Jason Derulo got used to freestyling as he couldn’t remember other musicians’ lyrics when he started out trying to sing their tunes.
The “Whatcha Say” singer, 35, has sold more than 250 million singles worldwide and has achieved 14 platinum singles in the US – but has now admitted to one of his biggest flaws when it came to trying to perform when he was young.
He told Jamie Laing, 36, on his “Great Company” podcast: “I could never remember any f—— songs. So, I love to sing, but like, I couldn’t remember songs.
“Like, it was, like, very hard for me to remember lyrics and s—.
“So, like, I’d start singing the song, and then forget the lyrics, and then I’ll just start singing anything, so I’ll just start freestyling.
“And that became like a thing that I just did just sing anything, because I just wanted to sing something, but I just couldn’t remember the people’s lyrics.
“So, I think naturally, I got a knack for creating melody and creating words because I couldn’t remember anybody else’s and it wasn’t until I decided to sit down one day and actually write a song that I knew how much fun it could be.”
Derulo added about how he wrote his first song at 8 years old: “It’s called ‘Crush on You’.
“Yeah, and it was for this girl in my class, Amy Hume, sat in front of me.
“She had curly blonde hair, and I was, I was into it, and I didn’t have no money. I didn’t have nothing to give to her. So, I was like, I’m gonna write her a song. And yeah, that started the journey of songwriting.”
He added the lyrics included: “24/7 days of the week, my mind is on you, and it’s getting to me. I got a crush on you. I got a crush on you.”
Derulo went on about how it was the start of his stellar career: “I remember my brother brought me to his high school, and he made me sing that song for every single girl he knew and every single teacher he had at this high school, Hollywood Hills High School – I’ll never forget that day.
“But yeah, that started – that started the journey of songwriting, man.
“And from there, when I was 16, I got my first writing placement, amazing. And that just kind of kickstarted everything.”
