But at that point in time, I was like, ‘No rules.’ Why not do the opposite and start in another place?” “That chapter is done - over and out,” he says.)Īdds Derulo, who, in his teens, ghostwrote songs for Lil Wayne and others before going solo, “People didn’t know my other side. Instead, he was singing unabashed dance/pop confections and name-checking himself at the beginning of each song. Here was an African-American male who had Chris Brown’s moves, but not the attitude, who wasn’t rapping or crooning R&B ballads. When he first broke on the scene in 2009, the 19-year-old newcomer born to Haitian parents and raised in suburban Miami defied perceptions. ” ‘Is that the dude who sings this song? Oh, shit, and he sings all these other songs I know?’ Last year, I was blessed to chart with ‘The Other Side’, followed by ‘Marry Me.’ ” (Both songs are a nod to girlfriend Sparks, whom he starting dating in 2011 after they both performed in the Bahamas and who helped nurse him back to health.) “Then we slapped people across the face with ‘Talk Dirty.’ So it’s finally starting to happen: The dots are being connected.”Īs are, Derulo hopes, the links between various influences - pop, dance, R&B, hip-hop, Caribbean - that shape the Miami native’s evolving style. “People were asking, ‘Who’s this dude who hurt himself?’ ” recalls Derulo. In a roundabout way - one he would never want to repeat - the accident gave him the personality that having hit singles never projected. The news of Derulo’s hospitalization and subsequent rehab (during which he had to wear a neck brace for four months) played out on social media (thanks to constant updates by Derulo and Sparks) and brought a flood of goodwill to the singer. “He was less than an inch away from being permanently paralyzed,” says Harris. While rehearsing outside of Miami for a world tour in January 2012, Derulo attempted a challenging acrobatic move and accidentally landed on his head, snapping a vertebra in his neck. 17 on the Hot 100, was an accident that not only came close to killing his career, but almost ended his life. Putting an effective pause to the momentum just after his sixth single, “It Girl,” peaked at No. PHOTOS: Behind Jason Derulo’s Billboard Shoot But the determined artist hopes this latest round of attention will put to rest the question, Who is Jason Derulo?
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Although prone to such exaggerated hyperbole, that’s not the case when it comes to talking about his own career - for despite racking up five top five singles in five years plus impressive song sales (totaling 19 million in the United States alone, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and 30 million worldwide), Derulo remains a relative unknown.
“Thank you, that saved my life right now,” says Derulo appreciatively as his girlfriend of nearly three years, “American Idol” season-six winner Jordin Sparks, drapes a lightweight jacket over his shoulders. (Chart-toppers by Warner-associated acts Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Baauer in 2013 were promotion-only deals.)ĭerulo shows moments later buff as ever, but all that muscle doesn’t shield the chill backstage, where he attempts to take in a few minutes of downtime. And in the last two years, Warner lost the bulk of its urban roster when Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group (rappers Meek Mill, Wale) segued to sister label Atlantic in late 2012 along with other acts like R&B singer Jill Scott. 3 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, “Talk Dirty” is Warner’s biggest homegrown hit since the singer’s own “Whatcha Say” reached No. The celebration of the April 15 release kicks off in less than an hour, but equally anxiety-inducing is the fact that the label has been counting heavily on Derulo for a return to top 40 territory. While the club’s waitstaff stocks the bars, security guards confer and Warner Bros.