Taio Cruz is a British music producer, songwriter, singer, and entrepreneur who earned global popularity with breakout singles Break Your Heart and Dynamite from his second studio album. Other successful collaborations include Higher featuring Kylie Minogue, Hangover featuring , Little Bad Girl with David Guetta, and Dirty Picture featuring Kesha. Fans frequently complain about Taio’s departure from Pop-R&B Genre towards Electronic music and often reminisce about his first solo studio album on social media praising it as his best work. He has a huge social media fan base with more than 1 million followers on YouTube and more than 2 million followers on Twitter.
Age
He was born on April 23, .
However, Taio’s official website claims his year of birth to be 1985.
Sun Sign
Taurus
Residence
- South West London, England, United Kingdom
- He frequently travels to Los Angeles in the USA and owns a home in Beverly Hills, California, USA.
Nationality
Education
He studied in Bilton Grange Preparatory School in Dunchurch village near Rugby, Warwickshire before moving to Battle Abbey in Sussex followed by Christ’s Hospital boarding school in West Sussex, England.
Taio studied entertainment law in college before breaking into the music business.
Manager
Taio is represented by –
- Lateral Management
- 360 Media Touring
- Contraband Entertainment and Events
- Web Sheriff, London, United Kingdom
Genre
R&B, Hip Hop, Pop, Dance
Instruments
Lead & Backing Vocals, Piano, Guitar, Bass, Trombone, Drums
Labels
- Rokstarr
- Island Records
- Republic Records
- Mercury Records
- Tourean
- Warner Brothers Records
- Universal Music Group
Girlfriend / Spouse
The singer keeps his dating life private and frequently describes himself as a one-woman guy who prefers to remain a homebody. He had a public relationship with only one woman while the media speculated the possibility of a brief relationship with Cheryl.
- Roxanne Horner aka Roxy (2009–2011, 2013) – Taio started dating British fashion model Roxy since she was in her late teens. They were first publicly seen together in 2009 and broke up in 2011. The paparazzi started speculating a possible reconciliation when the couple was clicked heading out on a dinner date in 2013. The model also dated TOWIE star in 2013 and Hollywood actor in 2016.
- Cheryl Ann Tweedy (2011) – Taio was featured in one of the songs of singer Cheryl’s album in 2009 and the two artists collaborated again in 2011. During the 2nd collaboration, Cheryl had recently divorced her footballer husband, Ashley Cole ending her marriage of 4 years. Heat magazine reported a potential rebound relationship between Cheryl and Taio. However, the artist told MTV that the rumors were not true although he would have liked it if Cheryl actually was his girlfriend. Taio gifted Cheryl a Black and Gold RXTR “R1” watch made by his company and clicked a picture to promote the brand on his official Twitter account which was responsible for sparking dating rumors.
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Soft Countertenor voice
- Usually maintains cropped, buzz-cut hairstyle
- Likes wearing flashy sunglasses, watches, and belts (calls himself the “accessories king”)
- Loves wearing black clothes
Brand Endorsements
- He often promotes his business ventures under the following brand names Taio Cruz London, Tourean Consultancy, Kewe Social Media Application, Quattro Volte Vodka.
- Other than his ventures, the artist confirmed former partnerships with brands like Universal Music Group, Guinness, Audi, Nivea, MINI, Harmon / Kardon, BMW, Coca-Cola, Vevo, Formula1, Johnnie Walker, and Samsung.
Best Known For
- His debut album named Departure (2008) which achieved certified ‘gold’ status in the United Kingdom. All the songs were written, arranged, and produced by Taio himself.
- Collaborating with many musical artists for his second album Rockstarr (2009) that featured , Luciana, , and rappers and
- His singles Dynamite and Break Your Heart that topped the US Billboard charts and earned Taio global popularity
First Album
He released his debut album titled Departure on March 17, 2008.
First TV Show
He made his first TV show appearance as a guest panelist on the British daytime talk show called The Wright Stuff in 2008.
Taio Cruz Favorite Things
- Accessory – Plain black Hermès belt with a silver ‘H’ on the buckle
- Work Of Art – Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man’
- Building – Apple Store in New York City
- Book – How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- Action Movie – Independence Day (1996)
- Celebrity Crush –
- Comedian – Jimmy Carr
- Bands – Take That,
Source – ,
Taio Cruz Facts
- Before pursuing music as a profession, Taio aspired to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a lawyer.
- As a child, he describes himself as shy and introvert. Since his father was frequently away on business, he spent most of his early years in the company of women that included his mother and her sisters. Overwhelmed by their presence, he usually spent time alone in his room.
- He started writing songs and began to learn how to use digital production software while still in school at the age of 12.
- Taio landed his first publishing deal with Def Jam Recordings in his late teens. A talent scout from the record label overheard Taio’s demo tape playing in the background when he called up his girlfriend who also happened to be Taio’s friend and was listening to his music at that fated moment.
- With the help of the Def Jam representative, Taio flew to Atlanta, Georgia, USA to start his career as a songwriter working for Tricky Stewart, owner of RedZone Entertainment.
- His first taste of recognition came in 2005 when he won the BRIT award for co-writing Will Young’s single Your Game released in 2004.
- Taio narrowly missed recording the global hit single Umbrella in 2006. The song was first rejected by after which Taio recorded a demo version. However, his boss Tricky Stewart played it for who immediately booked that song for .
- In 2009, Taio started selling sunglasses under the Rokstarr brand and later renamed the label as RXTR to include watches and a clothing line. In 2015, he discontinued that business to concentrate on other ventures.
- The singer has written songs for acclaimed musical artists such as Nitin Sawhney, Tinchy Stryder, McFly, Nightcrawlers, , , The Wanted, Cheryl, , Keshia Chanté, , and .
- Moving On was Taio’s second single, and till date, he regrets wearing the colorful clothes his stylist picked for him to wear in the music video because they misrepresented his actual personality.
- The songwriter-singer loves shopping and frequently visits the Selfridges department store in London.
- He cried while watching the end of The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) starring .
- Taio performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, held in London.
- His social media application Kewe (Pronounced Kiwi) combines the offerings of Instagram, Snapchat, Spotify, and SoundCloud for greater ease of content creation and monetization.
- Despite a career in the entertainment industry, Taio dislikes filming himself and does not enjoy staying in the spotlight. He has a natural inclination towards working behind the scenes on a creative or entrepreneurial project.
- Few people know that Taio is also a competent graphic designer and editor.
- To find out more about the artist visit his official website @ taiocruz.com.
- Follow him on , , , and .
Featured Image by Eva Rinaldi / / CC BY-SA 2.0
Facts of Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere
- Gender Male
- full nameAdetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere
- nicknamesTaio (Pronounced Tie – O), Jacob Milan Taio Cruz, T. Onile-Ere
- birthplaceLondon, England, United Kingdom
- Date of Birth April 23, 1980
- Age 44 years 4 months
- Horoscope Taurus
- Lucky Number 9
- Lucky Stone Emerald
- Lucky Color Green
- Best Match for Marriage Virgo, Cancer, Capricorn
- ethnicity / ethnic backgroundNigerian and Brazilian
- nationalityAmerican
- net worth$10 Million
- professionSinger, Songwriter, Music Producer, Graphic Designer, Fashion Designer, Entrepreneur
- weight84 kg or 185 lbs
- height5 ft 10.5 in or 179 cm
- hair colorBlack
- eye colorDark Brown
- body type / buildAverage
- motherVera Cruz
- fatherHoney Onile-Ere
- brothersNathan Cruz
- favorite bandsTake That,
- favorite booksHow to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie