The Derulo Dossier 5 thingsyou may notknow about the "TalkDirty" singer 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Before scoringasolo hit of his Born Jason Desrouleaux, Derulo's firstappear- "Talk Dirty" producer own at age19, Derulo broke into he graduated fromper- ance on BET's106 & Wallpapersayshe the music business at 16, ghost- forming arts high school Parkcame inMay 2013, originally hadrapper writingsongsfor Pitbull, Lil Dillard in Fort Lauder- fouryearsafter he first Missy Elliott in mind Wayne, Birdman, Diddy, Sean dale, Fla., at 16. A skilled charted. After selling when he put the song's millions of records, it felt beat together. "When Kingston and Danity Kane. basketball player, he really hurtfulto not be I found out Jasonwas played guard and helped on my favorite show," he The Talk Dirty album interested, Iwaslike, the school win several says."I wanted people coverisanhomage, 'Thesame guywho state championships. to know thatasAfrican- of sorts, to Janet did "Ridin' Sole?' Derulo first metmanager Americans,we cando Jackson's infamous But in the studio, I Frank Harrison aMiami whatever musicwe September 1993 soonlearned thisguy basketball court at 14. want to do. It's not urban is f-ing musical. We Rolling Stonecover.1 entertainment television; talked aboutevery- it's blackentertainment wanted it toexem- thing from The Beatles television. To finally beon plify sex,"saysDerulo. to Aaliyah, throwback the showwas arelief and "People don't know soul and making freaky a monumental moment that side ofme. I records."-G.M. for me." wanted to just be naked. And when Isay Missy Elliott and that, Imeantranspar- Sean Kingston Birdman Dillard High Wallpaper ent. This isme;this is Derulo (right) all ofme.want people with 106 & Park host Bow Wow to know all of me." like, `No rules.' Whynotdo the opposite studio album Tattoos.A five-songEP by thesame name Romeo. Behind Papo, Derulo and Sparks andstartin another place?" wassimultaneously issued stateside. When hisnext bobtothe music. But Derulo can't resist the The inverse formula worked. Tappedas single "Talk Dirty," featuring2Chainz, rocketedto No.rhythmic temptation. He jumps downtothe openingactfor Lady Gaga in2009and The 1in the United Kingdom and13other countries, Derulo dancefloor foravigorous workout with his Black Eyed Peasa yearlater, Derulo charted found himself back in theeyeof another whirlwind.three-mancrew(to besure,Derulo isahell additional international and U.S.pop suc-Propelling the single'sU.S. release in Januarywasthe ofadancer, with stylizedmovesthat emulate cessin2011with "Don't Wanna Go Home." viral video Celebrities Talkin'Dirty, with One Direction,his idol Jackson). The delighted crowd cheers Then, the ensuing recuperation period forAriana Grande, Robin Thicke and Flo Ridaamongthe andcamerasflash. his injurygavethe singer timeto step away notables lip-synching alongtothe track. Still, the question persists: Can Derulo from the whirlwind,saysHarris (whom Adopting Talk Dirtyasthe titletohisn-trackstate-successfully bridge hispastand future with Derulo calls "the left brain of this whole side album, Derulo carriedoverfour of the EP'ssongs.Talk Dirty? One major -market urban radio thing"). "Hegotthe chancetospend timeHe also collaborated withadiverse lineup of produc-programming director calls the title track evaluating where hewas,where he wanted ersincluding Timbaland,DJ Mustard, RedOne, The adecent record, but still views Deruloas to goand the bestway to getthere,"says Cataracs and Wallpaper. The lattermost, aka Ricky Reed, a"pop artist who'snowtryingto cross over Harris. "We let him be who hewas: a more produced the bass -heavy title track and the equallyinto the urban world. And I'mnot surehe's mature,sexier, edgier Jason Derulo. That's catchy follow-up single "Wiggle," featuringSnoop Dogg,gotenoughswag tomake the move." when things startedto turnthecornerin a paean to womenwithabig butt ("Baby,you got a Time will tell. Two days after the listening termsof perception." bright future behind you"). And for the first time, Derulo party, Derulois in New Yorkonthesetof But Derulo still had toconquerperfor-invited severalguests to work with him, including Snoop Good Morning Americato announcehisper- manceanxiety, and his firstpost-injury and2ChainzaswellasKid Ink, Tyga, Pitbull and Sparks.formanceatthe upcoming Billboard Music appearance onAmerican Idol'sseason 11 Acknowledging the album's "very apparent"urban Awards plus five of the4ofinalist categories. finale in May2012forced himtoconfront side, Derulosaysthe music still retainsa popsensibility. "Talk Dirtywasreallyaselfishact; some- that fear headon.Says Derulo: "When I"I didn't necessarilytry to doaspecific kind of music," he thing Iwasdoing for myselfto get outof wasin rehearsals, the simplestmovesI'd explains. "Eachsongisadifferentstory; aroller-coaster the darkspot I wasin,"says anundeterred been doingmywhole lifenowseemed like ride. It'smehaving fun being myself" Derulo. "But it truly exemplifies who Iam. the hardestmoves...Therewere alot of Back upstairsat 1 OAK, Derulo is doing just that. As two So beingonthe R&B/hip-hop chartsnow butterflies. I didn't know how peoplewere scantily clad dancers bouncetothe beats, it'sonandpop-is both amazing and cool. That'smegoing goingtoreceivemeback in the game." pingasDerulo's mohawkedmixer DJ Paposteps up tothe back and connecting the dots. What'seven Derulo tapped into his international fan DJ booth to preview several Talk Dirty tracks forguests cooler: There'ssomuchmoreleft forme base for last September's release of his ranging from Beats MusiccuratorJulie Pilatto rapper toconquer." 0 APRIL 26, 2014 WWW.BILLBOARD.COM.