Jason DeRulo

Jason DeRulo owes his R&B fame to a freaky indie singer with a special name: Imogen Heap. The 20-year-old DeRulo has become an overnight star with Watcha Say, a slow jam that leans heavily on a hook sampled from Imogen Heap's underground hit, Hide and Seek, which was also featured in The OC and SNL. Produced by J.R. Rotem, the man behind Sean Kingston, "Watcha Say" has helped the Florida native DeRulo climb the iTunes top 10.

DeRulo first made heads turn in 2006, when he won the Showtime at the Apollo grand championship at the tender age of sixteen. Rotem quickly pounced on the young singer, dancer and actor, signing DeRulo to his Beluga Heights label. "There’s no limit to what he can accomplish. I think he raises the bar for all new artists," gushes Rotem. After getting gigs doing background vocals for Lil Wayne, Pitbull and Danity Kane, DeRulo says acting has taken a back seat to singing: "I was actually offered a role on Broadway, but I had to turn it down because my music was primary focus."

A slick dancer and promising actor, DeRulo could end up filling another role: that of embattled R&B singer and dancer Chris Brown.

See: myspace.com/JasonDerulo