Taio Cruz – Departure
Taio Cruz has been held up in the music industry as a true talent.
The 23 year old British born writer and producer has an impressive track record, already the proud owner of a Brit award for best single for co-writing Will Young’s Your Game and clocking up massive airplay with early singles I Just Wanna Know and Moving On, he has also made massive waves in America hooking up with major players and super-producers and is currently working with other emerging American talents, but first comes Taio Cruz’s debut solo album.
A fascination with the highly polished and slick US RnB is evident all over the album, for all the promises and expectation for Taio, he just fails to make a truly unique and individual impression. When single I Just Wanna Know hit the radio in 2006 it was almost impossible to distinguish who it was, caught up in airplay already over ran by the likes of Chris Brown and Omarion and other singers that all sounded the same and all sounded like they wished they were as good as Usher.
And even now Usher isn’t as good as he used to be the only respite is the latest single, Come On Girl, that, despite being rather annoying, is the only track that truly stands out thanks to a throbbing electro beat and guest spot from Luciana (from Bodyrox’s Yeah Yeah) that make the song irresistibly catchy, even if you are dead set against it.
What Taio Cruz desperately needs is a true departure from the tepid RnB peddled for most of the album to really prove his worth.