city	London
name	95.8 Capital FM
airdate	16 October 1973
frequency	RDS: CAPITAL 95.8 MHz, DAB Digital Radio (London) Freesat: 719 Freeview 724 Sky: 0109 TalkTalk TV: 610 Virgin Media: 958
share	4.8%|
share as of	August 2011|
share source	|
area	United Kingdom | format Contemporary Hit Radio, News, Entertainment, Speech, Showbiz | sister_stations Capital BirminghamCapital East MidlandsCapital ManchesterCapital North EastCapital ScotlandCapital South CoastCapital South WalesCapital Yorkshire
owner	Global Radio
website	95.8 Capital FM }}

95.8 Capital FM is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital FM network.

History

Pre-launch

Following the 1964–68 offshore radio boom, the Conservative Party, under Edward Heath promised in its 1970 General Election Manifesto that should it win, it would introduce local commercial radio in addition to the commercial television which had started in 1955. This was a result of much lobbying from a particular pressure group, the Local Radio Association, who felt that commercial radio should be introduced following the launch of Associated Rediffusion and ITV. The Tories won and swiftly introduced the Sound Broadcasting Act 1972 which allowed for the introduction of Independent Local Radio and the newly-renamed Independent Broadcasting Authority from the Independent Television Authority.

The Independent Broadcasting Authority advertised local radio licences in certain locations in the United Kingdom under the umbrella term of Independent Local Radio. London was due to receive two ILR licences: one for news and another for general entertainment. Capital Radio, a consortium of the "great and good", backed by dentist Barclay Barclay-White and chairman Richard Attenborough was one of fifty applications. Other applications came from a consortium headed by ''Opportunity Knocks'' television presenter Hughie Green, who had openly voiced the need for commercial broadcasting, having previously worked for Radio Luxembourg.

The IBA awarded Capital Radio the "London General Entertainment" service, while "London News" was awarded to the London Broadcasting Company, LBC.

IBA transmission tests commenced in January 1973 and Capital Radio went on air on 16 October 1973, ten days after LBC, using the following FM and AM frequencies: 95.8 MHz FM from the Croydon transmitter station and 557 kHz (539 m) MW from London Transport's Lots Road Power Station, Chelsea. The medium wave frequency and location were temporary sites as the then new high-powered medium wave station at Saffron Green, Barnet was incomplete.

Launch

Capital commenced regular transmissions with the British national anthem "God Save the Queen", then a message from director Richard Attenborough "...This, for the very first time, is Capital Radio" followed by the Capital Radio theme jingle, made by Blue Mink:

:"Isn't it good to know, :Capital Radio :You can turn on your friends, you can turn on the show, :you can turn on the world with Capital Radio :Such a good way to make your day :Capital sounds go round and round, :Up and down London town :The brightest sound in London town :Capital Radio in tune with London (yeah)"...

Simon and Garfunkel's song, "Bridge over Troubled Water" followed the jingle. The first radio commercial came from Bird's Eye fish fingers, which incidentally was also the first ever legal radio commercial on LBC.

Capital's programming remit, as with all ILR stations at the time, was to appeal to the broadest range of people as possible, which included specialist music programmes, radio plays, classical music, community features and news documentaries. Capital's breakfast show was hosted by popular television entertainer Kenny Everett and disc jockey Dave Cash.

Immediately after going on air, Capital Radio suffered co-channel interference from Radio Veronica, a pirate radio station off the coast of the Netherlands. Veronica began broadcasting in the 1960s and it was suggested that the allocation of 539 metres to ILR may have been an attempt to block reception of overseas broadcasts — a battle which preceded the launch of BBC Radio 1. Capital finally moved into office blocks in Euston Tower in November 1973, just a few yards away from Thames Television headquarters. Euston Tower was, at the time, London's tallest office tower.

In 1975, the IBA finally opened the transmission facilities at Saffron Green which allowed both LBC and Capital Radio to move up the dial. Capital moved to 1548 kHz mediumwave (194 m) and LBC to 1152 kHz (261 m). Saffron Green needed to be highly configured as it was sharing the same frequency as other ILR stations and needed to prevent co-channel interference from new ILR stations in Birmingham and Manchester. Previously the Lots Road site gained Capital and LBC the semi-humorous nickname of ''"Radio Clothesline"'', however both stations could be heard as far away as the Midlands. FM reception remained unaltered.

Capital in danger (1975–1980)

The commercial radio climate during this period was very tough. Recessions, the miners' dispute and high inflation brought on by the Three-Day Week meant that revenues at Capital Radio suffered. Throughout the 1970s Capital reduced its broadcasting hours and cut its staff, including many journalists – a move which angered the NUJ. Richard Attenborough intimated in the 1990s in a 'Capital Facts' sheet that the station almost contemplated closing down:

''"Although one can say it now, one couldn't at the time, there were some weeks when the viability of the whole operation was in question and we might had had to close down. We almost didn't make ends meet."''

Capital saw off the recession and continued broadcasting, eventually increasing its hours. The so-called 'needle-time' restrictions on playing music had been lifted, which meant it could play more music during the day as well as in the evenings where the eight hours were concentrated.

Charities and the Flying Eye

The mid-1970s saw Capital Radio expand with the launch of the Help a London Child charity, which aimed to raise money for London's poorest children. The charity appeal went on to become one of the longest-running in broadcasting and the most recognised in British radio. In 1976, the Capital Radio Helpline launched, in conjunction with Thames Television , London Weekend Television and British Telecom which helped listeners through matters ranging from how to cook a turkey at Christmas time, to suicide intervention. The station has also lent its support to London based orchestras, choral societies, the British Film Institute Children's Film Festival and many other ventures.

