LOL at Jason Derulo throwing shots at Trey Songz!
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They do a specific thing," said Derulo, who performs Friday at Rams Head Live. "I don't want to do a specific thing. I want to camouflage and grow into different things."
Derulo's rise has been a meteoric one. Born in Miami to Haitian parents, he was writing songs by the time he was 8, according to his label's biography. He attended an arts school in New York City as a teen, and at 17 penned a song, "Bossy," for New Orleans rapper Birdman.
Just a few years ago, Derulo was competing at the Apollo Theater's ruthless amateur night in New York City.
"As an audience member, you want to boo. It's the fun thing to do," he said. "Once you play there, you can play anywhere."
After some five tryouts doing neo-soul covers, he won the 2006 Grand Championship there. But since partnering with producer J.R. Rotem — who discovered him on MySpace, and who also produced, among other tracks, Rihanna's "S.O.S." — he's moved away from that sound.
The notes on his new album describe it as "an uncategorizable blend of pop, rock, electronic and R&B," a description designed to cater to just about any willing, buying listener. But the songs on the album are in keeping with the current appetite for digitized, European dance music. His voice, velvety in the more traditional "Ridin' Solo," is heavily processed elsewhere.
That's on purpose. Derulo said there was an impulse to appeal to a wide demographic. He cites as his own influences popmeisters Madonna and Michael Jackson, not titans of hip-hop and R&B like Usher and Jay-Z.
In January, he hit the road with the biggest pop star around, Lady Gaga, opening for her Monster Ball tour for six weeks.
"I just want my music enjoyed by the world," he said. "You can't do that with just being in a box. I don't want to be limited to anything."
He is part of a trend among established R&B acts like Usher (see "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love") who are moving away from genre-specific music.
For Derulo, the strategy is yielding juicy returns. His first single, "Whatcha Say," went triple platinum in the United States, and his follow-up, "In My Head," also sold more than 2 million copies here. Tellingly, the more conventionally soulful "Ridin' Solo" hasn't exploded the way his first two singles did.
On the strength of those two singles, he's now embarking on his own 21-city tour.
It's a big step up. Until now he had only opened for acts like Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas. But the experience gave him a crash course on touring.
For instance, he's decided he can't do interviews all day long because his show suffers afterward. When he talks about his career, he sounds more determined than your typical 20-something.
"You have to learn your limits," he said. "You have to watch out for over-singing. You can fatigue easily. You have to limit your partying. I'm not going to let anything get in the way of performing my show."
Touring with others also taught got him accustomed to the screaming fans. But this time, he's sensing something different when he goes before a crowd.
"The reaction people gave Lady Gaga was really special because they were coming specifically for her," he said. "Now, it's incredible to have every single person come especially for me."
Derulo's rise has been a meteoric one. Born in Miami to Haitian parents, he was writing songs by the time he was 8, according to his label's biography. He attended an arts school in New York City as a teen, and at 17 penned a song, "Bossy," for New Orleans rapper Birdman.
Just a few years ago, Derulo was competing at the Apollo Theater's ruthless amateur night in New York City.
"As an audience member, you want to boo. It's the fun thing to do," he said. "Once you play there, you can play anywhere."
After some five tryouts doing neo-soul covers, he won the 2006 Grand Championship there. But since partnering with producer J.R. Rotem — who discovered him on MySpace, and who also produced, among other tracks, Rihanna's "S.O.S." — he's moved away from that sound.
The notes on his new album describe it as "an uncategorizable blend of pop, rock, electronic and R&B," a description designed to cater to just about any willing, buying listener. But the songs on the album are in keeping with the current appetite for digitized, European dance music. His voice, velvety in the more traditional "Ridin' Solo," is heavily processed elsewhere.
That's on purpose. Derulo said there was an impulse to appeal to a wide demographic. He cites as his own influences popmeisters Madonna and Michael Jackson, not titans of hip-hop and R&B like Usher and Jay-Z.
In January, he hit the road with the biggest pop star around, Lady Gaga, opening for her Monster Ball tour for six weeks.
"I just want my music enjoyed by the world," he said. "You can't do that with just being in a box. I don't want to be limited to anything."
He is part of a trend among established R&B acts like Usher (see "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love") who are moving away from genre-specific music.
For Derulo, the strategy is yielding juicy returns. His first single, "Whatcha Say," went triple platinum in the United States, and his follow-up, "In My Head," also sold more than 2 million copies here. Tellingly, the more conventionally soulful "Ridin' Solo" hasn't exploded the way his first two singles did.
