Today's Pick

R&B's crooner new rising star Jason Derülo has premiered the cinematic new video for his fourth single "What If," taken from his eponymous self-titled debut album, slated for early 2010, there is the thrilling sense of the arrival of a major new star. There was a time when pop artists wouldn't have dreamed of touching rap, and vice-versa, but over the last two decades the lines between R&B, hip-hop and pop have become so blurred these differentiations have become almost meaningless.
After three up-tempo cuts, "Whatcha Say," "In My Head" and "Ridin' Solo" have been Top 10 hits in the U,S,! Derülo finally slows things down with a ballad and it sounds like it's going to pretty catchy. This is of course another JR Rotem production and marks a turning point on Derülo's single releases - as all of his previous cuts were upbeat, and he's now trying differently with this midtempo ballad. "Jason is one of those guys who can have a career like Ne-Yo, who writes songs for other people but has a career of his own," says Rotem. "He can write female pop songs, male R&B, he can write ballads. He's very eclectic. He's really inspired us."
Interesting plot. "What If...the only way to save the one you love was to never meet them," reads the tagline. Derülo tugs at the heartstrings in the mini-movie for "What If" video. The R&B crooner plans to propose to his girlfriend, but what happens when fate takes an ugly turn? The movie-esque video is engaging enough but the whole 'Butterfly Effect' theme to save the girl while Derülo sacrifices their first time meeting her in order to save her from being car-bashed has been done to death. Having slowed it down and left the at-times good and appalling choreography on the back-burner, both this song and video present the 20-year-old in a much more musically-durable light than his earlier releases.
At the tender age of 20, Florida native has already experienced feats that many veterans in the game aspire to. A truly multi-talented artist knows no creative boundaries. Derülo has set his sights high. "I don't want to stay in a box," Derülo says. "I want all the love!" Derülo has always possessed much in the way of star potential, however a lethal combo of auto-tune and cringe-worthy Michael Jackson impersonations have prior to now over-shadowed that. With Chris Brown on the comeback trail, Trey Songz somewhat doing his thing, and Derülo proving to be more than a one-hit wonder, the male Urban/Pop market is looking increasingly promising.