Baptized as Shaffer Chimere Smith, Ne-Yo was born on October 18, 1979 in Camden, Arkansas to musician parents. His father Wiley is of African-American descent while his mother, Lorraine, has a mix of African-American and Chinese-American blood.
Ne-Yo emerged in the recording industry as a member of the defunct Las Vegas-based quartet, Envy. After the group disbanded in 2000, he signed his first album under Columbia Records but it did not materialize. He started being recognized in the music industry, especially as a songwriter, when he wrote "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario which reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the top spot for nine weeks. After the successful collaboration with Mario, Ne-Yo signed at Def Jam under American hip-hop artist Jay-Z's mentorship.
And since Ne-Yo's debut, he has had five top 10 songs on the billboard Hot 100, and three number-one albums on the Billboard 200. He has won Grammy awards and written songs for other artists, including Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Ciara, Anastacia, Enrique Iglesias, Rihanna and Beyonce. He is best remembered for the hit songs "Because of You," "Closer," as well as "Irreplaceable," "Bleeding Love," and "Take a Bow."
PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) had a chance to interview Ne-Yo at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Makati last Saturday, January 9. During the event, the American R&B songwriter-singer was given a Gold Record award for his third album, Year of the Gentleman. This is his second visit to the Philippines for his Ne-Yo: Live in Manila concert.
What's the difference between your Ne-Yo: Live in Manila concert and Ne-Yo: Because of You Asian Tour?
Ne-Yo: We revamped the show's style. It has different choreography and sounds still the same [with] energy and appreciation for music.
What keeps you coming back to the Philippines and doing another concert?
Ne-Yo: Love, love, love! I receive love here. I hope to receive the same amount of love I did the first time I came here.
What topics does the album Year of the Gentleman touch on?
Ne-Yo: The Year of the Gentleman touches on what it is to be a gentleman, the pros and cons of being a gentleman and I did the album this way trying to send a message to the industry trying to bring those elements back. I think to a degree I got the point across. But a lot of people felt like if I put a suit on, it will make me a gentleman. Style is what makes me a gentleman. It starts with here (points to his heart) then you work your way up.
What's the difference of the Year of the Gentleman album from your past albums?
Ne-Yo: The Year Of The Gentleman was traditional R&B that's where I wanted to go with that one; the second album was pop a little bit, tried some new things; the third album, we took it a step further. We took the elements of the first album, elements of the second album, jammed it together with some new elements here and there and came up with Year of the Gentleman. It's an album full of music that you just feel.
You've been collaborating with different artists. Who were the most memorable for you?
Ne-Yo: All collaborations were memorable for different reasons; I can definitely say working with Beyonce was an experience. I never felt more useless in my life. She didn't need me there at all. You know it was one of those, "It's okay I got it, "and I'm like "Oh, okay, gonna get some coffee." I leave the room. I come back. The song is done and I'm like "Okay, all right, it's nice meeting you."
I also got a chance to work with Lionel Richie, who was for me, incredible as a songwriter. He's one of the greatest writers on the face of the planet. When I got into the recording studio, he's like, "What have you got for me?" So I sang him the half of the song I wrote and he was like, "Where's the rest of it?" I thought he was gonna... then he said, "Why don't you write it?" That was an honor for me because he is one of the greatest songwriters and he wants me to write the whole song. That was big for me.
Celine Dion was another memorable one. We got into the studio and she does the Elvis Presley impression. It was a silly vibe, it was fun. It was different, something I didn't expect, so that was cool.
I've learned that you were doing a collaboration with Michael Jackson for his comeback album. Were you able to work on it before MJ's demise?
Ne-Yo: I did. Igot the opportunity to sit and meet with him about his comeback album. I talked on the phone with him a lot. I was in the process of submitting songs to him. I would write a song, sing it, and submit it to him. He would tell me what he liked about it what he didn't like about it. He actually told me to stop doing it because he told me he would start gearing up for the tour. He told me that we would start it once he comes back, but, because of his untimely passing, it did not work.
You've worked on the big screen and appeared in Save the Last Dance 2 (2006) and Stomp the Yard (2007). Are you seriously venturing into acting?
Ne-Yo: I told myself at the beginning of 2009, I would try something else. In 2009, I did two movies. First one would be out this year, 2010. It's called Red Tails. Red tails were the first African-American pilots in the US Air Force in 1942, World War II. It was kind of a compelling story because they were kind of fighting two wars. They were fighting the Germans, of course, and the White pilots that didn't want them there. Look out for that, it's drama, action and all of that. Later on in 2009, I did a movie called Battle LA which is kind of more like a sci-fi-alien type. I play a marine there. It's about aliens taking over the world.
With 'the next big thing' around the corner, what's your secret to success?
Ne-Yo: Not worrying about what the next big thing is, if you sit and focus on what can I do that has not been done, you will literally drive yourself crazy and your head will explode.Truth of the matter is everything has been done, you see everything, you're not gonna do something that is so groundbreaking that you shock the world. It's a little bit difficult to shock us now, so instead of trying to do the next best thing, try doing the best thing. Focus on being good at what it is you do. If you are a pop/R&B artist then be the best R&B artist. That comes from stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things. For example, doing "Closer," experimenting and trying new things.
A few hours after the interview last Saturday, January 9, Ne-Yo performed for thousands of Filipino fans at the SM Mall of Asia concert grounds.
He recently penned a song for Disney's upcoming animated film, Princess and the Frog, where he performed the movie's theme song "Never Knew I Needed." The movie will be shown on February 3, here in the Philippines by Walt Disney Pictures Philippines.