NEWS
EVENTS
Jason Derulo Interview
RnB/Hip Hop | Monday 27th June 2011 | Osh
You’re only 21 and already a double platinum selling artist, did you ever think you would be such a massive success so young?
I didn’t think I was gonna be this successful but I did think I was gonna make it very early on. I told myself that if I wasn’t making music for the world by the time I was 16 I was gonna give up. Then 16 came and I was like, wait, I’m going to extend it a couple of years...
So you always believed in yourself?
Yeah I’ve always believed in myself, I had no back-up plan, so I was either gonna do it or die.
Could you ever have guessed that Whatcha Say would be such a huge hit?
Um, no, I just knew that I liked it. When I got the responses from other people around me, they were really, really into it and I was pleased you know, because it was my first record.
Yeah of course, what gave you the idea to sample Imogen Heap’s track Hide and Seek? She’s quite alternative and I’d never heard of her before your track came out.
Most people say they’d heard of her when they really hadn’t... “Oh yeah her, I really love her”
I really hadn’t! You obviously had your finger more on the music pulse than I did!
Haha it’s good that you’re honest! Well I love all different kinds of music, and it was something that me and Jared just tried, and it happened really naturally.
Your new single Don’t Wanna Go Home also samples an old Robin S. song from ‘93 which is going way back, did you come up with these samples yourself?
Yeah absolutely. JR thought of the Imogen Heap one, but I thought of everything on Don’t Wanna Go Home.
Cool, you write your songs too, what provides your creative inspiration?
Life in general. You know, just living and seeing things around me, things that I actually go through myself.
Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming album Future History? Can we expect something different from your first album?
Well I feel like I’ve grown more in these two years than I’ve grown in my whole life. I’ve grown as a songwriter, I’ve grown as a singer, I’ve grown as a performer...I’ve grown as a man most importantly. So my album is gonna be a reflection of that, and it has a lot of different faces. As I said I love all kinds of music, so you’ll get influences from different genres...and there a few songs on there that I recorded when I was drunk...
Oh really?!
Yeah...also songs that are so emotional that they brought me to tears when I was writing and recording them. So you know, there’s lots of different stuff.
Do you have a preferred genre of music?
Erm...no. I love them all.
Fair enough. Your new track has been tipped to knock Example off the UK number 1 spot; how would you celebrate getting your second UK number 1? Will you be in the UK this weekend?
Yeah I’ll be here until Sunday. So I guess I would have a couple of drinks, and make it happen! I don’t know where it’ll be but...
Alright well if you need someplace to go in London check out TGN that’s what we do!
Ok absolutely yeah!
Your Youtube page has racked up enough views to make you one of the most viewed musicians ever! How does that make you feel?
Oh it’s awesome! Don’t Wanna Go Home is actually my fastest growing video. It’s still very early on, but just in 3 weeks 6 millions views is just crazy.
Does it make you trip a bit to think that millions of people are watching you all over the world?
Yeah it does! It’s crazy, like I’ll be on the treadmill you know, and then I just pop up on the screen...it’s weird!
In this video we also get to see a few more of your dance moves, did you have fun making it?
I did, I had more fun making this video than any of my other videos, because I wrote the treatment and I made sure that every single thing was what I wanted to do. I think it always works better that way.
So you had a lot of input?
Yeah, it’s always me, you know it’s me...like, it’s ME. It’s not contrived, it’s not someone else’s vision.
So how did you learn to dance? Do you have a particular style?
Well it started off with me just being in front of the TV, just practising the dance moves that I saw. Then I went to a school for the performing arts, so I learnt all kinds of different dances; I do tap dance, I do jazz, you know I do *cough* ballet... *cough*.
Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone! (oops)
Haha yeah all kinds of dance, so I implement all of that. It’s more Hip hop in my videos right now.
What are you going to do after the release of this album?
Erm, I’m gonna promote the album, and afterwards I’m going to take a break from music. Then I’ll do some movies for a while.
Oh really? So you’re an actor as well then?
I am. I actually went to a school for musical theatre in college - not music, just musical theatre. So I’m not one of those singers who’s just going to get into acting because I can, it’s because I actually am an actor.
Ok, so are you interested in doing just films or theatre as well?
