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Ne-Yo
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Ne-Yo is the stage name of Shaffer Chimere Smith, born on 18 October 1979. He is an American singer, songwriter, producer and actor. He first gained recognition as a songwriter, after writing Let Me Love You for Mario in 2004. That success led in 2005 to a contract with Def Jam Recordings, then headed by Jay-Z. He is regarded as one of the most important faces of 2000s R&B and won three Grammys.
Music and breakthrough
His breakthrough as an artist came with So Sick, from 2005, which reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006. When You're Mad and Sexy Love followed, before his debut album In My Own Words in 2006. It went straight to number one on the Billboard 200, received praise from the critics and two Grammy nominations. His second and third albums, Because of You in 2007 and Year of the Gentleman in 2008, also did well. Because of You won a Grammy for best contemporary R&B album. The singles Because of You, Closer and Miss Independent reached the American top ten, and Miss Independent won two Grammys.
Influence
Libra Scale was released in 2010, and after that he left Def Jam for Motown. R.E.D. followed in 2012, then Non-Fiction, GOOD MAN, Another Kind of Christmas and Self Explanatory. Ne-Yo shows how a songwriter behind the scenes could grow into a star, with smooth, melodic R&B in the tradition of the great soul singers.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 2005In My Own Words
- 2007Because of You
- 2008Year of the Gentleman
- 2010Libra Scale
- 2012R.E.D.
- 2015Non-Fiction
- 2018GOOD MAN
- 2019Another Kind of Christmas
- 2022Self Explanatory
- 2026Highway 79
- ?Mattress Music
Mentioned in other articles
- Irreplaceable Song
It was made by the Norwegian production duo Stargate, with singer Ne-Yo as lyricist.