What is Taio Cruz's Net Worth?
Taio Cruz is a British musician, producer and businessman who has a net worth of $5 million. Taio Cruz had his international breakthrough with his 2009 album "Rokstarr," which spawned the number-one hit singles "Dynamite" and "Break Your Heart." Two years later, he released the album "TY.O." Cruz has also written or co-written songs for various other artists, including David Guetta, Jennifer Lopez, Cheryl Cole, and Nick Jonas.
Early Life and Education
Taio Cruz was born as Jacob Taio Cruz on April 23, 1985 in London, England to a Nigerian Yoruba father and a Brazilian mother. He was educated as a youth at Bilton Grange preparatory school in Warwickshire and Battle Abbey School in East Sussex. Cruz then attended Stanmore College back in London.
Career Beginnings
Cruz began his career in music as part of songwriter and record producer Tricky Stewart's writing collective RedZone Entertainment. Among Cruz's early songwriting credits as part of the group was Will Young's 2004 single "Your Game." Not long after that, Cruz founded Rockstar Music London, through which he released his debut single, "I Just Wanna Know," in 2006.
Departure
Cruz's debut single "I Just Wanna Know" was eventually featured on his debut studio album, "Departure," which came out in 2008. Other singles from the album were "Moving On," "Come On Girl," "I Can Be," and "She's Like a Star." The highest-charting single was "Come On Girl," which reached number five in the UK. "Departure" itself peaked at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart.
Rokstarr
Cruz had his international breakthrough in 2009 with his second album, "Rokstarr," which debuted at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart and number eight on the US Billboard 200. The lead single from the album, "Break Your Heart," made it to number one in both the UK and US. "Rokstarr" also spawned the singles "No Other One," "Dirty Picture," and "Dynamite," the lattermost of which reached number one in the UK and number two in the US. Additionally, the album included "Higher," featuring Kylie Minogue, for whom the song had originally been written.
Almost a year after the release of "Rokstarr," Cruz released the compilation album "The Rokstarr Collection," containing songs from both his debut album and the international version of "Rokstarr." The album peaked at number 16 on the UK Albums Chart.
TY.O
Cruz released his third studio album, "TY.O," in Germany in late 2011. A year later, the album was released in the UK and US. "TY.O" was supported by the international singles "Hangover," "Troublemaker," and "There She Goes"; another single, "Fast Car," was only released in the US.
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Other Songs and Collaborations
In early 2009, Cruz was featured on Tinchy Stryder's breakout single "Take Me Back," which Cruz also co-wrote. The track reached number three in the UK. A couple years later, Cruz co-wrote and recorded the song "Telling the World," the lead single from the soundtrack of the animated film "Rio." Shortly after that, he collaborated with David Guetta and Ludacris on the smash hit single "Little Bad Girl," which topped charts all over the world. Cruz reunited with Guetta in 2012 to co-write the song "Without You," featuring Usher.
In 2014, Cruz released a new single entitled "Don't You Dare." The following year, he released the single "Do What You Like." Around this time, Cruz decided to reject the traditional album format and instead release his music as collections of singles. His subsequent songs have included "Row the Body" and "Time For You." Meanwhile, as a songwriter, Cruz has written tracks for such artists as Jennifer Lopez, Cheryl Cole, the Wanted, Nick Jonas, and Olly Murs.
Business Ventures
Corresponding with the release of his 2009 album "Rokstarr," Cruz launched his own fashion and accessories brand, which had a special focus on sunglasses. The brand struggled, and in 2012 was renamed RXTR. New products, including watches, were offered. Ultimately, the brand was unsuccessful and was soon shut down.
TikTok Ambush
Coming off of a break from the music industry, Cruz joined the video-sharing app TikTok in 2020. However, he had only been on the platform for a short period of time before a spate of hateful comments from users caused him to delete all his posts and quit. He claimed he was "ambushed," and said that the experience left him with suicidal thoughts. Cruz had previously created his own social media platform, KeWe, but it was shuttered after failing to attract an adequate number of investors.
