Music
Taio Cruz: 'Moving On'
Released on Monday, Sep 10 2007
Published Friday, Sep 14 2007, 13:07 BST | By Alex Fletcher | 2 comments
Taio Cruz isn't shy of making a few boastful claims about himself. His MySpace page casually throws around names such as Prince, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder as he tries to describe his vocal style. The Brazilian-born star also eagerly informs us that he isn't just a mere pop singer - oh no - he is in fact a producer, songwriter, performer and multi-instrumentalist, all rolled into one big ball that the women apparently can't keep their hands off. Blimey! We feel we should be impressed somewhat, yet for several reasons we are not.
While Cruz certainly has some smooth vocals, the intense workout they've been given on 'Moving On' by what sounds like several computers and digitizers renders them soulless. The stuttering bassline limps along, meandering, aimlessly looking for a forgotten hook from the last Usher album, while the man who was apparently dubbed the 'black Liberace' whines out the sort of cringeworthy, wet lyrics you'd expect the new Backstreet Boys album to churn out. Lines like: "Dont say to me / that you wan't to be good friends with me / that's just teasing me", feel about as genuine as Pete Doherty's latest not guilty plea and could easily have been nicked from some dreadful, schmoozy Phil Collins ballad. Yes, they really are that bad!
Cruz is clearly a man with long list of credible friends and cohorts, who clearly see a talent which isn't fully evident on this tune. Let's hope it's just a stumbling block on the way to greater things because, hey, we all love a good show-off.
While Cruz certainly has some smooth vocals, the intense workout they've been given on 'Moving On' by what sounds like several computers and digitizers renders them soulless. The stuttering bassline limps along, meandering, aimlessly looking for a forgotten hook from the last Usher album, while the man who was apparently dubbed the 'black Liberace' whines out the sort of cringeworthy, wet lyrics you'd expect the new Backstreet Boys album to churn out. Lines like: "Dont say to me / that you wan't to be good friends with me / that's just teasing me", feel about as genuine as Pete Doherty's latest not guilty plea and could easily have been nicked from some dreadful, schmoozy Phil Collins ballad. Yes, they really are that bad!
Cruz is clearly a man with long list of credible friends and cohorts, who clearly see a talent which isn't fully evident on this tune. Let's hope it's just a stumbling block on the way to greater things because, hey, we all love a good show-off.
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I love Taio Cruz and I love his songs. I think this song is amazing, the vocals are amazing and the lyrics are amazing. He has a lot of talent and there's no doubt he'll last long in the music industry.
Alex i have to completely disagree with your review. Firstly, Taio Cruz is a new artist being released into a marketplace that does not actively support rnb music, nor do the labels promote it with the same intensity or level of investment as the in U.S. The U.S is great at fooling us into buying into artists that arent really that good, because the americans are great at packaging and glossy videos etc, Whilst the Uk is equally as great at doing just the opposite to our urban talent. That being said i feel he is doing an amazing job of producing American quality music on a uk "non" budget. Also Taio has rocketed into being the UK's premier urban talent (in my opinion of course) with no gimmicks i.e. he's no spawn of a reality tv show like Lemar, no Garage music spin off like Craig David and no pop band ex-member like Simon Webbe. For an artist on his debut outings, i feel he is doing an exceptional job. I love both the singles and i personally can't wait for the album.