1. Ne-Yo gained recognition for his songwriting abilities following the success of his first major credit, Mario's 2004 single "Let Me Love You".
60 Facts About Ne-Yo
1. 2.
Alongside his recording career, Ne-Yo served as a judge for the reality competition series World of Dance from 2017 to 2020 alongside Jennifer Lopez and Derek Hough.
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In 2021, Ne-Yo competed as Badger on the second season of The Masked Singer UK, and finished in second place.
4.
Ne-Yo has yielded five number one singles on the UK Singles Chart, and spent 315 weeks within the chart's Top 75.
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American singer Marques Houston happened to hear "That Girl", which Ne-Yo had planned to release as his debut single from his then-unreleased album.
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The release of the song led to Ne-Yo being recognized as a top songwriter.
7.
Ne-Yo contributed songs to American singer Teedra Moses's 2004 album Complex Simplicity, Christina Milian's It's About Time, and the American boy band Youngstown, none of which brought Ne-Yo much mainstream attention.
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Ne-Yo has contributed songs to singers Mary J Blige, B2K, Faith Evans, and Musiq, among others.
9.
In early 2006, Ne-Yo released his debut album, In My Own Words, through Def Jam.
10.
Ne-Yo included a solo version of the song on his album Year of the Gentleman.
11.
In December 2008, Ne-Yo performed at the Kennedy Center Honors as part of the tribute to Barbra Streisand; he sang and danced to the song "Lover Come Back to Me", which Streisand recorded on her second album in 1963.
12.
On September 2,2009, Ne-Yo released greatest hits album Ne-Yo: The Collection in Japan.
13.
In January 2010, Ne-Yo was featured in a duet with singer Mariah Carey titled "Angels Cry".
14.
In June 2010, Ne-Yo released the single "Beautiful Monster", which became Ne-Yo's third number-one single on the UK Singles Chart.
15.
Ne-Yo made an appearance at New York ComicCon to announce that he was collaborating with Stan Lee for a Libra Scale comic.
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Ne-Yo met with fans for pictures and autographs in the Cultyard of the ComicCon.
17.
Ne-Yo has written songs for Mary J Blige, JB, Beyonce, Monica, Alexandra Burke, Cheryl Cole, and Willow Smith's upcoming albums.
18.
Ne-Yo starred in two motion pictures, the long-gestating George Lucas project Red Tails, released in early 2012, and Battle: Los Angeles, which was released in the United States on March 11,2011.
19.
Ne-Yo has already finished writing songs for American singer and Roc Nation artist Alexis Jordan and her self-titled debut album as well as Jennifer Hudson for her second studio album, I Remember Me, which had a North American release on March 22,2011.
20.
Ne-Yo appeared in the children's preschool show The Fresh Beat Band and was one of the few artists not to cancel appearances in the wake of the 2011 Japan earthquake.
21.
Ne-Yo revealed in an interview that he would like to collaborate with Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, and Drake on his upcoming album.
22.
Ne-Yo was appointed vice president of Motown, serving as a producer, songwriter, mentor, and talent scout.
23.
On December 8,2012, Ne-Yo was the musical guest for Saturday Night Live with Jamie Foxx guest-hosting for that week.
24.
In 2012, Ne-Yo was awarded the Hal David Starlight Award of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame which honors gifted songwriters who are at an apex in their careers and are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs.
25.
In March 2013, Ne-Yo collaborated with Akon on David Guetta's single "Play Hard", from his 2012 album Nothing but the Beat 2.0.
26.
On May 29,2014, Ne-Yo announced his upcoming sixth studio album would be called Non-Fiction.
27.
On September 16,2014, the lead single from "Non Fiction" was sent to mainstream radio titled "She Knows" featuring Juicy J A few months later, Ne-Yo announced that the new release date for Non-Fiction was January 27,2015.
28.
In 2016, Ne-Yo collaborated with Yunel and J Alvarez for their single entitled "Sin Miedo", released on November 12,2016, and with Diamond Platnumz for their single entitled "Marry You", released on February 2,2017.
