Taio Cruz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Taio Cruz
Cruz in 2017
Background information
Birth name	Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere
Also known as	Tayo Onile-Ere
Born	(1980-04-23) 23 April 1980 (age 45) Brent, London, England
Genres	Pop dance-pop R&B hip hop
Occupations	Singer songwriter rapper record producer
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Rokstarr Island Republic 4th & B'way Mercury Tourean Warner Bros. Universal
Associated acts	Fraser T. Smith Kylie Minogue Ludacris McFly Nitin Sawhney Tinchy Stryder Tinie Tempah Travie McCoy Tricky Stewart David Guetta

Taio Cruz signature

Taio Cruz (born Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere, on April 23, 1980) is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, and music producer. He is known for his catchy pop and dance songs.

In 2008, Taio Cruz released his first album, Departure. He wrote, arranged, and produced all the songs on it. The album became very popular in the UK.

His second album, Rokstarr, came out in 2009. It featured his famous number-one hits "Break Your Heart" and "Dynamite". He also worked with stars like Kesha, Kylie Minogue, and Travie McCoy on other songs. Taio Cruz wrote "Telling the World" for the animated movie Rio. His third album, TY.O, was released in 2011.

About Taio Cruz

Early Life and Music Start

Taio Cruz was born in London, England. His father was a lawyer from Nigeria, and his mother was from Brazil. He went to private schools before studying in London.

Taio Cruz started his music career as a songwriter. In 2005, he won a Brit Award for helping to write the song "Your Game" for Will Young.

He then started his own music company called Rockstar Music London. In 2006, he released his first single, "I Just Wanna Know". It became a top 30 hit in the UK. This success led him to sign a deal with major record labels, Universal Music Group and Island Records.

First Album: Departure (2007–2008)

In 2007, Taio Cruz released his second single, "Moving On", which also reached the top 30. His song "Come On Girl" with Luciana became a top 5 hit in 2008.

His first album, Departure, came out in March 2008. It reached number 17 on the UK charts. Other singles from the album included "I Can Be" and a remix of "She's Like a Star" with Busta Rhymes and Sugababes.

Big Success: Rokstarr (2009–2011)

Taio Cruz was featured on Tinchy Stryder's popular song "Take Me Back", which reached number 3 in the UK.

In 2009, he released his second album, Rokstarr. The first single from this album, "Break Your Heart", became a number one hit in the UK for three weeks. It also broke records in the US by jumping straight to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This song was nominated for "Best British Single" at the 2010 Brit Awards.

To help "Break Your Heart" become a hit in the US, Taio Cruz worked with American rapper Ludacris. The album also had other hits like "Dirty Picture" featuring Kesha, and "Dynamite". "Dynamite" reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and won three Billboard Music Awards in 2011.

After Rokstarr, Taio Cruz released a collection of songs called The Rokstarr Collection. He also released different versions of his song "Higher", featuring artists like Kylie Minogue and Travie McCoy.

Third Album: TY.O (2011–2012)

In 2011, Taio Cruz released "Telling the World" for the movie Rio. He also collaborated with French DJ David Guetta and rapper Ludacris on the song "Little Bad Girl", which was a huge hit worldwide.

His third album was named TY.O. Taio Cruz chose this name because people often mispronounced his name. The album was first released in Germany in December 2011.

In August 2012, Taio Cruz performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He sang his hit song "Dynamite" and performed "Written in the Stars" with Jessie J and Tinie Tempah.

New Music and Projects (2013–Present)

In 2013, Taio Cruz announced a new social media app called Kewe. He also announced his fourth studio album, #Black.

In 2015, he released the single "Do What You Like". This song was part of his new project called Roses Collection. Instead of full albums, Taio Cruz decided to release collections of singles, calling each song unique like a rose.

He also added vocals to Tujamo's song "Booty Bounce" in 2015. In 2017, he released "Row the Body" featuring French Montana, and in 2019, "Time For You" with Wonder Stereo.

Writing and Producing Songs

Taio Cruz is a talented songwriter and producer for many other artists. He has written songs for Cheryl, JLS, The Saturdays, The Wanted, and David Guetta.

He co-wrote and was featured on Tinchy Stryder's hit "Take Me Back". He also wrote and produced "Shine a Light" for the band McFly.

Taio Cruz also wrote Jennifer Lopez's 2011 song "I'm Into You" featuring Lil Wayne. He played a big part in David Guetta's album Nothing but the Beat, writing the hit singles "Without You" (featuring Usher) and "Little Bad Girl" (featuring himself and Ludacris).

Other Projects

RXTR/Rokstarr Brand

In 2009, Taio Cruz launched his own fashion and accessories brand called Rokstarr. It mainly focused on sunglasses, which were worn by many celebrities.

Later, the brand was renamed RXTR, which stands for Riots and Twelve Rebels. They started selling new products like watches.

Helping Others

Taio Cruz has also worked with Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization. This group helps bring music education back to public schools in the US that might not have enough funding.

Taio Cruz Albums

• Departure (2008)
• Rokstarr (2009)
• TY.O (2011)

Awards and Nominations

Taio Cruz has won many awards for his music. Here are some of them:

See also

In Spanish: Taio Cruz para niños