Don’t call it a comeback. For Jason Derulo, this is a rebirth.
In the early months of 2024, the American pop singer is in the midst of a career resurgence. In February, he released his first album in nine years, Nu King, which has already garnered hundreds of millions of streams. Next month, he is set to headline Dubai’s first EarthSoul sustainability music event at Coca-Cola Arena, one of the first stops on a new world tour.
For Derulo, this is not just another album, nor another concert. Both come after the most challenging period in his life. “I think I've always had this vision of who I could become in my mind, and I feel like I’m finally becoming that person in 2024,” Derulo tells The National.
To reach this point, Derulo had to risk everything. The first make-or-break moment happened behind closed doors in 2020, when, after more than a decade with Warner Bros Records, he decided to walk away from the company that helped make him an overnight sensation. “I see myself as an artist who is ever growing. I have no bounds – there is no ceiling. And when people start adding those ceilings above me, we’re going to have an issue, right off the bat,” Derulo says.
When Derulo sat across the table from the label representatives four years ago, he did not see the people who helped make him a contemporary artist unlike any who had become before him.
“I think I’m the only black artist to ever go pop first, and actually win,” says Derulo. “And I had won.
“The problem was, I was further and further removed from the people who signed me – from the people I knew, who understood me, as I understood them. There had been regime change after regime change, and those people were gone.”
Derulo felt disrespected. “These new people had the goal of finding new people. But I had been keeping the lights on for 12 years. I was one of the premiere artists on the label besides one or two other people. And we just kept butting heads. I said, ‘what are we doing here? I’ve got to go. I’ve got to be released. Let me out of this’,” he says.
Derulo knew the potential risk of his decision, but he was still confident that others would see his value. He was a proven hitmaker, someone who could collaborate with artists from across genres and produce songs that resonated the world over: Whatcha Say, Want to Want Me, Wiggle. But when he began to meet with other record labels, he felt that, five years removed from his last album, the only person who truly saw the potential that remained in him, was himself.
“I thought I was going to be received with open arms. I thought another label was going to be like, ‘oh, I’m so glad to have you. You can have whatever you’d like,” says Derulo. “And that’s exactly what didn’t happen.” Derulo's overtures were met with hesitance. Decision makers balked at the price tag, seeing him as a lower-tier star.
“They said, ‘I’m not sure this is going to work out.’ I was just like, ‘wait, what? I sold 250 million records. What are you talking about? You have the wrong guy,” he says.
“So, I didn’t sign the deal that I was not supposed to sign.”
Instead, he decided to start releasing songs independently, recording for the first time in years only for himself, following his own vision.
“My first offering was called Savage Love. My manager told me, ‘I don’t think you should put that out.’ I put it out anyway,” Derulo says.
After releasing an initial version in June 2020, Derulo approached South Korean septet BTS to incorporate vocals of members Jungkook, Suga and J-Hope to remix the track. It quickly became the second number-one song on the US Billboard Hot 100 for both artists and eventually climbed to the top spot on the company’s Global 200 chart as well.
“Suddenly, I had the number one song in the world, and as you can expect, all those same record labels came back and asked me to do a deal. I said, no, I’m not doing that,” says Derulo.
Instead, Derulo went back to Warner Bros – this time to its premiere label Atlantic Records, which had been the home of artists including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Led Zeppelin. There, he was no longer treated as a secondary concern. Now, he was treated as the star he knew he’d always been. The singer was the first solo artist to top charts across the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s, after all.
“It was time in my life to have a true partner. I’ve been very successful, and I finally felt comfortable putting my material in the hands of people who I knew would treat it with care,” says Derulo.
“It’s been a long couple of years of me digging deep in my heart, and telling stories, and writing a lot. I’ve come up with an album that I think is my greatest work to date. And it’s very different from anything people have heard of me, or anyone else for that matter,” he says.
To get there, he had to reconnect with his roots. He stripped himself of concerns about trends and algorithms, and found every answer he needed within himself. “I’ve always been courageous, but this time I had to have the courage not to make songs to appease everyone. I had to be selfish, and create music for myself.
“It’s cinematic – even dark. This isn’t what people know me for – there’s romance and heartbreak. And most importantly,” the once famously auto-tune loving singer says, “I wanted people to hear me really, really sing.”
When he doubts begins to doubt the decision, he thinks back to his hero, Michael Jackson. He remembers the risk that Jackson took in the early 1990s with his album Dangerous, embracing new genres, writing fewer love songs and including lyrics closer to his heart.
He, too, is ready for honesty. That’s what got him back on top, and that’s what’s guiding him forward.
Jason Derulo headlines EarthSoul at Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai, on May 4
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
TV (UAE time);
OSN Sports: from 10am
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
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Hamilton’s 2017
Australia - 2nd; China - 1st; Bahrain - 2nd; Russia - 4th; Spain - 1st; Monaco - 7th; Canada - 1st; Azerbaijan - 5th; Austria - 4th; Britain - 1st; Hungary - 4th; Belgium - 1st; Italy - 1st; Singapore - 1st; Malaysia - 2nd; Japan - 1st; United States - 1st; Mexico - 9th
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