1976 saw the launch of the Flying Eye, a traffic spotting light aircraft, which could see traffic congestion below on the streets of Central London. LBC also had a similar service but was forced to suspend operations due to cost. Capital's aircraft was originally a Piper Seneca model, and, later, a twin-engined Cirumma Cougar.

Music Power (1980s)

A new radio jingle package from Standard Sound heralded a new, refined sound for the station. Output was concentrated on its core playlist of contemporary chart music with the specialist music rescheduled to evenings. Jazz and soul programmes at the weekends, presented by Peter Young were well received by listeners. Several of Capital's early presenters had moved on, to be replaced by newer disc jockeys, some of which had experience presenting on Radio Luxembourg.

A brand new breakfast show started in 1987 and featured Chris Tarrant who arrived from popular television programme Tiswas. Chris initially arrived at Capital presenting the weekday lunchtime show before being promoted. Joined by the then unknown Kara Noble, the partnership proved very popular and the Breakfast Show eventually became one of the most listened to radio programmes on British radio. Many industry commentators consider the station's output in the 1980s represented Capital Radio at its broadcasting peak.

One becomes two- the frequency split (1989–1996)

As required by the ''1990 Broadcasting Act'' the IBA and the Home Office in 1987, all ILR stations were to permanently split simulcasting output on both its FM and AM frequencies in order to create new local radio stations and improve choice. Capital responded by launching a golden oldies station, 1548 AM Capital Gold in 1 November 1988 on its AM frequency while Capital on FM became 95.8 Capital FM, a chart contemporary music station. Both stations received brand-new jingle packages from Californian jingle house ''Who Did That Music'' (later Groove Jingles) which went on to become well known and essential parts of its music programming.

1997 - 2010

From 1997, the studios of 95.8 Capital FM have been based in Leicester Square, which is also home to Capital's parent company, Global Radio. The studio complex is shared with many other stations, including XFM London, Classic FM, Heart London & LBC

The station launched its website in September 1996 resulting in high demand which led to it crashing within a few hours.

Beginning in late 2005, the station went through a number of changes. In December 2005, a new policy of two advertisements in each break to win favour with listeners, though there were more frequent breaks as a result. This policy was changed within a few months.

On 9 January 2006, the station was relaunched under its original name ''Capital Radio'', with a modified line-up of presenters and a slightly tweaked music format. After this re-launch turned out not to have had the desired success, a new Programme Controller was appointed in September 2006. Scott Muller came from the Nova group in Australia, and the station saw another tweak in style.

The changes continued seeing Capital re-branded back to "London's Hit Music Station", a play on the station's earlier brand of "London's Number One Hit Music Station" with noticeable improvements – leading to a rise in audience figures at the end of 2006. The station also changed its on air name to ''95.8 Capital Radio'', incorporating the frequency of "95.8" back into the station since it was dropped at the January 2006 re-launch.

In March 2007, the station was then renamed ''Capital 95.8'' and its slogan became "The Sound of London". The marketing campaign combined outdoor, cinema, and print adverts.

RAJAR figures for Q2 2007 showed Capital 95.8 slipping to fourth place in the London local radio market ratings, recording the lowest-ever share of the London audience and for the first time falling behind Emap-owned station Magic and Heart, now owned by Global Radio. Capital 95.8's audience share slipped from 4.6 to 4.1 per cent over the quarter.

The station then returned to the 'London's Hit Music Network' tagline on 10 December 2007, with ex-Absolute Radio presenter Greg Burns replacing Lucio on drivetime, and Lucio moving to the evening show. Lucio took over from Bam Bam (Peter Poulton) who left Capital in early December 2007. On 6 June 2008, Global Radio completed its £375 million takeover of Capital's parent company GCap Media.

2011-present

95.8 Capital FM formed part of the nine station Capital FM network on 3 January 2011 as part of a merger of the Global Radio owned Hit Music and Galaxy networks. Weekday breakfast and drivetime plus weekend mornings are localised with other output networked from 95.8 Capital FM studios in London.

95.8 Capital FM localised presenters are responsible for playlisting music which is syndicated across the nine-station Capital FM network, during ''Capital Breakfast'', weekday drivetime and weekend mornings.

On 12 May 2011 it was announced 95.8 Capital FM remained the most listened to commercial radio station in London, on both share and reach, beating rival Magic 105.4. However, on 4 August 2011 it was announced rival Magic 105.4 had overtaken the position.

Programming

The 95.8 Capital FM schedule from 30 April 2011 is:

Monday–Friday

{|class="wikitable" |- !Time !Main presenter(s) !Location |- |0300 – 0600 |Will Cozens |rowspan=7|Leicester Square, London |- |0600 – 1000 |''Capital Breakfast with Johnny and Lisa'': Lisa Snowdon and Johnny Vaughan (Local) |- |1000 – 1300 |Neil 'Roberto' Williams |- |1300 – 1600 |James 'The Bassman' Bassam |- |1600 – 1900 |Greg Burns (Local) |- |1900 – 2300 |Rich Clarke |- |2300 – 0300 |James Barr |- |}

Friday variation

{|class="wikitable" |- !Time !Main presenter(s) !Location |- |2300 – 0200 |Andi Durrant |Leicester Square, London |- |}

Saturday

{|class="wikitable" |- !Time !Main presenter(s) !Location |- |0200 – 0500 |Martyn 'Mash' Henderson |Glasgow |- |0500 – 0800 |Margherita Taylor |rowspan=6|Leicester Square, London |- |0800 – 1200 |Dave Berry (Local) |- |1200 – 1600 |James 'The Bassman' Bassam |- |1600 – 1900 |Luke Smith |- |1900 – 2300 |James Barr |- |2300 – 0200 |Andi Durrant |- |}

