball theme "Champion"). Derulo closed 2019 with the first installment of his proposed 2Sides project, Side 1, which featured appearances by Stefflon Don and Ty Dolla $ign. He also starred as Rum Tum Tugger in the film adaptation of Broadway's Cats. In 2020, Derulo parted ways with Warner Bros., which effectively canceled the 2Sides project. He carried on with the release of the U.K. chart-topping "Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat)" with New Zealand producer Jawsh 685. He also helped revive Puri and Jhorrmountain's club track "Coño" and teamed with Alok and Martin Jensen for "Don't Cry for Me." He later paired with New Caledonian producer Nuka for "Love Not War (The Tampa Beat)," and again cracked multiple Top Tens with the global smash "Take You Dancing." Even more singles followed in 2021, including "Lifestyle" featuring Adam Levine, "Acapulco," and surprise hit "Jalebi Baby" with Tesher. The next year, he issued plenty more, including "Ayo Girl (Fayahh Beat)," a collaboration with Robinson featuring Rema, and "Slidin'" with Kodak Black. Derulo kicked off 2023 with the David Guetta collaboration "Saturday/Sunday," followed throughout the year by "Glad U Came," "Slow Low," the Dido-sampling "When Love Sucks," and the Meghan Trainor-assisted "Hands on Me." After almost a decade, he finally released his fifth studio full-length, Nu King, a 27-track behemoth that collected most of his platinum hits from the years between albums and featured a festival's worth of collaborative guests. ~ Jason Thurston, Rovi

SZIN Festival 2020

Jason Derulo

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