Jason Joel Desrouleaux, known professionally as Jason Derulo, is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Since the start of his solo recording career in 2009, Derulo has sold over 30 million singles and has achieved eleven Platinum singles, including “Wiggle,” “Talk Dirty,” “In My Head,” and “Whatcha Say.” Take a look below for 27 more fun and interesting facts about Jason Derulo.

1. Derulo was born in Miramar, Florida, the son of Haitian parents.

2. He started singing at a young age.

3. He attended performing arts schools in Florida and made some early attempts at music composition, writing his first song at the age of eight.

4. His writing skills began attracting attention when he was a teenager.

5. He also wrote “Bossy” for Birdman, a New Orleans-based rapper, and made a guest appearance on the song, highlighting his ability as a vocalist.

6. Derulo has been writing songs for artists including Diddy, Danity Kane, Donnie Klang, Sean Kingston, Cassie, and Lil Wayne since he was young, also intending on becoming a solo performer.

7. After attending performing arts schools, such as The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, and honing his talents as a singer and dancer, as well as acting in theater productions like Ragtime and Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Derulo won the grand prize on the 2006 season finale of the TV show Showtime at the Apollo.

8. Derulo was discovered by music producer J.R. Rotem, who signed him to his record label Beluga Heights Records and Warner Bros. Records.

9. On August 4, 2009, Jason released his debut single, “Whatcha Say”. It was produced by J.R. Rotem with additional production by Fuego.

10. In late August 2009, the song debuted at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit number 1 in November 2009.

11. Derulo’s debut album, Jason Derulo, stylized with an umlaut as Jason Derülo, was released on March 2, 2010.

12. Jason Derulo first charted within the top ten of the UK and Irish Albums Charts in early March 2010.

13. In 2011, Derulo recorded a track with Demi Lovato titled “Together” for her album Unbroken.

14. His second studio album, Future History, was released on September 27, 2011.

15. On March 28, 2012, Derulo appeared on American Idol to announce he would allow fans to help him finish the lyrics for a new song entitled “Undefeated”, as part of a partnership with American Idol and Coca-Cola.

16. On July 9, 2012, Derulo announced that he had signed Australian singer-songwriter Arlene Zelina to his record label Future History (co-owned with his manager Frank Harris) after he attended one of her performances at Whisky A Go Go in 2011 before she returned to Melbourne, Australia.

17. On April 16, 2013, Derulo released his single, “The Other Side” to radio on April 23, 2013. As of July 4, 2013 “The Other Side” peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.

18. On March 9, Derulo released the first single from his forthcoming fourth studio album, Everything Is 4, called “Want to Want Me”.

19. The music video for his second single, “Cheyenne”, was released on June 30, 2015.

20. On June 29, Derulo announced the release of his first greatest hits album, titled Platinum Hits. Platinum Hits was released on July 29, 2016, with a brand-new song called “Kiss the Sky”, which appears on the soundtrack to the film Storks.

21. On February 24, 2017, Derulo released a new single entitled “Swalla”, featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign.

22. Derulo stars as Rum Tum Tugger in the upcoming film Cats, which is set to premiere on December 20, 2019.

23. He will also star as Isley Brothers frontman Ron Isley in the upcoming biographical film Spinning Gold.

24. Derulo’s music is generally pop, but also incorporates R&B and hip-hop influences.

25. He has predominantly named Michael Jackson as his inspiration. Derulo states “He is the reason I am who I am today. When I was 4 years old, I saw him for the first time. I saw how he moved the crowd and how people were just so touched”.

26. His other musical influences include Elvis Presley, Madonna, Prince, Usher and Justin Timberlake.

27. Derulo and singer Jordin Sparks dated for three years, before ending their relationship in September 2014.