text: ne - yo shaffer chimere smith ( born october 18 , 1979 ) , better known by his stage name ne - yo , is an american r & b singer , songwriter , record producer , dancer , and actor . ne - yo gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned his 2004 hit " let me love you " for singer mario . the single 's successful release in the united states prompted an informal meeting between ne - yo and def jam 's label head , and the signing of a recording contract . early life ne - yo was born in camden , arkansas . his father is of african american and chinese descent , and his mother is african - american . both his parents were musicians . as a young child , he was raised by his mother after she separated from his father . in hopes of better opportunity , his mother relocated the family to las vegas , nevada . while in the las vegas academy , smith adopted the stage name " gogo " and joined an r & b group called envy , who appeared during amateur night on showtime at the apollo and on the mtv 's the cut ( hosted by lisa " left eye " lopes of tlc ) . the group disbanded in 2000 , and smith continued to write songs for other artists before starting his solo career . the stage name " ne - yo " was coined by big d evans , a producer with whom ne - yo once worked , because evans claimed that ne - yo sees music as neo sees the matrix . music career 1998 – 2005 : career beginnings at an early age , ne - yo emerged on the recording industry scene as a member of the romford - based quartet envy , which featured as its leading woman . after the group disbanded in 2000 , columbia records signed ne - yo , but the label dropped him before he could release his already - recorded first album . american singer marques houston happened to hear " that girl " , which ne - yo had planned to release as his debut single off his then - unreleased album . houston re - recorded the song and released it as a single for his 2003 album mh . the release of the song led to ne - yo being recognized as a top songwriter . for the next two years , ne - yo continued writing songs , some of which have not been officially released . he contributed songs to american singer moses 's 2004 album complex simplicity , christina milian 's it 's about time , and the american boy band youngstown , none of which , however , brought ne - yo much mainstream attention . ne - yo has also contributed songs to singers mary j. blige , b2k , faith evans , and musiq , among others . a breakthrough came when ne - yo wrote " let me love you " for american singer mario . the song reached number one on the billboard hot 100 , and later stayed at the top spot for nine weeks . after the successful release , tina davis , former a & r representative for def jam recordings , arranged an informal meeting with label head l.a. reid . despite not seeking a new contract at the time , then - ceo of def jam jay z signed ne - yo to a new deal after he performed for the label 's executives . 2006 – 07 : in my own words and because of you in early 2006 , ne - yo released his debut album , in my own words , through def jam . boosted by its popular second single " so sick " , the album debuted at number one on billboard 200 , selling over 301 , 000 copies in its first week on sale . during the same week , the single had reached number one on the | billboard hot 100 . later singles released were " when you 're mad " and " sexy love " , which peaked at number 15 and number 7 , respectively . the album has been certified platinum by the recording industry association of america ( riaa ) for a shipment of over one million units . his second album , because of you , was released on may 1 , 2007 , and , fueled by its lead single , debuted at number one on the billboard 200 , selling 251 , 000 copies in the united states ; the feat gave ne - yo his second number - one album . the first single from the platinum - selling album was the title track , which peaked at the number - two spot . despite the success of " because of you , " later singles released charted lower and were unable to reach the top 20 . the album has been certified platinum by riaa for a shipment of over one million units . in december 2007 , ne - yo and the goo goo dolls performed at a fund - raising concert for the then – presidential candidate senator barack obama . 2008 – 10 : year of the gentleman and libra scale ne - yo 's third album , year of the gentleman , was released internationally on august 5 , 2008 . speaking to noted uk r & b writer pete lewis of the award - winning blues & soul , ne - yo explained the thinking behind its title : " to me year of the gentleman is all about a persona , a swag and a charm . i made an assessment of the music business . and , in my personal opinion , the essence of the gentleman is absent right now . everybody kinda looks the same , everybody 's kinda doing the same thing , everybody 's kinda rude and full of themselves . whereas a gentleman is calm , courteous , kind , charming ... so that title basically represents me trying to lead by example , and showing these cats what it is to be a gentleman in this business still . " the album sold 250 , 000 copies in its first week in the united states , debuting on the billboard 200 at number two . reviews for the album were positive : in one , caryn ganz of rolling stone magazine wrote that year of the gentleman is " actually a superb concept album about what a great boyfriend he [ ne - yo ] can be " . the first two singles , " closer " and " miss independent , " peaked at number seven on the billboard hot 100 . the album was nominated for best contemporary r & b album and album of the year at the 2009 grammy awards , " closer " for best male pop vocal performance , and " miss independent " for best male r & b vocal performance and best r & b song . year of the gentleman has been certified platinum by riaa for a shipment of more than one million copies . the third single , " mad , " peaked at number 11 on the billboard hot 100 . on august 12 , 2008 , the new kids on the block released " single , " the second single from their fifth studio album , the block , which is a duet with ne - yo . ne - yo included a solo version of the song on his album year of the gentleman . 