''Departure'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by English singer and songwriter

Taio Cruz Jacob Taio Cruz (; born Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere, 23 April 1980), better known professionally as Taio Cruz (stylized TΛIO CRUZ), is an English singer, songwriter and record producer from London, England, currently based in Los Angeles. In 200 ...

. It was released on 17 March 2008. The album entered the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

at number 17.

Background

In terms of his musical ambitions for the album, in February 2008 Cruz told noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning

Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as ''NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a r ...

: "I tried to be diverse in my music while not going too far left. Before I go off and hit people with random stuff that they just wouldn't recognise, I'd rather they get to know me first! Which is why I've given them something they can relate to and won't be too difficult for them to grasp, while at the same time not making it generic. Unlike American R&B – which is often really samey a sometimes a bit obvious – I genuinely don't think my record sounds like anybody else."

Singles

The first single was " I Just Wanna Know", which was released on 6 November 2006. It hit number 29 on the UK Singles Chart. The second single was " Moving On", which was released on 10 September 2007. The digital download version was released on 3 September 2007. The song did better than the first single by hitting number 26 on the UK Singles Chart. The third single, " Come On Girl" featuring Luciana, was released on 3 March 2008 and hit number 5 on the UK Singles Chart. The fourth single, " I Can Be", reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, dated on the chart 25 May 2008, based on downloads sales alone. It also reached number 23 on the Irish Singles Chart, again on the back of downloads. The fifth single, "

She's Like a Star "She's like a Star" is a song written, produced and performed by British singer and songwriter Taio Cruz. It was released on 18 August 2008 as the fifth single from his debut studio album '' Departure'' (2008). An R&B ballad, the lyrics of "She ...

", was released on 11 August 2008. The song peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart.

Reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

said: "This isn't only manifest in the beats and electronic focus; the album is absolutely drenched in wonderfully camp disco strings. Cruz's own swooping vocals are most reminiscent of Seal; "Never Gonna Get Us" seems permanently on the verge of segueing into Crazy. Though somewhat lacking in low end at times (Cruz should learn about the virtues of a heavy bassline), this is a stylish, inventive debut."

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

noted: "Most of the ballads deploy strings over their R&B rhythms, but "Come On Girl", is all crunchy electro. "Fly Away" starts with a slick electric guitar riff and "I Can Be" recalls '80s British pop soul acts like Joe Jackson or

Fine Young Cannibals Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) was a British pop rock band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1984, by bassist David Steele (musician), David Steele, guitarist Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat (British band), The Beat), and singer Roland Gift (fo ...

. Yet Departure is a much more American than British-sounding album, with Cruz's voice blurring into a mid-Atlantic burr."BBC - Urban Review - Taio Cruz, Departure
/ref> The album entered the

at number 17 on sales of 11,880.Music Week - Now That's What I Call Music! still has it
/ref> In September 2008, the album was officially certified gold by BPI by reaching 100,000+ sales.

Background

Singles

Reception

Track listing

Charts

References