Sunday

{|class="wikitable" |- !Time !Main presenter(s) !Location |- |0200 – 0500 |Sacha Brooks |Birmingham |- |0500 – 0800 |Margherita Taylor |rowspan=6|Leicester Square, London |- |0800 – 1200 |Dave Berry (Local) |- |1200 – 1600 |Will Cozens |- |1600 – 1900 |''The Vodafone Big Top 40'': Rich Clarke and Kat Shoob |- |1900 – 2300 |Luke Smith |- |2300 – 0300 |James Barr |- |}

''Capital Report'' newsreaders

Charlie Girling

Nick Hassen

Laura Penkhurst

Olly Yates (utilised with LBC)

Dan Whitehead (utilised with LBC)

Former presenters

Kenny Everett (1974–1980)

Dave Cash (1974–1980)

Michael Aspel

Roger Scott

Joan Shenton

Tommy Vance

Tony Myatt

Chris Brooks (2002-2009) (presenter on Heart and founder director of Yellow media)

Chris Tarrant (presenter of ''Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'' on ITV1)

Kara Noble

Brian Hayes

David Symonds

Gerald Harper

Graham Dene

Mike Allen

Nicky Horne

Paul Hollins (presenter on Heart and owner of Blue Revolution)

Gary Crowley

David Jensen

Tony Shephard (presenter on Heart)

Denise van Outen (narrator on ''The Only Way Is Essex'' on ITV2)

Kelly Temple

Pat Sharp

Maggie Norden

Ian Davidson

Mike Smith

John Sachs

Adrian Love

Mick Brown

Lynn Parsons

Mike Dickin

Alan "Fluff" Freeman

Richard Allinson

Greg Edwards

Richard Digence

Duncan Johnson

Dan Gasser

Kerry Juby

Lulu

David "Ram-Jam" Rodigan

Peter Young

Sarah Ward

Clive Warren (presenter on Metro Radio)

Clare Ashford

Paul Phear

Richard Bacon (presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live)

Neil Fox

Russ Williams

Paul Cooke

Martin Collins

Steve Collins

Mitch Johnson

Pete Tong (presenter on BBC Radio 1)

Paul McKenna

Tim Westwood (presenter on BBC Radio 1Xtra)

Neil Long

Bryan Wolfe

Russ "Commander" Kane

Jackie Brambles (runs own business)

Jane Walmsley

Scott Hughes (credited Scott London)

Dave Kelly (now with Radio City 96.7 and Key 103)

See also

List of radio stations in the United Kingdom

Capital Radio One

The Capital FM Network

''Capital Breakfast''

References

Vintage Broadcasting

External links

95.8 Capital FM

Help a Capital Child website

Category:Radio stations established in 1973 Capital FM Capital FM Category:Contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom

Capital FM may refer to:

95-106 Capital FM, is a collection of nine Independent Local Radio stations operating in the United Kingdom and owned by Global Radio, which launched on 3 January 2011

Capital FM (Finland), a Finnish radio station

CIBX-FM, a Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada radio station that uses Capital FM as a brand name

CKGC-FM, an Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada radio station that uses Capital FM as a brand name

CKRA-FM, "96.3 Capital FM", an Edmonton, Alberta, Canada radio station

Capital Radio 604, a former South African radio station

98.4 Capital FM, a Kenyan radio station

88.9 Capital FM, a radio station in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Capitol.fm Hitz Bangkok, worldwide internet music radio station

Capital FM Radio - A Ugandan radio station, based in Kampala

name	Tinchy Stryder
background	solo_singer
birth name	Kwasi Danquah
birth date	September 14, 1986
origin	Bow, Greater London, United Kingdom
genre	Grime, hip hop, dance, R&B;
occupation	Rapper, Producer, Artist manager, Agent, Music video director,Creative director
years active	1997-present
label	Takeover Roc Nation &Takeover Entertainment Ltd,Island (UK)
associated acts	Jay-ZRuff Sqwad
website
number one singles	Number 1 }}

Kwasi Danquah ( ; born September 14, 1986), better known by his pseudonyms Tinchy Stryder and Star In The Hood, is a British rapper, record executive, A&R; executive, and entrepreneur. He is also the co-founder and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Takeover Roc Nation.

Tinchy Stryder rose to popularity with the song "Take Me Back" which peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart in January 2009. He then released the song "Number 1", (a collaboration with N-Dubz) which entered the UK chart at number 1 on 26 April 2009. Stryder later released "Never Leave You" with Amelle Berrabah from girl-group Sugababes which became Stryder's second number 1.

Tinchy Stryder has opened other ventures since the beginning of his success. He founded and is the creator of the clothing line Star In The Hood. He is also the President and chief executive of Takeover/Cloud 9 (Music Publishing company through EMI Music Publishing), based in London, and he currently serves as the Chairman & A&R; executive of Takeover Entertainment Ltd (Music management company).

Biography

1997–2005: Education and career beginnings

Stryder is a Black British rapper of Ghanaian descent from Bow, East London and attended St Bonaventure's Catholic Comprehensive School in Forest Gate, Newham; he gained a B.A. (Hons) in Digital arts, Moving image and Animation at the University of East London.

Stryder started at the age of 14 on pirate radio sets in East London with other MCs such as Wiley and Dizzee Rascal. His pseudonym Tinchy Stryder derives from the arcade game ''Strider'' which he played when he was young and from the nickname "Tinchy" given to him due to his short stature: his height at 5'3" (1.55m) making him the shortest male artist ever to top the UK Top 40.

