JASON DERULO
Nu King (Atlantic)
Jason Derulo hasn’t released an album since 2015’s Everything Is 4, but after a nine-year hiatus the r’n’b-pop heartthrob is back with a 27-track opus, Nu King, which compiles songs released in the interim along with new material. Taking it back to 2017, Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign feature Swalla is the ultimate club hit, while 2020’s UK top 10 Take You Dancing takes its place here alongside another recent well-known number, 2021’s Acapulco.
As for new material, Save The Last Dance shows off Derulo’s vocal prowess; U + I slows the pace of the album while Mad Love, featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again, has afrobeats undertones. In both songs Derulo apologises to a lover, pledging “I want to make it okay…”
The album’s title cut offers a twist on Derulo’s usual beats with its choir backing track, albeit overlayed by his signature falsetto voice.
Transporting listeners to an idyllic Spanish evening, Spicy Margarita is a long-awaited collab between Derulo and Michael Bublé: a zippy remix of the latter’s Sway, itself adapted from 1953 bolero-mambo song Quién Será. Not quite living up to his 2010s hits – the likes of Want To Want Me and Whatcha Say – Nu King still hits the spot. Signing off most tracks with his signature “Jason Derulo!” (I’m sure you can hear his voice here), the 34-year-old icon is yet to lose his romantic spark.
words EVE DAVIES
