Ne-Yo

About

Also known as: Ne Yo, NeYo, Neo, Shaffer Chimere Smith, Shaffer Smith

Ne Yo built his reputation as a songwriter before most people even knew his name as a performer. His song "Let Me Love You", written for Mario, sat at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks, which caught the attention of Jay Z at Def Jam and landed Ne Yo a recording deal. His stage name, by the way, comes from the idea that he sees music the way Neo sees the Matrix. From there, his solo career took off fast. Debut album In My Own Words hit the top of the Billboard 200, and the run of albums that followed, Because of You and Year of the Gentleman, kept him firmly in the upper reaches of the charts while earning him three Grammy Awards. Hits like "Miss Independent", "Closer" and "So Sick" defined a certain era of R&B, polished and melodic but with real weight to them. He has racked up five number one singles on the UK Singles Chart and sold 29 million certified albums and singles in the US alone.