Stryder made a number of appearances on Sky's Channel AKA and BBC Radio 1Xtra taking part in freestyles, sometimes joined by his rap crew, (Ruff Sqwad). He was also part of a line-up at The O2 arena 3D ELEKTRO race that included Caspa and Rusko, Frankmusik, High Contrast and Dancing Robot Music. Stryder was part of well-known grime crew Roll Deep for a while, featuring on some songs including "U Were Always", which was released years later on Roll Deep's compilations album, ''Street Anthems''.

2006-2008: ''Star in the Hood''

The debut album by Stryder, ''Star in the Hood'', was released on 13 August 2007 on Takeover Entertainment Ltd. The album spawned two main singles, "Breakaway" and "Something about your Smile". Bonus track "Mainstream Money" was also released as an underground single.

Since 2006, Stryder's career has been managed by Takeover Entertainment Ltd, comprising Archie Lamb and Jack Foster. Archie Lamb's father is Liberal Democrat MP, Norman Lamb, who has invested in Stryder's career.

2008-2010: Mainstream Success and ''Catch 22''

Stryder began a significant partnership with producer/songwriter Fraser T Smith whom he originally contacted through MySpace and then met while supporting Kano on tour. According to Smith in an interview with HitQuarters, "Tinchy had no shortage of beats and cool sounding production, but I think he wanted to try and break through into the mainstream, and I had some experience crossing urban over into pop having worked with artists like Kano and Craig David."

His next single, called "Stryderman" was released and became his first single to chart in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 73. The song was the first single taken from his second album ''Catch 22''. The second single, "Take Me Back" entered the official UK Singles Chart at 39 on downloads alone, one day before its official release. The following week the single moved up 36 places to peak position 3.

On 26 April 2009, Stryder's next single, a collaboration with N-Dubz titled "Number 1" topped the UK Singles Chart giving Stryder and N-Dubz their first number one single. Stryder's fourth single from ''Catch 22'', titled "Never Leave You", featuring Amelle Berrabah of the Sugababes, was released on 3 August 2009 with the album following on 17 August. "Never Leave You" went straight to Number 1 on the week of its release. Catch 22 debuted at Number 2 on the UK albums chart, only beaten by Calvin Harris. The fifth single from ''Catch 22'' is "You're Not Alone" which was released in November 2009 and samples the Olive song of the same name. Stryder's 6th single from the album was "Spotlight", which featured vocals from Tanya Lacey.

He took part in a cover track of The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done", which was named I Got Soul, along with many other acts including Chipmunk, N-Dubz and Pixie Lott, to raise money for War Child charity. The single was released on 19 October 2009 and peaked at number 10 in the Official UK Charts and 19 in the Irish Singles Chart.

As part of Stryder's headline tour with Example and JME in February 2010, he paid respects to his Norfolk promoters Takeover Entertainment Ltd, at a sell-out gig at Norwich's UEA. Stryder opened on the pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday 27 June 2010. He also performed at the O2 Arena for the Transformation Trust's first birthday alongside The Saturdays and X Factor finalist Stacey Solomon.

2010-2011: ''Third Strike'' and Takeover Roc Nation

Stryder's third album, ''Third Strike'' was released on November 15, 2010. ''Third Strike'' failed to make the same impact on the charts as his previous release ''Catch 22''. Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Roc Nation have signed a lucrative joint venture deal with Stryders’s management company, Takeover Entertainment Ltd, comprising Archie Lamb and Jack Foster. Archie Lamb's father is Liberal Democrat MP, Norman Lamb, who has invested in Stryder's career. The new leg of the company is called Takeover Roc Nation.

2011-Present: 4th Studio Album

The first single from this forthcoming album is "Spaceship" and it features Dappy from N-Dubz. Stryder performed at the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final in support of his new single. This also made him the first rapper in the world to perform in a UEFA Champions League final.

Awards and nominations

{| class="wikitable" |- ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Ceremony ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Category ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Nominated work ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Result ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Ref |- |rowspan="3"|2008 |rowspan="2"|Urban Music Awards |Best Newcomer | — | |rowspan="2"| |- |Best Video |"Stryderman" | |- |rowspan="1"|MOBO Awards |Best Video |"Stryderman" | |rowspan="1"|

Other

''Cloud 9: The EP (2008)

''Star in the Hood EP Vol. 1'' (2009)

''Star in the Hood EP Vol. 2'' (2009)

''III EP'' (2010)

References

External links

Tinchy Stryder at MTV

Tinchy Stryder talks through Jay-Z business deal collected news and commentary at ''BBC News''

MistaJam in conversation with Tinchy Stryder - MUSICIANS' MASTERCLASS 2011 collected video and commentary at ''BBC''

Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of East London Category:Grime artists Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Category:Black British people Category:British people of Ghanaian descent Category:British rappers Category:Ghanaian rappers Category:Pseudonymous rappers Category:British music industry executives Category:A&R; people Category:Hip hop record producers Category:British record producers Category:British music video directors Category:British music managers Category:British talent agents Category:Businesspeople in fashion Category:British businesspeople in retailing Category:People from Bow, London Category:Musicians from London Category:People from Accra Category:1986 births

cy:Tinchy Stryder da:Tinchy Stryder de:Tinchy Stryder es:Tinchy Stryder it:Tinchy Stryder pl:Tinchy Stryder fi:Tinchy Stryder th:ทินชี สไตรเดอร์

name	Taio Cruz
background	solo_singer
born	April 23, 1983)
birth name	Jacob Taio Cruz
birth place	London, England, UK
genre	Electropop, R&B;, hip hop soul
occupation	Singer-songwriter, record producer, rapper, entrepreneur
years active	2002–present
label	Rokstarr Entertainment Division, Island, Republic, Mercury (US)
associated acts	Luciana Caporaso, Ludacris, David Guetta, Cheryl Cole, McFly
website	}}