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 . in 2009 , billboard ranked him as the 57th artist of the 2000s decade . on september 2 , 2009 , ne - yo released greatest hits album ne - yo : the collection in japan . the album was also released with a limited edition cd + dvd edition complete with the music videos of singles . it debuted at number four on japan 's oricon weekly albums chart , selling 55 , 625 copies in the first week . in january 2010 , ne - yo was featured in a duet with singer mariah carey titled angels cry . in june 2010 , ne - yo released the single " beautiful monster , " which became ne - yo 's first number - one single on the uk singles chart . it peaked at number 53 on the billboard hot 100 chart . on october 8 , 2010 , ne - yo performed some of his songs from the new album at p.c. richard & son theater in new york city , an event hosted by iheartradio . ne - yo made an appearance at new york comiccon to announce that he was collaborating with stan lee for a libra scale comic . ne - yo also met with fans for pictures and autographs in the of the comiccon . the second and third singles released off of the album are " champagne life " and " one in a million , " respectively . libra scale was released on november 22 , 2010 . it received critical acclaim from music critics , but was a commercial disappointment , debuting at number nine on the us billboard 200 chart , selling less than all of his previous three studio albums . ne - yo stated : " the album is based upon this short story which basically follows these three characters who are forced to choose between money - power - and - fame versus love . which in turn is why i 've called it ' libra scale ' . you know , its whole concept is based on that question of morality – that , if you weighed it all out on a libra scale , which one of those two options would you choose ? " . libra scale sold 112 , 000 copies in its first week . in the united kingdom , the album debuted at number 11 on the uk albums chart , while debuting at number one on the uk r & b chart . 2011 – 12 : r.e.d. on february 25 , 2011 , while on his tour in the united kingdom , he announced his new album would be called love and passion and would be released in september , but this was proven false as the title was tentative . american rapper fabolous said in an interview that he is planning a collaboration album with ne - yo as well . ne - yo has also written songs for mary j. blige , jb , beyoncé , monica , alexandra burke , cheryl cole and willow smith 's upcoming albums . 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 . ne - yo has already finished writing songs for american pop 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 . 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 . in the spring of 2011 , ne - yo collaborated with american rapper pitbull and on his single " give me everything " , which peaked at number one on the billboard hot 100 , giving ne - yo his second u.s. number - one single , his first since 2006 's " so sick " and his first as a guest artist . ne - yo also revealed in an interview that he would like to collaborate with chris brown , lil wayne and drake on his upcoming album . in january 2012 , it was reported that ne - yo , along with his label imprint compound entertainment , had moved from def jam recordings to motown records . he was also appointed senior vice president of a & r of motown , where he would serve " ... as a producer and mentor to the label 's artists , as well as seeking out and signing new talent to the label . " ne - yo was slated to release his fifth studio album , r.e.d. ( as in " realizing every dream " ) , on september 18 , 2012 . the album was initially titled the cracks in mr. perfect . the album 's first official single , " lazy love , " was released on june 12 , 2012 and peaked at number forty - two on billboard 's hot r & b / hip - hop songs chart . " let me love you ( until you learn to love yourself ) , " co - written by australian singer - songwriter sia , was released as the second single on july 31 , 2012 . because of kevin mccall 's new album and the song ne - yo will be in , love time , is not yet released because he and his friend chris brown will make an appearance on ne - yo 's r.e.d. album in the song called what i do , which they all will be involved in writing the beat says ne - yo , who was interviewed by tmz in new york . " i expect this to be a banger in clubs for the slow songs and to get ne - yo his first top 10 song in years , " said chris brown , after a celebrity basketball game with ne - yo , kevin hart , and other celebrities in the month of july . on august 29 , 2012 , ne - yo was one of the headliners alongside r & b recording artist melanie fiona , in the summer beats concert series , otherwise known as the mj birthday concert , which was on what would have been the 54th birthday of the late american pop icon michael jackson which was sponsored by and live - streamed by pepsi and billboard . he performed a medley of hits , as well as performing " the way you make me feel , " " smooth criminal , " and " i just can 't stop loving you " from jackson 's best - selling 1987 album , bad , in preparation for the reissue of bad 25 on september 18 , 2012 . the concert took place at gotham hall in new york city . r.e.d. was released in the united kingdom on november 5 , and in north america on november 6 , 2012 . 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 . 