NE-YO
Multi-platinum, three-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist NE-YO, after taking a few years off to work on several films, is now back with his fifth project, R.E.D (Realizing Every Dream), a stellar effort that’s sure to race up the charts and catapult the R&B superstar to even greater heights.
As one of the industry’s most sought after songwriters, NE-YO has shared his talents with his fellow artists, penning number one hits for Beyonce (“Irreplaceable”), Rihanna (“Take A Bow”) and Mario (“Let Me Love You”), as well as chart toppers for Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Kanye West, Lionel Richie and many more. Three of NE-YO’s four previous albums have gone platinum and produced a slew of top 10 hits. Hollywood has also embraced him, both in front of and behind the camera. He’s written music for films like The Princess and the Frog, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire, and I Can Do Bad All by Myself.
The triple threat singer, songwriter, and actor, has appeared on screen in a handful of films, including Stomp The Yard, Save the Last Dance, a co-starring role in Red Tails, the George Lucas WWII movie about the U.S. Army Air Corps’ Tuskegee Airmen fighter pilots, and most recently Columbia Pictures, Sci-fi action film, Battle: Los Angeles. Music, however, has always been his first love, as he has also been seen on NBC television’s last season of The Voice, as a mentor for Cee-Lo Green’s team. Simultaneously, NE-YO has taken on duties as Senior VP of A&R at Motown, serving as a producer and mentor to the label’s artists, as well as seeking out and signing new talent to the label.
When asked how he’s evolved as an artist, NE-YO’s answer is simple: “I’m not afraid anymore,” he says. “When you’re first starting out you try so hard to get in the business and when you finally do get in, you don’t want to do anything to [anger] anybody. You’re afraid you might get kicked out.”
“With this album I really want to drive home the fact that I’m an artist through and through. This is 100 percent an expression of myself, with no apologies made and no playing it safe.”