Taio Cruz (born Jacob Taio Cruz on April 23, 1983) is a English singer-songwriter, record producer, occasional rapper, and entrepreneur. In 2008, he released his debut album ''Departure'', which Cruz wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a MOBO Award nomination. In June 2010, Cruz released his follow-up album ''Rokstarr'', which includes the number one singles "Break Your Heart" and "Dynamite". In November 2010, Cruz collaborated with Kylie Minogue and Travie McCoy on his single "Higher". Additionally, Cruz penned and recorded the song "Telling the World" as the lead single from the soundtrack to the 2011 animated film ''Rio''.

Early life

Cruz was born in London, to a Nigerian father and a Brazilian mother. He attended Christ's Hospital, a boarding school in West Sussex.

Music career

Career beginnings

Cruz began writing songs when he was 12. His songwriting career began at age 19 as part of Tricky Stewart's writing collective, RedZone Entertainment. Cruz achieved notability in 2005 when he was awarded a BRIT Award for co-writing Will Young's 2004 single, "Your Game".

Cruz is the founder and chief executive of Rokstarr Music London, which in 2006 released his debut single "I Just Wanna Know". The single attracted significant attention from radio, and also from music industry insiders, who were already well aware of the artist's potential; manager Jamie Binns, who began representing Cruz at this time, later told HitQuarters: "He was a guy that everyone had earmarked to do damage in the future." Although the single received a reasonable amount of radio airplay, it did not perform as well as expected in either territory. However, rather than lose faith in Cruz, the labels were eager to negotiate an album deal, as by this time they had listened to his other songs and were ever more convinced by his capability.

Cruz's admirers included Island Records's Darcus Beese and Universal Republic's Monte Lipman, whom, according to Binns: "Both believed 'I Just Wanna Know' fitted the format on both sides of the Atlantic." In 2006, Cruz signed a split single deal with Universal Music Group companies, Republic Records and the UK branch of Island Records.

''Departure'' (2006–2008)

Taio Cruz released his second single "Moving On" in September 2007 which made the top 30 in the UK. In March 2008 his next single, "Come On Girl," featuring Luciana, peaked at No. 5 on the UK charts. The related album ''Departure'' appeared on 17 March and peaked at No. 17. This was followed by the single "I Can Be," which reached No. 18 in May. On 18 August, "She's Like a Star" was released, which was a remix of the previous single and featured American rapper Busta Rhymes and girl-group Sugababes. The remix later appeared on the Sugababes studio album ''Catfights & Spotlights'', which peaked at No. 20. It was later revealed that Cruz narrowly missed out on the chance to record the song "Umbrella" which was eventually recorded by Rihanna and ended up topping charts around the world.

''Rokstarr'' and International breakthrough'' (2009)

Cruz was featured on Tinchy Stryder's breakout single "Take Me Back" which peaked at No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. According to Cruz's official Myspace blog, as of 1 January 2009, Rokstarr Music London officially changed its name to Rokstarr Entertainment Division and abbreviated to R.E.D Inc.

During 2009, he worked on his follow-up album which was originally titled ''T.W.O. (This Way Out)'' but later changed to ''Rokstarr''. It was released on 12 October through R.E.D Inc/Island Records and is entirely written and produced by Cruz, with co-writes and co-productions predominantly with UK producer Fraser T Smith. The album's lead single "Break Your Heart" was released on 14 September and reached number one in the UK, where it stayed for three weeks. The success of the song attracted the attention of David Massey and Daniel Werner from Mercury/Island Def Jam who were excited and aggressive about releasing "Break Your Heart" in the US on their label. According to Cruz's manager Jamie Binns, the relationship with Monte Lipman at Universal Republic had "gone a bit quiet" by this point and as Taio wanted to be with the label that was most enthusiastic about his music, a move from Universal Republic to Mercury/Island Def Jam was engineered.

The single reached the top spot in the US for one week on the ''Billboard'' charts. In an interview for ''The Guardian'' it was stated that "Cruz was clever to have hooked up with a US rapper Ludacris on his breakthrough hit". In order to introduce Cruz into the US market, David Massey had suggested that the single feature an American rapper with chart credibility. The album spawned two other UK singles, "No Other One", and the top-ten hit "Dirty Picture" featuring American electropop singer Kesha. The album's fourth single (second in the US) titled "Dynamite" debuted at 26 and despite peaking at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Dynamite" peaked at number 1 on US top 40 earning Cruz his second US number 1 record.

''The Rokstarr Collection''

''Rokstarr'' was followed by the compilation album ''The Rokstarr Collection'' which includes songs both from ''Departure'' and the international version of ''Rokstarr''. Cruz later released three versions of his single "Higher" - one featuring Kylie Minogue, one featuring Travie McCoy and with just himself.

Cruz has also been featured on the soundtrack of American reality TV series ''Jersey Shore''.

Cruz is the main featured artist on David Guetta's 2011 single 'Little Bad Girl' which also features US rapper Ludacris.

Troublemaker

On 13 January 2011, Cruz used social networking website Twitter to tells fans that his upcoming third album would be titled ''Troublemaker''. In June 2011, a music video for the title song was put into production, directed by Martin Weisz. It is expected to be unveiled in July 2011 as the lead single from the album. The album is due for release on October 17.

