Ne-Yo, Interview

15 August 2008

Ne-Yo Interview

Ne-Yo Interview

Read our Ne-Yo Interview or have a listen to the audio stream


Jas: First of all Ne-yo, welcome back to England. Welcome back to London. Welcome Home!

Ne-Yo: Thank you sir, thanky ou sir! Very happy to be back!

Jas: It's been a year-and a half since you've been here for any promotion, I know you were here for a day for the "Mobos"

Ne-Yo: Yeah, we came out for that, and then we shot straight back, cause I had to start on this album, but yeh Man, I'm happy to be back.

Jas: So, First Single, from "Year of the Gentlemen", New Album, 3rd album is "Closer" Stargate produced, wow! Very different, very catchy and "out of your comfort zone!"

Ne-Yo: It's something else, definitely "out of my comfort zone"

Jas: And number 1!

Ne-Yo: Yeh man! It's doing great over here. It took a second in "the States". You know, my "core Ne-Yo fan" was a little taken by this one, cause it was so different from the last single from "Because of you" which was "Go on Girl" so you go straight from "Go on Girl" to "Closer" and its like, 2 different worlds and there's no bridge in-between, so they were like, "Ohh, ok, we're doing this now, Hmmm don't know Ne-Yo, not sure about this one" so it took them a minute to really catch where I was going, but once they did, they fell in love with it, so it just goes to show, that good music is good music you know.

Jas: Tishawn (Management) sent me the record, a while ago, because I had heard various things from "The States" and he asked, "Do I like it? I said, "I like it, I think London will like it" I'm not sure about the rest of the world, and I'm certainly not sure about America. But you guys know your market and it turns out, Number 1 over here, it's done really well in Europe and of course, you've based it, the sound on your experiences over here in London, in nigh-life, right?

Ne-Yo: To this day, see this is why I've gotta stop falling asleep in cars! We went to a couple of different clubs out here, and you know, a lot of American music. But, one night I wanted to see what happens out here, what they do out here, apart from the American stuff, so we went to some club. It was way far out, it was like, almost an hour drive, and we got there and it was a really, really small club, but they played just "house" and "Techno music" like all night long. It was packed, it was full! Wall to wall, it was super-duper packed. We were sitting on this itty-bitty couch and I was sitting on top of this couch, and I couldn't move if I wanted to! It was one of those type situations. And it was like, the green lazers, and the house music, it was just a cool vibe and the music literally had everybody in a trance. It was like, people's eyes were closing, and they were just going with it! And I just remembered thinking that was so cool, you know what I mean. The kind of music that I do anyway, is music that you feel, you know what I mean? That specific type of music, is based solely on that, to the point where the lyrics aren't really important! I meant, they were playing some songs that had 3 lyrics in the whole song! Just repeated over and over again and it didn't matter cause it was about what the music was doing to you, so that's where. I'm gonna be honest, I was never really a fan of techno music, dance music. I was never really a fan, but, that was where I found my common ground, with that style of music, so I basically took that vibe and tried do my version of. In no way was I trying to disrespect anybody of that genre of music, you know, cause you've gotta tread lightly, cause people in that genre could get offended, like who is this guy? Tryna do what we do. I just tried to do my version of, my interpretation of what I felt that night, and "Closer" was the end result!

Jas: And its worked beautifully, and the video is awesome. I've gotta be honest, I think that's your best video since, "So Sick"

Ne-Yo: I think so too, yeah. That's the first time I saw, the first cut, the first rough draft of the video, and was like That's it! Don't change a thing! That's the one!

Jas: Who did you work with, as the director?

Ne-Yo: "Melena"

Jas: Again? She, did "Because of you right?"

Ne-Yo: Yeah, she did "Because of you" She did, "Do You" and she did one more.

Jas: She did "Can we chill?"

Ne-Yo: No, no that was "Jessy Terrero." I think that might have been all she did.

Jas: She was very good.

Ne-Yo: But yeah, she hit the nail right on head with that one.

Jas: Yeah definitely, talking, about songs, that have 3 lyrics, you probably could have got away with that with "Closer"

Ne-Yo Probably! (Laughs)

Jas: Closer. and done that through the whole song, But of course, being you, you've actually written the song.

Ne-Yo: Right.

Jas; And it's worked beautifully. Let's move on with that, "Rihannas, "Take a bow" which has been added to her hugely successful multi-platinum album. Where do you go, mentally and physically, because nobody believes that a guy wrote that record!

Ne-Yo: (Smiles and Laughs)

Jas: You open, with the first line, "You look so dumb right now." and it's such a woman thing to say!

Ne-Yo (Laughs even louder!) Right, right!

Jas: Where do you go, for stuff like that?

Ne-Yo: You know what's crazy, a lot of times, and people don't believe me when I say this, "men and women think a lot alike" We really do. It's just, the thought is the same, but the, calls but the effect is always different, you know! The situation came from, a situation that happened to me, I just reversed it for Rihanna. It was a situation, where I was with a young lady she was swearing at everything, where she was so very much in love. I find out, that she's been moving about doing other things, so I gave her a call, like "Yeah, I found this out, and basically there's no need for you to call me no more, click!" So I hung up, and she's calling, calling, calling, calling. She came to, it wasn't my house, it was a friends house, that I was at, at the time, and she was literally, standing outside, like in front of the house. (Puts on whining, female voice) "Please, will you just talk to me, let's just talk! I just wanna have a conversation with you" An I'm standing there, at the window, like (pauses) "God, you look so dumb right now" There are people in their houses looking at you making a fool of yourself. What are you doing? Like, its real, it happens on both sides, it's just if I were to sing that song, women all over the world would hate me. Like, "That's so insensitive" and it wouldn't matter what the woman did to me. I would be the insensitive jerk making fun of this girl, standing outside of my house, crying!

Jas: Sure

Ne-Yo: But, if a woman sings it, all women all over the world are like, "yeah, you tell him girl Yeah" So, we think a lot alike, but in some situations its perceived different. So, that's where that song came from.

Jas: She's had enormous success thanks to that record man.

Ne-Yo: Oh yeah!

For more on this interview, click on the stream button and hear what Ne-YO has to say on when he met "Michael "Jackson"

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