Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
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.'
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.
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.
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.
I honestly don't feel that it's my music that's under-appreciated. I think that it's me that's under-appreciated. As an artist, period.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.'
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
'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.
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.
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.
If you want to be successful, you have to be the best person doing it. And in order to be the best person doing it, you have to get your work ethic right and keep going.
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.
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.
An idea that will translate really well musically should work visually. I try to write music that you can feel if you were to close your eyes you can see what I am talking about.
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.
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.
She's super sexy everybody wanna know bout her and the one that everybody want, but no one's ever got her. Because the way she get it in all of the men, even the women all try, all try.
Women wanted to be viewed as equals to men. So men were like, 'You wanna be viewed as equal to me, then open your own damn door.' But I still don't view it as an excuse to be an a**hole.
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.
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.
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.
That is the difference between a good song and a bad song lyrically - if you can listen to it and put yourself in that place, or see that person in that place, normally it is a pretty good song.
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.
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.
'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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This is ridiculous. It's been months and for some reason I just can't get over us. I'm stronger than this. Enough is enough; no more walking around with my head down, I'm so over being blue crying over you.
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.
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.
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.