Other ventures

Writing and producing

Cruz has written songs on albums by Cheryl Cole, JLS, The Saturdays, The Wanted and David Guetta. Cruz wrote and featured on Tinchy Stryder's hit single "Take Me Back". Boyband McFly recorded "Shine a Light" which not only features, but was also was penned and produced by Cruz for their fifth studio album. 2011 will see him writing for Justin Bieber's next album. Jennifer Lopez's 2011 single "I'm Into You", featuring Lil Wayne, is also penned by Cruz. On 13 April 2011, Cruz confirmed that he had written and contributed vocals to a Guetta track called "Little Bad Girl" which is the second single from Guetta's fifth album, ''Nothing But the Beat''. Additionally, a track dubbed "Troublemaker (Believe In Me Now)" with Cruz's vocals and said to be produced by Swedish House Mafia was leaked in early May and is most probably featured on Cruz's coming album.

Rokstarr brand

On 1 September 2009, Cruz launched the brand Rokstarr; the fashion and accessories brand has a focus on sunglasses. Musicians such as Kanye West, Shontelle, Keri Hilson and Kelly Rowland have been seen wearing them. Speaking in October to R&B; writer Pete Lewis, Cruz stated: "There's a load of US celebrities that are all rocking the sunglasses already – Kid Cudi, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West... Then in the UK we have The Saturdays, JLS, Daniel Merriweather – who've all been twittering and writing on their blogs how much they love them. So yeah, it's definitely my new album 'Rokstarr' and the fashion brand that are my two main focuses at the moment."

Meanwhile, speaking again to Lewis in April 2010, Cruz revealed: "We're currently looking to expand the brand and possibly go into things like watches. I've also got a new subsidiary of Rokstarr called 'Rok By Rokstarr'. And we've just started doing things like jeans and T-shirts, and stuff that more of the fans of Taio Cruz can buy. Because with Rokstarr in itself being so expensive, a lot of the kids out there who want to buy Rokstarr things can't. So we're bringing in stuff that's a little bit more High Street and more affordable."

Discography

''Departure'' (2008)

''Rokstarr'' (2009)

''Troublemaker'' (2011)

Awards and nominations

Best British Song MOBO AwardsAmerican Music Awards BRIT Awards iTunes Best Album & Song Ascap Vanguard Award BRIT Awards rowspan=3>Virgin Media Awards Best Collaboration rowspan=6>2011 Billboard Music Awards Top Hot 100 Song rowspan=1>2011 MuchMusic Video Awards

Year
2004	Brit Awards>BRIT Awards	|	Your Game
2008	|	Best UK Male
2010	|	Breakthrough Artist
2010	|	Best British Song	Break Your Heart
2010	|	Best Song	Dynamite (Taio Cruz song)>Dynamite
2010	|	Recognition of Album	Departure (Taio Cruz album)>Departure
2011	|	Best British Song	Dynamite
2011	|	Best Male		<
2011	|	Dirty Picture
2011	Best Video
2011	Billboard Awards ||	Top New Artist		<
2011	|	Dynamite
2011	Top Digital Song
2011	Top Radio Song
2011	Top Streaming Song
2011	Top Pop Song
2011	|	MuchMusic.com Most Watched Video	Dynamite

References

External links

Taio Cruz on justRHYMES.com

Taio Cruz 'Blues & Soul' interview by Pete Lewis February 2008

Taio Cruz at Billboard.com

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Black British musicians Category:Christ's Hospital Old Blues Category:English rhythm and blues singers Category:English pop singers Category:English male singers Category:English people of Nigerian descent Category:British people of Brazilian descent Category:Musicians from London Category:Island Records artists

ar:تايو كروز ca:Taio Cruz cs:Taio Cruz da:Taio Cruz de:Taio Cruz es:Taio Cruz fa:تایو کروز fr:Taio Cruz ko:타이오 크루즈 id:Taio Cruz it:Taio Cruz he:טאיו קרוז lv:Taio Kruss nl:Taio Cruz ja:タイオ・クルーズ no:Taio Cruz pcd:Taio Cruz pl:Taio Cruz pt:Taio Cruz ru:Круз, Тайо simple:Taio Cruz fi:Taio Cruz sv:Taio Cruz th:ไทโอ ครูซ tr:Taio Cruz zh:泰欧·克鲁斯

Jordan Roseman (aka DJ Earworm) is a San Francisco/London-based mashup artist who has achieved recognition for his technically sophisticated, songwriting oriented music and video mashups. His annual “United State of Pop” mashups, short mixes featuring the top 25 songs of the year according to Billboard magazine, have reached the Top 100 for national radio play.

Biography

Roseman was born into a big family of musicians and raised in eastern Iowa and Evanston, Illinois. In his early life, he played piano and produced original electronic music on a computer, later majoring in music theory and computer science at the University of Illinois. He began making mashups recreationally in 2003 using ACID. After encouragement from DJ Adrian at Club Bootie, Roseman created the moniker DJ Earworm ("earworm" referencing a song that repeats uncontrollably in one's mind) and began releasing mashups via a website.

DJ Earworm has a unique mashup style that consists of a compositional, songwriting approach. He gradually layers samples on top of one another, matching keys and subtly altering melodies. His mashups often convey an entirely new meaning than the original material, such as a political message in “No More Gas”. He has been contrasted with mashup artist Girl Talk, who has a more DJ-oriented style.

He is the author of ''Audio Mashup Construction Kit'' (Wiley, 2006), a how-to manual for creating mashups.

At the 2008 IDEA conference, he revealed that he has made mashups using Ableton Live₨, and now DJs live with the same software.

