Ne-Yo Quotes

I know the music industry is based on a lot of smoke and mirrors in a lot of cases, such as making things look like one thing versus what it actually is. I feel like I've been here long enough that I've surpassed the need for any of that.

- Ne-Yo

'Battle: Los Angeles' - I've got to say this was easily one of the most physically trying things that I've ever done in my life because I play a Marine in the film, and they had us training with real live Marines for, like, three weeks. It gave me a whole new respect for just the armed forces, period.

- Ne-Yo

The name of the album is 'Non-Fiction'. And, I'm calling it that because the name of every song on this album is derived from a true story. Now, some of the stories are mine. Some of the stories belong to some of my fans.

- Ne-Yo

When 'Red Tails' came along, all I knew was that they were the first African-American fighter pilots in the U.S. Air Force. I had no idea how deep the story went or about all their amazing achievements. There were a few Tuskegee Airmen on the set to make sure everything was as authentic as possible.

- Ne-Yo

My initial attraction to 'Red Tails' was the opportunity to play a character that was not me. 'Stomp the Yard' was a great film, but I played myself there.

- Ne-Yo

Chimere's not mine. That hurt 'cause I had attached myself to this guy, you know. This is my son. I'm looking at him, and I'm picturing I'm gonna be old, and he's gonna be - this is my son! It's not my son.

- Ne-Yo

I've always been the person to look at any turmoil as temporary. I recall times where my mom was working five and six jobs, and there's still no food in the house.

- Ne-Yo

Temptation is just that - she's the girl you claim you don't want, but in the moment, you have more drinks than you should in the club. One thing leads to another, and suddenly you've done something really stupid. You've jeopardized what could've potentially been a really great relationship, all due to temptation.

- Ne-Yo

I'm a fan of FKA Twigs, The Weeknd. I love that kind of ambient R&B. I feel like it's just another soldier in the war to blur the lines and make things to where it's good music and bad music.

- Ne-Yo

Back in the day, Motown was on the pulse of young America. It wasn't about just dope contemporary. It was pop, it was R&B, it was all of that.

- Ne-Yo

'Stomp the Yard' was a great film. It was a great film, great opportunity. It's the reason I live in Atlanta to this day, that film. But as far as acting goes, it wasn't very challenging. I played me.

- Ne-Yo

I wrote a song that basically turned into a public service announcement for the fellas out there, like, 'Should you run into this type of woman, run for your life!' So the name of the song is 'Run,' featuring the rapper ScHoolboy Q. It's one of the standouts on the album, in my personal opinion.

- Ne-Yo

As an artist, you know as a person in the public eye, period, you kind of have a responsibility to the younger kids that are watching and emulating what you do.

- Ne-Yo

I am blessed to be doing what I do. So if I have to be at a photo shoot, do an interview, or make a TV appearance, I am not going to sit around whining and complaining about how I don't want to get up early or I don't feel like talking.

- Ne-Yo

When you're dressing on a budget, simplicity is key.

- Ne-Yo

I'm trying to escape the shackles of a pen and a pad. I've sat in sessions with Jay-Z where he doesn't write anything down. He'll come up with the most incredible triple entendre, all in his head - it's amazing.

- Ne-Yo

Prince is the ultimate performer. Prince is that dude that's going to get on stage by himself, if he need to, but hold you in the palm of his hand. Like, you can't take your eyes off the man when he's on stage, and he could just be sitting there playing his guitar.

- Ne-Yo

I'm trying to bring something new to the Tin Man. He may be the one without the heart, but he's the most heartfelt guy there. It's a more manly heartfelt, a 'don't feel sorry for me' - type of heartfelt. I don't want to say tougher, because that just sounds stupid. But the Tin Man is a man's man.

- Ne-Yo

That has been everybody's challenge, above the dancing, the singing, the lines: getting into who these characters would be in 2015. Today's Tin Man is heartfelt, but he wouldn't be soft. Today's Dorothy would be sassy.

- Ne-Yo

I don't want to call myself a perfectionist, because perfection is imperfection.

- Ne-Yo

The story of 'Libra Scale,' the storyline was created first, and then the music was created around the story line.

- Ne-Yo

I would've given my right arm to do something on the 'Ray' film, the movie about Ray Charles.