On the strength of those two singles, he's now embarking on his own 21-city tour.
It's a big step up. Until now he had only opened for acts like Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas. But the experience gave him a crash course on touring.
For instance, he's decided he can't do interviews all day long because his show suffers afterward. When he talks about his career, he sounds more determined than your typical 20-something.
"You have to learn your limits," he said. "You have to watch out for over-singing. You can fatigue easily. You have to limit your partying. I'm not going to let anything get in the way of performing my show."
Touring with others also taught got him accustomed to the screaming fans. But this time, he's sensing something different when he goes before a crowd.
"The reaction people gave Lady Gaga was really special because they were coming specifically for her," he said. "Now, it's incredible to have every single person come especially for me."
Comments
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Jason Derulo says he's not interested in making R&B. His new self-titled album is instead a bid at capturing an audience broader than the urban market.
"I just want my music enjoyed by the world. You can't do that with just being in a box," he said. "You won't catch me on the Jay-Z or the Usher tour."
So far, it's a strategy that's working. "Whatcha Say" and "In My Head" have both earned multi-platinum status.
But unspoken is the fact that even established R&B acts like Usher (see "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love") are moving away from genre-specific music.
The question for 21-year-old Derulo is: if he starts out in heavily-processed, auto-tuned dance music, can he go back to R&B? -
when i found out "in my head" was by a black dude i was shocked
don't hear to many black dudes stepping out the box
i think it's a good thing for him
it's something fresh and new -
dis ? is so ? corny to me...all his singles were ? as ? to me..
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What's up with all these shots being fired in the music game all of a sudden? Artists need to just get back to making good music instead of participating in these trivial ass beefs
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Oh and how the ? isn't SOLO doing numbers? That song is the ?
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Lol @ this being considered shots... I bet he wasnt even thinkin bout Trey when he said that... ? acting like success came luckily...
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YungHeartLess5 wrote: »Lol @ this being considered shots... I bet he wasnt even thinkin bout Trey when he said that... ? acting like success came luckily...
Don't act dumb dude, what other R and B artist is opening up for Usher and Jay-z right now, much less ever. Trey ? Songz, the ? knew who he is addressing. -
So stepping out the box equates to making good music?
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Don't act dumb dude, what other R and B artist is opening up for Usher and Jay-z right now, much less ever. Trey ? Songz, the ? knew who he is addressing.
Your right his firing shots at Trey, which in my eyes is stupid since their music(singles especially) isn't too far apart. If he wanted to stay true to his comments he should of fired shots at the likes of Maxwell D'Angelo and co/ -
So stepping out the box equates to making good music?
LOL ? ? me with that ? (**cough** Cudi **cough**) -
What's up with all these shots being fired in the music game all of a sudden? Artists need to just get back to making good music instead of participating in these trivial ass beefs
basically. ? 's lame especially for singing acts.
And call me out of touch with the R&b game but who the ? is Jason Derulo? -
damn, this is some serious beef. i hope someone has minister farakan on speed dial, this ? will get ugly quick.
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So stepping out the box equates to making good music?
Exactly. Most ? is borderline wack because artists try to hard to be different that the music sounds ridiculous. Someone mentioned Cudi and that was right on point. -
Come to think of it Jason Derülo's sound ain't exactly R & B. I wish him well but his music doesn't really appeal to me. Too poppy and the n*gga seem kinda corny to me but I guess I'm not that demographic anyway.
Co sign. I was schooling n*ggas in The Reason on this very subject. Just cuz it'sdifferent or alternative doesn't mean sh*t still ain't wack.Exactly. Most ? is borderline wack because artists try to hard to be different that the music sounds ridiculous. Someone mentioned Cudi and that was right on point. -
Wait Cudi's music is wack? ? need to drop that Sherm
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Don't act dumb dude, what other R and B artist is opening up for Usher and Jay-z right now, much less ever. Trey ? Songz, the ? knew who he is addressing.
Act dumb? lol where is the diss? "You wont catch me on tour with Jay Z or Usher" sounds more like the truth to me... I'd be surprised if Jay even knows who this guy is... Still explain to me the diss, cuz it went completely over my head... Does touring with Jay Z put you in a box? Is that it? -
he has my respect for stepping out of the box. why do do the same ole thing like usher, trey songz, etc.? we already have that. i'm with him on that. and yeah of course people on here will call him corny because they too are too afraid to step out of the box and listen to soemthing different once in awhile.
