Biography
Who is Ne-Yo?
Early life and real name
Shaffer Chimere Smith was born on October 18, 1979, in Camden, Arkansas. Both of his parents were musicians, and his mother raised him as a young child after separating from his father. The family eventually relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada.
While attending the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, he adopted the stage name GoGo and joined a musical group called Envy. The group performed on television before disbanding in the year 2000. Following the group's split, he continued writing songs for other artists while developing his solo career.
How Ne-Yo became famous
Ne-Yo first gained widespread recognition for his exceptional songwriting abilities after penning the track Let Me Love You for American singer Mario in 2004. The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and stayed there for nine weeks. This major success led to a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings.
He released his debut studio album, In My Own Words, in early 2006. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and featured the commercial breakthrough single So Sick. The release earned platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.
Career highlights and albums
Following his debut, Ne-Yo released his second album, Because of You, in 2007. It also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and won Best Contemporary R&B Album at the Grammy Awards. His third album, Year of the Gentleman, followed in 2008 and included hit tracks like Closer and Miss Independent.
Over the years, he released additional studio albums such as Libra Scale, R.E.D., Non-Fiction, Good Man, Another Kind of Christmas, and Self Explanatory. Alongside his music releases, he also served as a television judge on World of Dance and competed on The Masked Singer.
Birthday and age
Ne-Yo was born on October 18, 1979, which makes Ne-Yo 47 years old today. That birthday falls under the Libra sign. Ne-Yo shares the date with 28 other famous people.
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