Jason Derulo

Jason Derulo has built a steady career as a chart regular thanks to his blend of uplifting ballads and infectious dance-pop tracks, amassing one platinum-certified single after another ever since entering the music scene in the 2000s. He rose quickly to prominence as a teenager and earned early recognition for his work behind the scenes as a busy R&B and rap songwriter, penning material for a range of performers that included Lil Wayne, Pitbull, and Pleasure P. In 2009 he unexpectedly broke through when the Imogen Heap-sampling, Auto-Tuned update of “Whatcha Say,” drawn from his 2010 debut album Jason Derulo, climbed to the summit of the Billboard Hot 100. Subsequent releases such as 2011’s Future History and 2013’s Tattoos kept him anchored in the chart’s upper reaches, where he landed further successes with “In My Head,” “Ridin’ Solo,” “Talk Dirty” (featuring 2 Chainz), and “Wiggle” (featuring Snoop Dogg). Everything Is 4 arrived in 2015 and reached number four on the U.S. album chart, anchored by the long-running single “Want to Want Me.” Nearly ten years later he returned with Nu King in 2024, an album that gathered some of his career-defining tracks, among them the 2017 release “Swalla” with Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign and the 2020 collaboration “Savage Love” with Jawsh 685.

Born in Miramar, Florida, to Haitian parents, Derulo began singing while still very young. He studied at performing-arts institutions in Florida and experimented with songwriting early on, completing his first composition at the age of eight. His talent for crafting material soon drew notice, and during his teenage years he supplied songs to Lil Wayne, Pitbull, and Pleasure P. He also contributed to “Bossy” for New Orleans-based rapper Birdman and appeared as a featured vocalist on the recording, demonstrating his own singing ability.

After inking a deal with Warner Bros. subsidiary Beluga Heights, Derulo moved from behind-the-scenes work into the spotlight as a recording artist. His initial breakthrough came in the summer of 2009 with a sleek modern-soul production built around a sample of Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek,” a track already familiar from its use in the second-season finale of The O.C. and the Saturday Night Live sketch “Dear Sister.” Released as “Whatcha Say,” the single ascended to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the Top Ten in several other markets, among them Canada, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K. A follow-up, “In My Head,” climbed to number five in the United States, and his debut full-length arrived in early 2010. Future History appeared the next year and yielded the hit “Don’t Wanna Go Home.”

Early in 2012 Derulo launched the Future History Tour, only to suffer a broken vertebra during rehearsals; the injury forced him to cancel every remaining date. While recovering and reconsidering his path, he revealed plans for a new album and issued the single “The Other Side” in April 2013. Its successor, “Talk Dirty” featuring 2 Chainz, surged to number three on the pop chart that summer, and Tattoos reached stores in September in most regions. The United States received a revised edition titled Talk Dirty in 2014 that added several fresh cuts, among them “Wiggle” with Snoop Dogg, which entered the Top Ten that summer.

Everything Is 4 arrived in 2015 carrying guest contributions from Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and additional artists; it included “Want to Want Me,” Derulo’s sixth Top Ten pop single, and coincided with his debut as a judge on the twelfth season of So You Think You Can Dance. Platinum Hits collected his biggest tracks the following year. He resurfaced in February 2017 with the multi-platinum “Swalla,” which featured Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign. After reaching the Top 30 on the U.S. Hot 100, the track was succeeded by further platinum releases such as “Tip Toe” with French Montana and “Goodbye” with David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, and Willy William. He also joined Maluma for “Colors,” selected as the official anthem for the FIFA 2018 World Cup. Additional global partnerships followed with acts spanning multiple genres, including pop singer Ava Max on “Make Up,” country duo Florida Georgia Line on “Women,” K-pop acts LAY and NCT 127 on “Let’s Shut Up & Dance,” reggaeton artist Farruko on “Mamacita,” and Chinese singer Tia Ray on the official 2019 FIBA Basketball theme “Champion.” Derulo closed out 2019 with the first half of his planned 2Sides project, Side 1, which included appearances by Stefflon Don and Ty Dolla $ign, and he portrayed Rum Tum Tugger in the film version of the Broadway musical Cats.

In 2020 he ended his association with Warner Bros., which halted further work on 2Sides. He continued independently with the U.K. number-one single “Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat)” alongside New Zealand producer Jawsh 685. He also helped revive Puri and Jhorrmountain’s club track “Coño” and joined Alok and Martin Jensen for “Don’t Cry for Me.” Later pairings included New Caledonian producer Nuka on “Love Not War (The Tampa Beat)” and another run of Top Ten entries highlighted by the worldwide hit “Take You Dancing.” Fresh singles appeared throughout 2021, among them “Lifestyle” featuring Adam Levine, “Acapulco,” and the unexpected success “Jalebi Baby” with Tesher. The next year brought still more releases, including “Ayo Girl (Fayahh Beat),” a collaboration with Robinson featuring Rema, and “Slidin’” with Kodak Black. Derulo opened 2023 with the David Guetta duet “Saturday/Sunday” and followed it across the year with “Glad U Came,” “Slow Low,” the Dido-sampling “When Love Sucks,” and the Meghan Trainor-assisted “Hands on Me.” After nearly a decade he finally issued his fifth studio album, Nu King, a 27-track collection that gathered most of his platinum-certified singles from the intervening years and showcased a wide array of collaborative guests.