"United State of Pop" series

2007

Earworm's 2007 mashup, "United State of Pop” consisted of the top 25 songs of 2007 according to ''Billboard''. The song crossed beyond the online download market, reaching the Top 100 for national radio play in February 2008. Earworm is the first mashup artist to have a bootleg mashup enter Billboard’s charts. As of August 12, 2011, the song has surpassed 4.5 million views on YouTube, and it has peaked at number 71 on the CHR/Top 40 Mediabase radio chart.

Mix Includes:

"Irreplaceable"- Beyonce

" Umbrella"- Rihanna ft. Jay-z

"The Sweet Escape"- Gwen Stefani ft. Akon

"Big Girls Don't Cry"- Fergie

"Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')"- T-Pain ft. Young Joc

"Before He Cheats"- Carrie Underwood

"Hey There Delilah"- Plain White T's

" I Wanna Love You"- Akon ft. Snoop Dogg

"Say It Right"- Nelly Furtado

" Glamorous"- Fergie ft. Ludacris

"Don't Matter"- Akon

" Girlfriend"- Avril Lavigne

"Makes Me Wonder"- Maroon 5

"Party Like a Rockstar"- Shop Boyz

"Smack That"- Akon ft. Eminem

"This Is Why I'm Hot"- Mims

" It's Not Over"- Daughtry

"The Way I Are"- Timbaland ft. Keri Hilson

"Fergalicious"- Fergie

"Crank That (Soulja Boy)*- Soulja Boy Tell 'Em

" Give It to Me"- Timbaland with Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado

"What Goes Around... Comes Around"- Justin Timberlake

"Cupid's Chokehold"- Gym Class Heroes ft. Patrick Stump

" How to Save a Life"- The Fray

" Home"- Daughtry

2008

On December 25, 2008 he released another mashup called "United State of Pop 2008 (Viva la Pop)", prominently featuring Coldplay's song "Viva la Vida" as the backing track, and an intro by Natasha Bedingfield's Pocketful of Sunshine beat. The official YouTube video of the song had 200,000 views within the first two weeks of release. The mashup peaked at number 58 on ''Billboard'''s Pop Airplay chart, and entered the Pop 100 chart. As of August 12, 2011, the video has received over 9.2 million views on YouTube, and it has peaked at number 81 on the CHR/Top 40 Mediabase radio chart.

Mix Includes:

" Low"- Flo Rida ft. T-Pain

"Bleeding Love"- Leona Lewis

" No One"- Alicia Keys

" Lollipop"- Lil Wayne ft. Static Major

" Apologize"- One Republic ft. Timbaland

"No Air"- Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown

" Love Song"- Sara Bareilles

"Love in This Club"- Usher ft.Young Jeezy

" With You"- Chris Brown

" Forever"- Chris Brown

"Sexy Can I"- Ray J ft. Young Berg

" Take a Bow"- Rihanna

"Viva La Vida"- Coldplay

"I Kissed a Girl"- Katy Perry

" Whatever You Like"-T.I.

"Disturbia"- Rihanna

" Don't Stop the Music"- Rihanna

" Pocketful of Sunshine"- Natasha Bedingfield

" Kiss Kiss"- Chris Brown ft. T-pain

" Closer"- Ne-Yo

"Bubbly"- Colbie Caillat

"Touch My Body"- Mariah Carey

" 4 Minutes "- Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake

" So What"- Pink

"Paralyzer"- Finger Eleven

2009

On December 27, 2009 he released a third year-end mashup, "United State of Pop 2009 (Blame it on the Pop)". The music video has reached over 38.5 million views as of August 17, 2011.

Mix Includes:

"Boom Boom Pow"- The Black Eyed Peas

" Poker Face"- Lady Gaga

"Just Dance"- Lady Gaga ft.Colby O'Donis

"I Gotta Feeling"- Black Eyed Peas

" Love Story"- Taylor Swift

"Right Round"- Flo Rida ft. Kesha

" I'm Yours"- Jason Mraz

"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)"- Beyonce

" Heartless"- Kanye West

"Gives You Hell"- All-American Rejects

"You Belong with Me"- Taylor Swift

"Dead and Gone"- T.I ft. Justin Timberlake

"You Found Me"- The Fray

"Use Somebody"- Kings of Leon

"Knock You Down"- Keri Hilson ft. Kanye West & Ne-Yo

"Blame It"- Jamie Foxx ft. T-Pain

"I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)"- Pitbull

"Live Your Life"- T.I ft. Rihanna

"Kiss Me Thru the Phone"- Soulja Boy Tell 'Em ft. Sammie

" Down"- Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne

"The Climb"- Miley Cyrus

" Best I Ever Had"- Drake

"My Life Would Suck Without You"- Kelly Clarkson

" Halo"- Beyonce

"Hot n Cold"- Katy Perry

2010

On December 28, 2010 he released the fourth year-end mashup, "United State of Pop 2010 (Don't Stop the Pop) includes the top 25 singles of 2010. The music video has reached over 12.7 million views as of August 17, 2011.