- Ne-Yo

Hats have been my thing pretty much my whole life but finance has not. I would go to the corner store and buy really cheap baseball style caps and wear those to school.

- Ne-Yo

'Madden' is the closest thing to actually being on the field yourself. It's so ridiculously realistic. Before I play it, I honestly didn't understand. 'What's all the hype? It's a video game'. Then I sat down and played it, and you feel like you're on the field.

- Ne-Yo

I needed to be sexier. I needed to be more hip. I needed to be more edgy and this and that. 'No, don't write that kind of song, write this type of song. No, don't work with that producer, work with this producer. No, don't wear those clothes, wear these clothes.' And I didn't want to be a puppet, you know?

- Ne-Yo

Movies take a long time because movies take a long damn time to put work into. Whereas music, you don't have as much time. I didn't realize that.

- Ne-Yo

For my prom, I wore a white suit with a burgundy shirt, tie and cummerbund, along with white shoes, a white trilby and a cane. I was extra fly that day.

- Ne-Yo

Growing up in Vegas, over time you get to see shows like Tom Jones, Wayne Newton, I mean, The Rat Pack ran Vegas way, way back, and I'm a huge fan of that whole era and vibe.

- Ne-Yo

I've never done this from a standpoint of, 'I want to be famous.' I sing because I love singing. I perform because I love performing.

- Ne-Yo

I feel, as an artist, that we don't do enough to appreciate our fans. We are in this position because of the fans, and it's really a blessing.

- Ne-Yo

I have my diehard R&B fans on one side of the spectrum and my diehard pop and dance fans on the other side of the spectrum.

- Ne-Yo

Honestly, when I first heard that there were rumors out there about me being gay, I thought, 'Wow, someone must really hate me.' There's nothing wrong with being gay, but I just couldn't understand why someone would make up lies like that.

- Ne-Yo

I'm good but not great at 'Madden'. I have friends that their whole life is based around this video game.

- Ne-Yo

I'm gonna be honest: I was never really a fan of techno music, dance music.

- Ne-Yo

Via social media, I reached out, asking about relationships, dreams, hopes, fears, the whole gambit, and the stories that really resonated with me, I wrote songs about.

- Ne-Yo

Michael Jackson believed in making music that made people feel good.

- Ne-Yo

I probably wouldn't be singing if not for Michael Jackson. When I started singing, I didn't like my tone until my mom put me on to Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, so listening to the way they used their instrument helped me get more comfortable with my own.

- Ne-Yo

Early inspirations included Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie... Those were the people I actually wound up studying just to hone my craft.

- Ne-Yo

I'm not a natural. I had to teach myself - or be taught - everything I do. I just spent hours and hours in the mirror mimicking Michael Jackson.

- Ne-Yo

There's no recreating what Michael Jackson and Diana Ross did in 'The Wiz'. We're trying to figure out who these characters are in 2015. How would these times change their motives, change the things they would say and do?

- Ne-Yo

I dreamed of one day starring in a film. I've done that twice. Denzel Washington has done it countless times, so I still got some work to do.

- Ne-Yo

Who directed the video 'No More Drama' for Mary J. Blige. I was actually kickin' with J. Lo talking about some music that we're gonna put together, and we were talking about great directors. She said she really, really liked that video and was wondering who directed it, so yeah, I looked it up!

- Ne-Yo

Me and Drake gonna be neighbors if Donald Trump becomes president.

- Ne-Yo

I recall my mum tried to teach me how to fry chicken once, and I almost burned down half the kitchen... I don't think I have the patience for cooking.

- Ne-Yo

I've never viewed myself as above anybody else or anything like that. I'm a regular guy at the end of the day. I like Cinnamon Toast Crunch and The Powerpuff Girls.

- Ne-Yo

I've never been the guy to go for the celebrity girl. I've always liked regular girls, regular people, because I've always viewed myself as a regular person who just happens to be gifted in music.

- Ne-Yo

There are different kinds of R&B happening today. There's the traditional, more soulful R&B that doesn't get the recognition that it deserves. Then there's the more hip-hop oriented stuff. You got your boy Ty Dolla $ign, people like that, who are bringing more hip-hop elements to R&B, which is cool.

- Ne-Yo

My 'Slide Some Oil' ain't gon' be Nipsey Russell's 'Slide Some Oil.' Elijah Kelley's 'You Can't Win' ain't gon' be Michael Jackson's 'You Can't Win.'

