Shazam Meets… Jason Derülo
Currently riding high at the top of the UK charts with his second single, ‘In My Head’, US R&B rising star Jason Derülo looks set to make his mark on 2010. The singer has been on our radar since his debut single ‘Watcha Say’ dominated the Shazam US New Release Chart in mid 2009. Despite only releasing two singles so far, Derülo has been in the song writing game for the past few years, writing for the likes of Diddy, Birdman, Sean Kingston and Cassie. Nevertheless, it was evident that the singer would eventually strike out on his own after spending most of his life studying music and performance.
His eponymous debut album was released this week and is currently firmly in the iTunes top ten. Luckily we managed to grab a few spare minutes of his time and find out about his future plans, what happened when he toured with Lady Gaga and whether he had firsthand experience of any of P.Diddy’s legendary parties…
‘In my Head’, your latest single, is at number one at the moment – a great achievement for your second single! Tell us a little about the track and what influenced it.
JD – “With this track I wanted to explore the rock side of things a bit more, because I’m a music lover and I wanted to infuse all kinds of music. So JR (Producer JR Rotem) came up with this wonderful beat with the rock guitars/drums and I had an idea to write a song about my imagination. I have a very vivid imagination; everyone has fantasies, so I wanted to explore it. You know meeting someone for the first time, a lot of the time I have fantasies (laughs) that go through my head so I wanted to explain it; basically it’s an invitation to my imagination”.
You mentioned the track has a slightly rockier edge than your previous single, what kinds of influences are there across the album?
It’ll be the same thing, always man – always a reinvention. Those (singles) are two totally different songs, one has an indie electro sample in it and the other has a rock influence. That’s what the album is. It’s a music lover’s album – if you like all kinds of music then this album is for you. There’s so many genres implemented to create this new pop sound, it’s all deep rooted in pop but there’s many influences.
In ‘Watcha Say’ you sampled the Imogen Heap song ‘Hide And Seek’ – not a track you would immediately associate with an R&B artist like yourself. How did you discover it?
Like I said, I’m a music lover, man. I’ll just go into the record store and pick up some random CD, just because I’d never heard it before. I’m just so curious, I’m a student of music, I wanna continue to discover new things.
Have you had any feedback directly from Imogen Heap herself?
Yeah she’s excited, she’s excited her song got to take a new flight you know.
Taking back a bit further now, who would you list as your main musical influences?
Michael Jackson inspired me a lot. Madonna, Prince and a newer one is Elvis.
You’re also a talented dancer, do you see having the ability to be an all round entertainer integral to your success?
For me personally, yes. That’s the reason why I did so many different styles of performing. I did musical theatre, Shakespeare, ballet, tap. I’ve done it all. I studied classical music too. That’s why I did it – I wanted to be the consummate performer. Just be as good as I can be and I’m still trying to grow and the day that I stop growing is the day that I retire. It’s important to me – I wanna be the best I can be for my fans.
There’s also your TV series ‘Walk To Fame’ which is showing on your website and YouTube. Is acting another side of you we’ll see more of in the future?
Absolutely, acting is a big love of mine. Although I don’t think it’s as important as music. I can’t wait to tap into the acting world.
You supported Lady Gaga on her Monsters Ball tour, which was obviously a great experience. Did you get to spend much time with her?
Not a lot of time, obviously my schedule is so crazy and hers is crazy as well. We’d both just get to the venue before showtime, but we got to see each other quite a bit. She said some special words to me, she looked me in the eyes and said, “Jason I just want to let you know that you’re special, you’re a star”. That meant quite a lot coming from her.
Is there a chance of a collaboration between you two?
I would love that to happen, I think maybe…
If you could choose to duet with anyone – alive or dead – who would it be?
Madonna, I grew up listening to her and she has reinvented herself time and time again. I would love to be part of another re-invention.
One final question, you’ve worked with Diddy & Birdman – both have reputations for throwing wild parties. Is this something you’ve experienced?
Yeah I’ve been to quite a few of those crazy parties, but I work a lot so I don’t party that much. But when I do party I get down, work hard play hard. P-Diddy’s parties are pretty crazy….
‘Jason Derülo’ is out now through Warner Bros. and is available through iTunes.