Mix Includes:

"Tik Tok"- Kesha

"Need You Now"- Lady Antebellum

"Hey, Soul Sister"- Train

"California Gurls"- Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg

" OMG"-Usher ft. Will.I.Am

"Airplanes"-B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams

"Love the Way You Lie"- Eminem ft. Rihanna

"Bad Romance"-Lady Gaga

" Dynamite"- Taio Cruz

"Break Your Heart"- Taio Cruz ft. Ludacris

"Nothin' on You"- B.o.B ft. Bruno Mars

" I Like It"- Enrique Iglesias ft. Pitbull

"BedRock"-Young Money Entertainment ft. Lloyd

" In My Head"- Jason Derülo

"Rude Boy"- Rihanna

" Telephone"- Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce

"Teenage Dream"- Katy Perry

"Just The Way You Are"- Bruno Mars

"Cooler Than Me"- Mike Posner

"Imma Be"- The Black Eyed Peas

"Empire State of Mind"- Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys

"DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love"- Usher ft. Pitbull

"Billionaire"- Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars

"Not Afraid"-Eminem

"Replay"- Iyaz

2011

The fifth year-end mashup is set to be released in December 2011.*The Billboard Hot 100 Chart contacted DJ Earworm early, due to his mashups coming out so late. They gave him the official top 25 songs of 2011:

" Rolling In The Deep"- Adele "Firework"- Katy Perry "Party Rock Anthem"- LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennett & GoodRock "Grenade"- Bruno Mars "E.T"-Katy Perry ft. Kanye West "Give Me Everything"-Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo & Nayer "Born This Way"- Lady Gaga "F**k You"-Cee Lo Green "F**king Perfect"- P!nk "S&M;"- Rihanna "Raise Your Glass"- P!nk "Tonight(I'm Lovin'You)"- Enrique Iglesias ft. Ludacris "The Edge Of Glory"-Lady Gaga "Lighters"- Bad Meets Evil ft. Bruno Mars "What's My Name"- Rihanna ft. Drake "Just Can't Get Enough"- The Black Eyed Peas "Till The World Ends"- Britney Spears "Last Friday Night(T.G.I.F)"- Katy Perry "On The Floor"- Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull "Black & Yellow"- Wiz Khalifa "Super Bass"- Nicki Minaj "The Lazy Song"- Bruno Mars "We R Who We R"- Kesha "How To Love"- Lil Wayne "Only Girl(In The World)"- Rihanna

Official Mashups

While most mashup artists must rely on bootleg samples and public releases to make mashups, Earworm has been contacted by prominent musicians to make mashups from their source material. DJ Earworm was given multitracks by Annie Lennox to create a unique mashup piece called "Backwards/Forwards," which contains nine of her songs.

On September 12, 2009, Earworm released an official Sean Kingston mashup called "A Beautiful Mashup."

Like OMG, Baby

"Like OMG, Baby", released in the summer of 2010, was shown as part of a concert at Wembley Stadium in London for Capital FM's Summertime Ball, where all fifteen of the featured artists performed. The mashup is Earworm's fourth song to chart on the CHR/Top 40 ''Mediabase'' radio chart, where it peaked at number 83. As of August 8, 2011, the video has received 10.2 million views and counting on YouTube, making it by far his most popular non-United State of Pop mashup and surpassing the 2008 year-end video. In 2011 the song was honored with two Sony Radio Academy Awards. Here is the list of songs used: #Alexandra Burke - All Night Long #Cheryl Cole - Fight For This Love #Chipmunk feat. Esmee Denters - Until You Were Gone #Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers #Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed #Jason Derulo - In My Head #JLS - One Shot #Justin Bieber - Baby #Ke$ha - Tik Tok #Pixie Lott - Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh) #Rihanna - Rude Boy #Scouting For Girls - This Ain't a Love Song #Tinie Tempah - Pass Out #Usher feat. Will.I.Am - OMG #The Wanted - All Time Low

Free At Night

On December 10, 2010, Earworm released a Nelly Furtado mashup titled "Free At Night", composed of 13 songs from Furtado's recent greatest hits album, The Best of Nelly Furtado. The music video has over 541,000 views as of August 8, 2011. Here is the list of songs used: #I'm Like a Bird #Turn Off the Light #Powerless (Say What You Want) #Try #Força #Promiscuous #Maneater #Say It Right #All Good Things (Come To An End) #Girlfriend in This City #Night Is Young #Stars #Manos al Aire

The Only Time is Tonight

To promote YouTube's Android app, Earworm released a mashup called "The Only Time is Tonight". The mashup heavily used Enrique Iglesias's "Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)" instrumental and vocals. It was released on May 31, 2011 on YouTube's official account. As of August 22, 2011, the video has reached over 1.5 million views. Here is the list of songs used: #Avril Lavigne - What the Hell #Black Eyed Peas - The Time (Dirty Bit) #Chris Brown - Yeah 3x #Enrique Iglesias - Tonight (I'm Lovin' You) #Kesha - We R Who We R #Rihanna - Only Girl (In the World) #Willow Smith - Whip My Hair

Party on the Floor

After 2010's "Like OMG, Baby", Earworm released the 2011 version. He released it on June 12, 2011. It is entitled, "Party On The Floor". As of August 23, 2011, the music video has reached over 3 million views. This mash up was used at the start of the Capital FM summertime ball 2011 at Wembley Stadium. Here are the songs used: #Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - On the Floor #Jessie J - Do It Like A Dude #Jessie J feat. B.o.B.- Price Tag #LMFAO feat. Lauren Barrett & GoonRock - Party Rock Anthem #Nicole Scherzinger - Don't Hold Your Breath #Example - Changed the Way You Kiss Me #Mike Posner - Cooler Than Me #Ne-Yo - Beautiful Monster #The Wanted - Glad You Came #Far East Movement feat. The Cataracs & Dev - Like A G6 #JLS feat. Tinie Tempah - Eyes Wide Shut #JLS - Love You More #Katy B - Katy on a Mission #Katy B feat. Ms. Dynamite - Lights On #Cee-Lo Green - Forget You #Cee-Lo Green feat. Wiz Khalifa - Bright Lights, Bigger City #Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull - I Like It #Wretch 32 - Traktor #Mann - Buzzin'

References

External links

DJ Earworm Homepage

Category:American DJs Category:Living people

pt:DJ Earworm