29.
On May 8,2017, Ne-Yo released a single "Earn Your Love" from his forthcoming seventh album, whilst announcing that the album is slated for a release in 2017.
30.
Ne-Yo made a cameo in the comedy film Girls Trip, starring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Regina Hall.
31.
On March 27,2020, Ne-Yo collaborated with Jamaican dancehall singer Charly Black for a new single, Over Again.
32.
From 2020 to 2021, Ne-Yo competed as "Badger" in the second season of the British version of The Masked Singer.
33.
Ne-Yo finished as the runner-up to Joss Stone as "Sausage".
34.
Ne-Yo confirmed that his next album, previously titled Sweet Escape had been renamed Self Explanatory.
35.
In 2023, Ne-Yo competed in season ten of The Masked Singer as "Cow" where he won the season.
36.
Ne-Yo is noted for his tenor voice, including his application of falsetto in his works.
37.
Ne-Yo wrote the song "I'm You" for Leona Lewis's debut album Spirit, and is currently writing songs for her next album and for the debut album of fellow X Factor winner Alexandra Burke.
38.
Ne-Yo has been working with Sugababes for their seventh album, with member Keisha Buchanan confirming that Ne-Yo had written a song called "No More You" for their album.
39.
Ne-Yo has written songs for Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Carrie Underwood, Anastacia, Ciara, Corbin Bleu, Enrique Iglesias, and Dima Bilan.
40.
Ne-Yo collaborated with Lindsay Lohan on her new material, having already finished "Bossy", a pre-single for her new album Spirit in the Dark.
41.
In 2007, Ne-Yo confirmed that he had been contacted by producer will.
42.
Ne-Yo ventured out to open his own recording studio, called Carrington House, in Atlanta, Georgia.
43.
Ne-Yo had started his own production company, Compound Entertainment, in 2007, and has hired several producers and songwriters in hopes of turning it into a full-fledged record label.
44.
In 2011, Ne-Yo was approached by Cartoon Network to help create an animated series.
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Ne-Yo announced that the show would be titled I Heart Tuesday and that he had created it for his sister.
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Ne-Yo stated that he wanted to avoid having the show resemble the anime art style of The Boondocks due to the potential cost of the show's animation style.
47.
Ne-Yo appeared in an episode of the seventh season of CSI: NY as a hit-man, under his birth name of Shaffer Smith.
48.
In 2011, Ne-Yo appeared in an episode of The Fresh Beat Band as himself.
49.
Ne-Yo starred as the Tin Man in NBC's musical telecast adaptation of The Wiz alongside David Alan Grier, Elijah Kelley, Queen Latifah, Common, Amber Riley, Uzo Aduba and Mary J Blige.
50.
Ne-Yo is passionate about the arts and children and has shown his support for Little Kids Rock by filming a PSA for the organization.
51.
In November 2024, Ne-Yo began a stint in sports management, signing boxer Paul Bamba as his first fighter.
52.
Ne-Yo was initially introduced to boxing through his uncles when he was younger and he participated in martial arts classes.
53.
In February 2020, Ne-Yo announced that he and Crystal would end their marriage, and he withdrew his divorce case afterwards.
54.
Ne-Yo and Crystal's third child, a daughter, was born in June 2021.
55.
Four months later, Crystal filed for divorce, with allegations of Ne-Yo fathering a child outside of marriage.
56.
In 2019, in wake of the television documentary, Surviving R Kelly, Ne-Yo confirmed his support for the Mute R Kelly campaign.
57.
On February 19,2008, Ne-Yo was arrested for reckless driving and driving without a valid license after driving through Cobb County, Georgia in his 2006 Range Rover.
58.
On June 2,2008, Ne-Yo pleaded guilty to the driving without a valid license charge and no contest to the reckless driving charge.
59.
On March 22,2023, Ne-Yo was revealed to have been charged by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for violating investor-protection laws.
60.
Ne-Yo settled the charges for over $400,000 without admitting or denying the claims.