Ne-Yo

Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. Regarded as a leading figure of 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades including three Grammy Awards.

He gained recognition for his songwriting abilities when he wrote Mario’s 2004 hit single “Let Me Love You”. Its successful release prompted a meeting between Ne-Yo and Def Jam’s then-president Jay-Z, resulting in a contract in which he released four commercially successful studio albums and numerous hit songs for the label. Ne-Yo’s debut single, “Stay” (featuring Peedi Peedi) was released in 2005 to lukewarm commercial reception, although his second single released later that year, “So Sick” became his breakthrough hit as it topped the Billboard Hot 100. Both of which, along with the follow-up singles “When You’re Mad” and “Sexy Love,” preceded the release of his debut studio album In My Own Words (2006), which peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and saw positive critical reception. Furthermore, the album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album, and attained platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), as well as United Kingdom, Japan and Australia.

Because of You (2007), Ne-Yo’s second studio album, also topped the Billboard 200 and received a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 50th Grammy Awards. His third studio album, Year of the Gentleman (2008), saw continued success and further Grammy nominations for Best Contemporary R&B Album as well as Album of the Year. Its singles “Closer” and “Miss Independent” were also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, and Best R&B Song. Year of the Gentleman has been certified platinum twice in the US, selling two million copies, also platinum three times in the UK and once in Japan.

Libra Scale (2010), Ne-Yo’s fourth studio album, reached number one in the UK R&B Singles and Albums Charts and number nine on the US Billboard 200, seeing a decline in overall sales. His fifth studio album, R.E.D. (2012), saw the international success of its lead single “Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)”, which certified platinum in the United States, became Ne-Yo’s fifth chart-topping song in the United Kingdom, and sold over two million copies. Ne-Yo’s sixth studio album, Non-Fiction, followed in 2015. His seventh studio album, Good Man, was released on June 8, 2018. In addition to music, Ne-Yo served as judge for the reality competition series World of Dance from 2017 to 2020 alongside Jennifer Lopez and Derek Hough. In 2021, Ne-Yo competed as Badger on the second season of The Masked Singer UK, and finished in second place. In 2023, he competed on the tenth season of The Masked Singer, as the Cow and finished in first place. His ninth studio album, Self Explanatory, was released on July 15, 2022.

According to Recording Industry Association of America, Ne-Yo has sold 29 million certified albums and singles in the United States. Billboard ranked “Give Me Everything” and “Knock You Down” among the Greatest Songs of the Summer of all time. In the UK Official Singles chart, he has scored five No. 1 singles in the country, spending 315 weeks in the Top 75 of the chart. Ne-Yo also has four songs listed on Motown’s Top 100 songs of the Millennium in the UK (5th most entries among artists on the list).

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