'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 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.
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.
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.
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.
'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.
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.
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?
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?
I would've given my right arm to do something on the 'Ray' film, the movie about Ray Charles.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When you're dressing on a budget, simplicity is key.
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.
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.'
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!
I sing because I love singing. I perform because I love performing. I write because I actually enjoy writing.
'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.
My style is mainly about comfort. It has to be comfortable, it has to lay right on me, know what I mean?
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.
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!
I want to connect with my fans the way Mary J. Blige's fans connect with her.
I'm never going to complain about doing my job. I love what I do!
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.
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.
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.
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.
I feel like everything is inspired by something else. There is no 100 percent original thought.
We are in a good place. Her name is Crystal Renay. She has much promise. Yes, much promise. Quality.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Every song I've ever written has been based in reality, based in fact, things that happen to me.
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'!
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.
I've been a huge Adele fan since I heard her album '19.'
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?
Let's make Holberton one of the biggest schools on the face of the planet.