2013 – present : non - fiction and seventh studio album 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 . he also collaborated with jessica sanchez on her single " tonight " from her debut album me , you & the music . the single , along with the music video got released on march 21 , 2013 . in april , ne - yo and cher lloyd collaborated on their single " it 's all good " , which eventually was featured on commercials . around the same time , he and celine dion recorded " incredible " for dion 's 2013 album loved me back to life . " incredible " was released as a single in february 2014 and the music video premiered in june 2014 . on may 29 , 2014 , ne - yo announced his upcoming sixth studio album would be called non - fiction . that same day , he announced a new single , " money can 't buy . " on september 16 , 2014 , ne - yo released the lead single from " non fiction " 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 . the album included collaborations with pitbull and charisse mills . the album peaked at number 5 of on the billboard 200 chart . in july 2015 , ne - yo collaborated with dimitri vegas & like mike on a new song for the tomorrowland anthem titled " higher place " . in august 2015 ne - yo announced his seventh studio album with no title yet . however , he plans on the album to drop sometime in 2016 . he also leaked a sneak peek of the potential lead single off the album titled " hang w / " during a live recording in the studio . on september 6 , 2015 , ne - yo premiered two new songs off the album titled " goodbye " and " she leaving with me " featuring busta rhymes . artistry musical style and influence ne - yo 's music is generally r & b , while he also incorporates pop and hip - hop occasionally . his musical influences include luther vandross , michael jackson , , babyface , blackstreet and usher . voice ne - yo possess a light lyric tenor vocal style . songwriting and production ne - yo frequently co - writes with tor erik hermansen and mikkel s. eriksen of the norwegian production team stargate . ne - yo met them in a hallway at sony music studios in new york , and knowing the team produced r & b records , decided to collaborate with them . the collective 's early works were tracks off in my own words , including " so sick . " aside from working on his own album , ne - yo also collaborates with several other artists . his works include : rihanna 's top - ten singles " unfaithful , " " russian roulette , " and her number - one hit " take a bow , " mario vazquez 's " gallery , " paula deanda 's " walk away ( remember me ) , " and beyoncé knowles ' billboard hot 100 number - one single " irreplaceable , " which stayed at the top of the chart for ten consecutive weeks . he 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 . he has also 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 . in 2010 , he dueted with mariah carey on " angel 's cry , " a song on her cancelled album , angels advocate . ne - yo has also written songs for celine dion , whitney houston , carrie underwood , anastacia , ciara , corbin bleu , enrique iglesias , and dima bilan . he collaborated with lindsay lohan on her new material , having already finished " bossy " , a pre - single for her new album spirit in the dark . in 2007 , ne - yo confirmed that he had been contacted by producer will.i.am to work on what would have been michael jackson 's new album . however , at the time of jackson 's death , ne - yo 's collaborations with him had yet to move past the writing stage . in an interview in 2010 , ne - yo said that , since jackson 's death , he had been confused as what to do with the songs , as he felt that selling them to another artist or even releasing the songs himself would be disrespectful to jackson 's legacy . in 2009 , he wrote " truth ( saigo no ) " for w - . , the japanese pop group . ne - yo ventured out to open his own recording studio , called carrington house , in atlanta , georgia . he also 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 . it successfully became a label , and artists such as , paula campbell , sixx john , adrienne bailon and are now associated with compound . other ventures television in 2011 ne - yo was approached by cartoon network to help create an animated series . ne - yo announced that the show would be titled i heart tuesday and that he had created it for his sister . he also 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 . ne - yo appeared in an episode of the seventh season of csi : ny as a hit - man , under his birth name of shaffer smith . in 2011 , ne - yo appeared in an episode of the fresh beat band as himself . he 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 . the musical telecast premiered december 3 , 2015 as a three - hour event . for his performance , he received a critics choice award for best supporting actor in a movie made for television or limited series . philanthropy ne - yo is very passionate about the arts and children , and has shown his support for little kids rock by filming a psa for the organization . personal life family in 2005 , jessica white , ne - yo 's girlfriend at the time , gave birth to a boy , naming him chimere after ne - yo 's middle name . though ne - yo believed he was the father , he later discovered the child was not his . in june 2010 , ne - yo told ebony that he and his girlfriend , shaw , were expecting their first child together , a girl due early in 2011 . shaw gave birth early to daughter , grace smith , on november 12 , 2010 in atlanta , georgia . announcing the birth , ne - yo said of his first child , " i 've been in love before but this feels like nothing i 've ever felt ... like i 'm in love for the first time . " in september 2011 , ne - yo revealed that he was expecting his second child with shaw . shaw gave birth to a boy , mason evan smith , on october 9 , 2011 . in september 2015 , the singer announced that he and crystal williams were engaged and expecting a child . they were married on february 20 , 2016 . their son , shaffer chimere smith , jr . , was born in march 2016 . legal issues on february 19 , 2008 , ne - yo was arrested for reckless driving and driving without a valid license while driving through cobb county , georgia in his 2006 range rover . it was reported that he was doing about 150 mph , 100 mph over the speed limit . on june 2 , 2008 , ne - yo pleaded guilty to driving without a valid license and no contest to the reckless driving charge . he was sentenced to 24 hours of community service . on august 22 , 2011 , ne - yo was sued along with rapper pitbull and dutch dj afrojack by actress lindsay lohan , claiming that their song " give me everything " referenced her by name in the lyrics . pitbull won the lawsuit . discography in my own words ( 2006 ) because of you ( 2007 ) year of the gentleman ( 2008 ) libra scale ( 2010 ) r.e.d. ( 2012 ) non - fiction ( 2015 ) filmography