Later down the line when I’m a little older I think I’m gonna do Broadway stuff, after I’ve got my film fix. I was actually offered a role on Broadway before anyone knew who I was. I used to go to musical theatre auditions every single day, and I finally landed a Broadway role and then...I turned it down. I wanted to continue my path. It was a hard decision because I didn’t have anything that was, like, throwing itself in my face. The pop dream was still just a dream then. But I knew if I did the role then I would be trapped in musical theatre forever.
This way, it all takes off for you and then you can always go back to theatre?
Right, because I feel like I’m a musical theatre person so I probably would have been good at it and the money’s decent, so I probably would have shut everything else out and been like ‘Ok I’m gonna do this.’
Do you have any cool summer plans?
Mmmm...I’m going to the Bahamas for a couple of days, but other than that not really!
Well what’s the craziest party you’ve ever been to?
I’d have to say this past Memorial Day weekend. I went to Vegas and it was just crazy! Vegas is always crazy but this was extra crazy!
I’ll make a note of that! What was it like touring with Lady Gaga on her Monster Ball Tour?
It was amazing it was my first tour. I was really getting my touring chops up, working out my kinks, but she and her staff made it very easy, very smooth for me. She’s a sweetheart.
Cool, slightly different question now...if you were exiled to an island in the middle of nowhere, which 3 famous people would you take with you?
Er...*thinks for a long time*...Halle Berry...what’s that new chick from Transformers?
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley?
Haha *puts on English accent* Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and, um...Megan Fox!
The old chick from Transformers yeah?
Haha, three beautiful women! Absolutely!
If you were invisible for the day, what would you get up to?
I would go to those same three women and watch them in the shower like a perve...no I’m joking! No I think I would go visit Oprah and see what a day in the life of Oprah would be like.
If you could have a swimming pool filled with anything you like, what would it be?
Hmmm...haha Alfredo seafood pasta.
Really? So you’re a seafood kind of guy?
Yeah I like seafood, but especially with the Alfredo pasta sauce.
Finally, can you give us an exclusive?
The name of the song that I recorded drunk was Make It Up As We Go. Wrote and recorded it, I write and record at the same time. I don’t use a pen, I just go into the booth and do it as it comes off the top of my head.
That’s wicked. Well that’s all my questions, so thank you very much it was a pleasure to interview you, and enjoy London!
Thank you sweetie.
I didn’t think I was gonna be this successful but I did think I was gonna make it very early on. I told myself that if I wasn’t making music for the world by the time I was 16 I was gonna give up. Then 16 came and I was like, wait, I’m going to extend it a couple of years...
So you always believed in yourself?
Yeah I’ve always believed in myself, I had no back-up plan, so I was either gonna do it or die.
Could you ever have guessed that Whatcha Say would be such a huge hit?
Um, no, I just knew that I liked it. When I got the responses from other people around me, they were really, really into it and I was pleased you know, because it was my first record.
Yeah of course, what gave you the idea to sample Imogen Heap’s track Hide and Seek? She’s quite alternative and I’d never heard of her before your track came out.
Most people say they’d heard of her when they really hadn’t... “Oh yeah her, I really love her”
I really hadn’t! You obviously had your finger more on the music pulse than I did!
Haha it’s good that you’re honest! Well I love all different kinds of music, and it was something that me and Jared just tried, and it happened really naturally.
Your new single Don’t Wanna Go Home also samples an old Robin S. song from ‘93 which is going way back, did you come up with these samples yourself?
Yeah absolutely. JR thought of the Imogen Heap one, but I thought of everything on Don’t Wanna Go Home.
Cool, you write your songs too, what provides your creative inspiration?
Life in general. You know, just living and seeing things around me, things that I actually go through myself.
Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming album Future History? Can we expect something different from your first album?
Well I feel like I’ve grown more in these two years than I’ve grown in my whole life. I’ve grown as a songwriter, I’ve grown as a singer, I’ve grown as a performer...I’ve grown as a man most importantly. So my album is gonna be a reflection of that, and it has a lot of different faces. As I said I love all kinds of music, so you’ll get influences from different genres...and there a few songs on there that I recorded when I was drunk...
Oh really?!
Yeah...also songs that are so emotional that they brought me to tears when I was writing and recording them. So you know, there’s lots of different stuff.
Do you have a preferred genre of music?
Erm...no. I love them all.
