Taio Cruz, the 23 year-old writer/producer/artist who has cut a swathe through the upper reaches of the American music industry with Dallas Austin singling him out as “the new Babyface”, has his new single “Come On Girl” released on March 3rd through Universal Records.Signed to Universal in the UK and the legendary Motown Records in the US in a unique joint venture, Taio has spent the last few years writing and recording in the US with the likes of Tricky Stewart, the man behind Rihanna’s “Umbrella”. In fact the song was originally earmarked for Taio to perform, that was until a certain Jay-Z heard it, offered it to Rhianna and the rest as they say …. Taio’s transatlantic work continues with the London wunderkind currently in the studio writing & producing with Esseme, the first signing to Justin Timberlake’s new label. Taio was also chosen to write and produce the debut single, “Let Me See Dat”, for exciting new Island / Def Jam US artist Vawn as well as several additional tracks for Vawn’s forthcoming album. Taio’s in demand production technique can also be found on Mark Ronson protégé Daniel Merriweather’s eagerly awaited debut album. And if that wasn’t enough he has also just emerged from the studio where he has been producing a couple of re-rubs for the clubs of his twin 2007 smashes “I Just Wanna Know” and “Moving On”. “Come On Girl” is taken from Taio’s eagerly awaited debut album “Departure”, on which this multi-talented, multi-faceted young artist has written, arranged, performed and produced pretty much every piece of music and every lyric for this wonderfully diverse collection. From Carole King to Timbaland, and Pharrell Williams to Smokey Robinson, there’s a great tradition of r’n’b songwriters and producers stepping out of the shadows to become stars in their own right. Taio Cruz looks set to be added to that illustrious list. It was while living and working in the US that Taio hooked up with with US super-producers Jazze Pha and Rich Harrison - writing for Usher, Mya and Britney Spears - and was set to become part of Tricky Stewart’s currently all-conquering Red Zone operation when his own solo career began to take off.

Now his beautifully polished debut album Departure is poised to establish Taio (pronounced Ty-o) Cruz (pronounced Cruise) as a real name to conjure with in 2008.

Born and raised in the UK to a Nigerian dad and a Brazilian mum, Taio loved music from an early age singing along to his mum’s favourites Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. As a teenager, Taio began to experiment with recording his own demo’s, and soon found that girls he knew would ask him for tapes. One such girl was playing Taio’s songs in her dorm when her boyfriend, who worked for Def Jam heard the tracks and was blown away. A heady blur of meetings and showcases and a lot of hard work later, and this level-headed eighteen year-old was signed to a US publishing deal, and swapping beats with Timbaland. Five years on, Taio’s debut album puts into practice everything he’s learned from those US musical masters.

Combining state of the art production with the vocal tunefulness and clarity of classic sixties and seventies soul, the snap and crackle of eighties pop, and the seductive swagger of nineties slow jamz, Departure should mark a turning point in the history of British r’n’b. The album includes Taio’s two early radio singles, “Moving On” and “I Just Wanna Know” which was played over 500 times in two months by Kiss FM, as well as introducing Taio to the UK top 30.

This was Taio’s second entry into the UK charts having already won a Brit award for best single, for co-writing Will Young’s “Your Game”. And with many other hits to follow, (notably the infectious, rave-tinged second single “Come On Girl” and the anthemic “I Can Be”) Taio Cruz’s journey is only just beginning.

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