A sprinkle of R&B, a pinch of rap, a heavy hand of reggae and a dusting of pop. Mix together and create a recipe for musical success – just like fusion artist Keidran Jones, better known on stage as Iyaz, is expertly doing. Known for satiating most musical palettes with his full-bodied flavour of rhythms, Iyaz is exploding on to the international scene in a big way. He keeps dancefloors bouncing and girls’ hearts throbbing with his smooth melodies and equally enticing good looks – all the while familiarising the music video-watching public with the flag of his home country (the British Virgin Islands) thanks to his Replay video that boasts a cool 40 million YouTube views.

Like any smart commercial artist, Iyaz has collaborated with some big names in the music biz. The self-professed Hannah Montana fan has guest-starred on the popular Disney show, he’s toured with Justin Bieber, shared a stage with Snoop Dogg, collaborated with Disney star Demi Lovato and worked alongside Gym Class Heroes’ Travie McCoy on Pretty Girls. And that’s just for starters – his resume is growing rapidly. He hopes to add Green Day to it soon as the punk-rockers lie at the top of his collaboration wish-list.

Iyaz has at least one well-connected man in the industry to thank for helping mentor him to success – fellow Caribbean artist Sean Kingston, who first spotted his tunes on MySpace. Iyaz doles out plenty of credit to Kingston: “Sean has played a significant role in my being where I am today,” he says. “He gave me the necessary exposure, which allowed me to do what I do best.” Once Iyaz signed on the dotted line for a recording contract with hot urban music label Beluga Heights, it was full speed ahead. And it seems the rest is already history.

Aside from his evident melodic skill, Iyaz also spends significant time behind the scenes inking the lyrics to his own songs. It’s something we think is sure to make his choir-director mother proud – especially his dedication to using clean lyrics and maintaining a sense of responsibility in sending out positive messages to the public. “All minds, whether old or young, are impressionable – so make the impression a constructive one,” Iyaz expresses as the impetus behind his cleaner lyrical choices.

So, in the words of the man himself, head to Play on April 27 for his first-ever live performance in Hong Kong and party it up. Big.

Ilene Frankel

Iyaz performs live at Play on Friday April 27.