Fair enough. Your new track has been tipped to knock Example off the UK number 1 spot; how would you celebrate getting your second UK number 1? Will you be in the UK this weekend?
Yeah I’ll be here until Sunday. So I guess I would have a couple of drinks, and make it happen! I don’t know where it’ll be but...
Alright well if you need someplace to go in London check out TGN that’s what we do!
Ok absolutely yeah!
Your Youtube page has racked up enough views to make you one of the most viewed musicians ever! How does that make you feel?
Oh it’s awesome! Don’t Wanna Go Home is actually my fastest growing video. It’s still very early on, but just in 3 weeks 6 millions views is just crazy.
Does it make you trip a bit to think that millions of people are watching you all over the world?
Yeah it does! It’s crazy, like I’ll be on the treadmill you know, and then I just pop up on the screen...it’s weird!
In this video we also get to see a few more of your dance moves, did you have fun making it?
I did, I had more fun making this video than any of my other videos, because I wrote the treatment and I made sure that every single thing was what I wanted to do. I think it always works better that way.
So you had a lot of input?
Yeah, it’s always me, you know it’s me...like, it’s ME. It’s not contrived, it’s not someone else’s vision.
So how did you learn to dance? Do you have a particular style?
Well it started off with me just being in front of the TV, just practising the dance moves that I saw. Then I went to a school for the performing arts, so I learnt all kinds of different dances; I do tap dance, I do jazz, you know I do *cough* ballet... *cough*.
Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone! (oops)
Haha yeah all kinds of dance, so I implement all of that. It’s more Hip hop in my videos right now.
What are you going to do after the release of this album?
Erm, I’m gonna promote the album, and afterwards I’m going to take a break from music. Then I’ll do some movies for a while.
Oh really? So you’re an actor as well then?
I am. I actually went to a school for musical theatre in college - not music, just musical theatre. So I’m not one of those singers who’s just going to get into acting because I can, it’s because I actually am an actor.
Ok, so are you interested in doing just films or theatre as well?
Later down the line when I’m a little older I think I’m gonna do Broadway stuff, after I’ve got my film fix. I was actually offered a role on Broadway before anyone knew who I was. I used to go to musical theatre auditions every single day, and I finally landed a Broadway role and then...I turned it down. I wanted to continue my path. It was a hard decision because I didn’t have anything that was, like, throwing itself in my face. The pop dream was still just a dream then. But I knew if I did the role then I would be trapped in musical theatre forever.
This way, it all takes off for you and then you can always go back to theatre?
Right, because I feel like I’m a musical theatre person so I probably would have been good at it and the money’s decent, so I probably would have shut everything else out and been like ‘Ok I’m gonna do this.’
Do you have any cool summer plans?
Mmmm...I’m going to the Bahamas for a couple of days, but other than that not really!
Well what’s the craziest party you’ve ever been to?
I’d have to say this past Memorial Day weekend. I went to Vegas and it was just crazy! Vegas is always crazy but this was extra crazy!
I’ll make a note of that! What was it like touring with Lady Gaga on her Monster Ball Tour?
It was amazing it was my first tour. I was really getting my touring chops up, working out my kinks, but she and her staff made it very easy, very smooth for me. She’s a sweetheart.
Cool, slightly different question now...if you were exiled to an island in the middle of nowhere, which 3 famous people would you take with you?
Er...*thinks for a long time*...Halle Berry...what’s that new chick from Transformers?
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley?
Haha *puts on English accent* Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and, um...Megan Fox!
The old chick from Transformers yeah?
Haha, three beautiful women! Absolutely!
If you were invisible for the day, what would you get up to?
I would go to those same three women and watch them in the shower like a perve...no I’m joking! No I think I would go visit Oprah and see what a day in the life of Oprah would be like.
If you could have a swimming pool filled with anything you like, what would it be?
Hmmm...haha Alfredo seafood pasta.
Really? So you’re a seafood kind of guy?
Yeah I like seafood, but especially with the Alfredo pasta sauce.
Finally, can you give us an exclusive?
The name of the song that I recorded drunk was Make It Up As We Go. Wrote and recorded it, I write and record at the same time. I don’t use a pen, I just go into the booth and do it as it comes off the top of my head.
That’s wicked. Well that’s all my questions, so thank you very much it was a pleasure to interview you, and enjoy London!
Thank you sweetie.
