Ne-Yo

Shaffer Chimere Smith, known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor born on October 18, 1979. He gained initial recognition for his songwriting talents, particularly writing Mario's 2004 hit single "Let Me Love You," which led to a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings under Jay-Z. Considered a prominent figure in 2000s R&B music, Ne-Yo has earned three Grammy Awards and built a career as a solo artist, songwriter, and television personality.

Smith was born in Camden, Arkansas, to musician parents Lorraine and Shaffer Smith. Following his parents' separation, his mother raised him and relocated the family to Las Vegas, Nevada. While attending the Las Vegas Academy, Smith adopted the stage name GoGo and joined an R&B group named Envy. The group performed on Showtime at the Apollo and MTV's The Cut before disbanding in 2000. Producer Big D Evans later gave him the name Ne-Yo, comparing how Smith perceives music to how the character Neo sees the Matrix.

After Envy broke up, Columbia Records signed Smith but dropped him before releasing his recorded debut album. Singer Marques Houston subsequently re-recorded Smith's planned debut single "That Girl" for his 2003 album MH, establishing Ne-Yo's reputation as a songwriter. Over the next two years, Ne-Yo wrote for artists such as Teedra Moses, Christina Milian, Youngstown, Mary J. Blige, B2K, Faith Evans, and Musiq. His major breakthrough arrived when he wrote "Let Me Love You" for Mario, which spent nine weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and prompted Def Jam executive Jay-Z to sign him.

In 2006, Ne-Yo released his debut album, In My Own Words, which debuted atop the Billboard 200. Its single "So Sick" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, followed by the successful singles "When You're Mad" and "Sexy Love." His subsequent albums, Because of You (2007) and Year of the Gentleman (2008), continued his success, debuting at numbers one and two on the Billboard 200, respectively. Because of You won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album, while Year of the Gentleman generated top-ten singles including "Closer" and "Miss Independent," the latter winning two Grammy Awards.

Ne-Yo released his fourth studio album, Libra Scale, in 2010. Following a shift in commercial performance, he departed Def Jam to sign with Motown Records as a recording artist and executive. He released R.E.D. in 2012, featuring the single "Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)," which topped the UK Singles Chart. His later albums include Non-Fiction (2015), Good Man (2018), Another Kind of Christmas (2019), and Self Explanatory (2022). He also featured on Pitbull's 2011 Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Give Me Everything."

Beyond recording music, Ne-Yo has appeared in films such as Battle: Los Angeles and Red Tails. From 2017 to 2020, he served as a judge on the reality competition series World of Dance. He also competed on television singing shows, placing second on The Masked Singer UK in 2021 as Badger and winning season ten of The Masked Singer in the US as Cow in 2023. Over his career, he has sold 29 million certified albums and singles in the United States according to the RIAA.