- Ne-Yo

A lot of times, when artists are rushing to put out projects, it's on some financial tip because they want to make money. But for me, I'm not in any rush.

- Ne-Yo

I would love to be able to say that due to my experience in the music industry, when it comes to the songs, I'm killing it over anybody else, but that is not the case. Everybody in this thing is ridiculously talented to where I don't feel special.

- Ne-Yo

Sammy was the only one that looked like me, so I naturally gravitated to him. Sammy made it cool to be black at a time when, let's just say it, it wasn't very cool to be black. His name was on the front of the building in lights, and he had to go in the back. But you never saw him sweat.

- Ne-Yo

Getting involved with the Boys and Girls Club helped keep me and my sister from getting in trouble.

- Ne-Yo

All genres of music have to evolve, grow, and expand in order to maintain. I don't think there's anything wrong with the growth of R&B. I welcome it.

- Ne-Yo

Guilty pleasure implies that it's something that I feel guilty for watching... people tell me I should feel guilty for watching because I'm too old to watch it, but I don't give a damn: I love everything on Cartoon Network from 'Adventure Time' to 'The Adventures of Gumball', 'Teen Titans'... all those shows that are for my kids, I like those!

- Ne-Yo

I always tell the story of 'Irreplaceable.' I initially wrote 'Irreplaceable' with myself in mind, with plans of it being my record. I love that record; however, what I realised about that record was that though given the circumstances of that situation - men and women are not that different - when you sing about it, it changes things, you know?

- Ne-Yo

My mom was the picture of the blue-collar mom: Two and three and four jobs to make sure that me and my sister never needed, that was her thing.

- Ne-Yo

I'm the type of guy to put the water on the stove and then walk away and 10 seconds later be like, 'Come on, boil'!

- Ne-Yo

I think people are getting into these 'Empire' songs because of the emotional investment they have in the characters. You kind of feel like you know the songs already because you just watched them play out in front of you with these characters.

- Ne-Yo

I've spoken before on how the art of storytelling has been lost a bit. I definitely feel 'Empire' is helping to reprogram us back to that place where we pay attention and invest emotionally in the records and the artists.

- Ne-Yo

Me as an artist, I'm more notorious for writing songs that celebrate women, songs that are all about the positive element of the immensely confusing creature that is woman.

- Ne-Yo

People are bringing a lot more of that funk element into their music, you know, with Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson - that's one that you never thought you would hear something like that on the radio again 'cause it just sounds so much like the Back Bay and what they were doing with music back then.

- Ne-Yo

For starters, I wanted to do an acting role in a movie that had nothing to do with the music business or in which I would play a singer or a songwriter. When I act, I don't even want to be thought of as Ne-Yo.

- Ne-Yo

I want to connect with my fans the way Mary J. Blige's fans connect with her.

- Ne-Yo

You kinda don't know what's going to make a good song. You've got to shoot around in the dark for a little while.

- Ne-Yo

I never really created a difference between Shaffer Smith, my actual name, and Ne-Yo. They are kind of one in the same. It's been a bit of a gift and a curse. As far as Shaffer Smith is concerned, I've never viewed myself as a celebrity.

- Ne-Yo

The unfortunate thing about this planet is that we are in no shortage of ignorance.

- Ne-Yo

I write because I actually enjoy writing. It's a plus and a fringe benefit that, you know, I can actually provide for my family and, you know, a few people know my name - that's great.

- Ne-Yo

A man will talk all day about the woman he wants, but should he come across that woman, he'll do something stupid like cheat on her with the kind of woman he was trying to get away from in the first place. It's not a lot of second chances granted in the realm of that.

- Ne-Yo

Beyonce's the kind of artist where you're not gonna see it till it's right.

- Ne-Yo

Me being an artist working with dancers and seeing how hard they work, they are the first to show up and the last to leave. They work just as hard, if not harder, than me - and they never get credit for it.

- Ne-Yo

'Let Me Love You' is about being brave enough to let a person get close enough to you to teach you how to love yourself, to teach you the importance of loving yourself.

- Ne-Yo

I know everyone says attention spans are shorter now, and if you can't get them in the first 20 seconds, you lost them. But I honestly believe if you give someone something worth slowing down to really pay attention to, they will.

