Israel Cruz is an Australian R&Bsinger originally from the Philippines. At the age of thirteen he moved to Melbourne and while there he gathered inspiration to become an artist from listening to album such as Ice Cube "The Predator". In 2005 he signed to SonyBMG and has had two singles which have charted on the Australian ARIAnet singles chart. His debut "Wake Up With You" reached the top 50 in October 2004, while his second release "Old Skool Luv" reached the top 20 in February 2005. He also featured on a remix of Kyle's single "Beautiful Woman" and "Work Da Middle", featuring Thara. Israel released his debut album "Chapter 1" in September 2005 which features his three released singles "Wake Up With You" (peaked at #44 AUS), "Old Skool Luv" featuring Valerie and K.G (peaked at #18 AUS), "Work Da Middle Part 2" (featuring Thara) and "My Girl" didn't manage to enter the ARIA top 50 but "My Girl" managed to reach the #1 spot on The Edge 96.ONE countdown. In 2006, YG Entertainment from Korea has bought rights to make a Korean remake of the song, the song was used as a single for the hip hop group Big Bang. Israel assisted in the production of albums for artists such as Jade Macrae and Ricki-Lee. He was also featured in Jade Macrae's highest selling single "So Hot Right Now" in early 2005.[1].
Philippines