- Ne-Yo

My first song was 'So Sick,' which was my first number one as an artist, and I turned the mic around to the crowd, and they sang the whole song. Every lyric. That was my first experience with the power of music.

- Ne-Yo

We're falling into a place where melody is somewhat lacking in music. Everybody feels like, okay, too much melody or too much harmony, and it kind of goes over people's heads; they don't understand it.

- Ne-Yo

Ms. Clinton - Mrs. Clinton, I should say - she's a favorite of mine.

- Ne-Yo

I'm heavy into 'Max Payne 3'. That's a good one. I like any of the fighting games and all of the 'Tekken' and 'Street Fighter' series.

- Ne-Yo

One of the very few things that I actually read about myself on blogs that got to me was people saying, 'Ne-Yo doesn't do R&B music anymore.' Just because I stepped off the porch to explore doesn't mean I don't live in that house anymore.

- Ne-Yo

I'm a rather multifaceted person - or at least I like to fashion myself as such - so my dreams are multifaceted. For example, I had a dream of winning a Grammy, right? I've done that three times over.

- Ne-Yo

I'm never going to complain about doing my job. I love what I do!

- Ne-Yo

I grew up in Las Vegas. My mom worked in pretty much every casino on the Strip.

- Ne-Yo

For the first few years of my life my mom used to cut my hair so there were a lot of bowl-cut hair styles.

- Ne-Yo

R&B is my home. It's who I am. It's who I've been. It's the first genre I fell in love with. It's the reason why I've been able to do other genres of music.

- Ne-Yo

It's really rare that an entire genre of music allows an artist from a different genre to come and live there.

- Ne-Yo

The Auto-Tune makes everybody sound the same and takes away all of the emotion because you're singing through this machine, and of course your taking all of this emotion out of your voice for the most part.

- Ne-Yo

We are in a good place. Her name is Crystal Renay. She has much promise. Yes, much promise. Quality.

- Ne-Yo

I pride myself on being the type of artist who can work half in the R&B world and half in the pop world.

- Ne-Yo

Let's make Holberton one of the biggest schools on the face of the planet.

- Ne-Yo

All my musical influences came from my mom, who did everything to music. She played it 24 hours a day, seven days a week in our house. So that's where my love for music came from.

- Ne-Yo

Doing as much as you can for as long as you can - that's the motto.

- Ne-Yo

With Jay-Z, it's hard not to be amazing.

- Ne-Yo

Huge 'Scandal' fan, and I have been since the beginning.

- Ne-Yo

A Las Vegas show is all-round entertainment. Which means there's some singing, some dancing, some magic, some drama - everything is rolled into that one performance.

- Ne-Yo

I feel like everything is inspired by something else. There is no 100 percent original thought.

- Ne-Yo

I sing because I love singing. I perform because I love performing. I write because I actually enjoy writing.

- Ne-Yo

There's a whole advantage being an executive as an artist.

- Ne-Yo

Of course, there are some things you keep personal and private because you're a human being. But on the other side of it, I ain't got time to be hiding nothing and all that. It is what it is.

- Ne-Yo

Every song I've ever written has been based in reality, based in fact, things that happen to me.

- Ne-Yo

My mom has always been a caregiver, and she's perfect in this role leading my foundation.

- Ne-Yo

I feel like my music is for everybody. As long as the music is good, I can please everybody.

- Ne-Yo

For me to be here at album number six, it's kind of a way to say, 'Thank you for allowing me to be here... to still be around.'

- Ne-Yo

Auto-tune is good to keep your notes intact, but it doesn't do much for the feel of your voice.

- Ne-Yo

You know what? At this point in my career, at this point in my life... I'm 34 years old; I don't have time to be hiding.

- Ne-Yo

In my mind, I was still Chimere's father. I was there when he was born. I saw him when he first came out. I held him. He was my kid.

- Ne-Yo

My style is mainly about comfort. It has to be comfortable, it has to lay right on me, know what I mean?

- Ne-Yo

I like to learn through doing. Let me make a mistake, and then critique me on what I did so that I learn that way.

- Ne-Yo

I've been a huge Adele fan since I heard her album '19.'

- Ne-Yo

Now that I have kids, I want my kids to appreciate my music, but at the same time, I don't want to teach them anything that they shouldn't know just yet.

- Ne-Yo