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Full Interview. (9:27)
 

On being compared to Michael Jackson. (1:22)
 

Tavis: I am pleased to welcome Ne-Yo back to this program. It's been a pretty good few years for this 24-year-old singer-songwriter and actor. Earlier this year, he starred opposite Chris Brown in the hit film "Stomp the Yard," which will be out, by the way, on DVD next week. His latest CD is receiving rave reviews and even some comparisons to Michael Jackson's early solo work.

Stuff like "Off the Wall." The CD is called "Because of You." Later on this program, a performance from this new disc, but first here now some of the video for the single "Because of You."

[Clip]

Tavis: All right, so anybody who thought you weren't the real deal has now been disabused of that notion. You are the real deal.

Ne-Yo: Thank you, sir, I appreciate that.

Tavis: How are you, like, processing these comparisons to Michael Jackson's stuff? Let me just tell you -

Ne-Yo: Man.

Tavis: When I first read that and heard that I said, "Ne-Yo's my boy, I love him, he's been on the show, I appreciate him and his mama." But I told Chris, our producer, I said, "These comparisons to Michael Jackson's 'Off the Wall,' that's pretty serious." But then when you hear the stuff, when they hear this performance that you're going to offer in just a minute, they can be their own judge. But that's a pretty heady comparison.

Ne-Yo: That's - yeah, heady is the word, oh yeah. Man, when I first read that I was, like, "Okay, I really hope that they ain't setting people up for some disappointment when people hear the record and be, like, 'Oh, that ain't no 'Off the Wall.'" Like, setting me up for disaster. But no, that's probably one of the biggest compliments that I could be paid.

And Michael Jackson is definitely a reason that I sing. Like when I was learning how to sing, my mom actually gave me Michael Jackson's ”Off the Wall" and Stevie Wonder's "Hotter than July." And she told me to study these two artists because I had a similar, like, kind of nasally tone to my tone. So she said, "Study these two artists, it'll help you get more comfortable with your own voice."

So, I knew "Off the Wall" backwards, forwards, where he took a breath at, how he said this word, all that stuff. (Laughter) All of that, I had all of it, so.

Tavis: Not too bad folk to study, Michael and Stevie.

Ne-Yo: Oh yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

Tavis: You met both or either?

Syria I met Stevie Wonder kind of in passing, like we haven't really - we had a conversation 'cause he has a radio show, and we've had a conversation over the phone. But, like, never really sat down and got to pick his brain the way I like to. Haven't gotten a chance to meet Mike yet. It may be in the works, because will.i.am of the Black-Eyed Peas is overseeing his new project.

And will.i.am reached out to me not too long ago about helping him out with some stuff, so I'm keeping the fingers crossed, I'm going to try to get in there and do some stuff for the man.

Tavis: How do you process that, when people start reaching out to you on behalf of people like Michael Jackson? I read somewhere that you are doing some stuff with Celine Dion, perhaps. How do you process that? That everybody wants you? You have become - as we speak right now, you are the songwriter of choice.

Ne-Yo: Man. That's - goodness gracious, when you put it like that? 'Cause when you're kind of in it -

Tavis: From (inaudible) Dion, from Celine to Michael, everybody wants you to be on their project. Beyoncé.

Ne-Yo: Well, like, when you're in it you kind of just, you go "Oh, okay, that's all right. Cool, let's write that down, let's work out a schedule and then we do that on this day, and then let's keep moving." But, like, when you actually sit down and go "Man, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, this one, that one;" it's a little overwhelming, to tell you the truth.

Tavis: And let's give you all your props. With Beyoncé - it's not just Beyoncé, it is the biggest hit that she has had so far to date, which would be, of course, "Irreplaceable."

Ne-Yo: It's love. "Irreplaceable," yeah, man. It's love, it's love. Man, it's just everything that's happening to me can only be looked at as one thing, and that's a blessing. It's a absolute blessing. Been trying to do this for a really long time, and it's finally coming to fruition now. It's, gotta give him all the glory, all the praise.

Tavis: It is a blessing, but you ain't been trying to do it that long. You ain't but 24. (Laughter) So let's not get carried away now.

Ne-Yo: Well, okay, all right. (Laughs)

Tavis: I'm just teasing you. We all wish at 24 we could be the kind of songwriter you are, speaking of which, what distinguishes - in your mind, what, for you, distinguishes you as a songwriter? When I said earlier you'd become the songwriter of choice, why is that? What is it about your writing, about your style, about your work that works?

Ne-Yo: Well, I always write from personal experience. I always write from things that happen to me, and I've always viewed myself as a regular person. I'm the same dude that you are. This person asked me for my autograph; it's like, why? I'm the same as you. You have my autograph; my autograph is your autograph.

So I guess in that, everything I write is very relatable to the average person, which works. I don't know, I don't really try to - I don't really sit down and try to go okay, I need to write a song different from everybody else's doing. Like, I don't really do that. I just sit down and write, and people accept it, by the grace of God.

Tavis: The lyrical content, though, means, obviously, something to you. When you actually write, you have something to say, which I think is important. There are a lot of people who write stuff that you hear and you're like, okay, what does that mean? It's a nice hook, but the lyrics aren't always saying anything.

I get the sense, though, from listening to your stuff over the years now that lyrical content means something to you.

Ne-Yo: It means the world. It means everything. Like, when you have such a huge platform as the one that I do, why would you waste - everybody's paying attention, everybody's looking at you, why would you waste that with nothing? Why would you say nothing? That doesn't make any sense to me, you know what I mean?

So I always try to make sure that I say something that means something to somebody, if not just me. I think that a lot of the reason that a lot of music is suffering is because people are doing it for the wrong reason. People are doing it trying to make a quick buck. "Oh, there's not a whole lot of money in the industry no more, so let me do something that's going to make me the most money right now."

It's like I don't like letting money be a motivating factor as to why I'm writing. Like, that's not even in the equation as to why I write. I write because I got something to say and I want to get it out there, and hopefully somebody else out there is going to agree or relate to what it is I'm saying. That's the reason that I write.

Tavis: To your point now, of your work with Celine Dion, you've said that what you're trying to craft for her is a song that is timeless. What does that mean for you?

Ne-Yo: Well basically it's just a song that people are going to listen to it and love it today, and then people are going to listen to it 20 years from now and still love it. A lot of music that's being put out today definitely has that stamp of right now on it. And it's real hot right now, but 20 years from now, are you still going to be rocking to that?

Probably not, you know what I mean? Like, Like, I'm just trying to - I'm not doing anything that hasn't been done before, it just hasn't been done in a while, where you hear a song like a lot of the music from back in the day - Stevie Wonder, "Hotter than July," you can put that on right now and it's still incredible. Still, to this day. That's the kind of music that I'm trying to do.

Tavis: Tell me how this project differs - well, first of all, some of these collaborations are pretty amazing. Jay-Z, Jennifer Hudson. How was that recording session?

Ne-Yo: Man, Jennifer Hudson - the Jay-Z recording session was honestly not as scary or even spectacular as you would think, because he kind of went in, did what he was going to do in 15 minutes, and left. Like, he - I guess that's how J works.

Tavis: So does he get the same amount of money for 15 minutes versus 15 hours?

Ne-Yo: Absolutely. (Laughter) Absolutely. That is what it is.

Tavis: Well, why spend 15 hours if you can do it in 15 minutes? (Inaudible)

Ne-Yo: It don't change the quality. The quality is still the same. You paying for the quality, not the time. But Jennifer Hudson, one of the cool things about working with her is that she's still a regular person, you know what I mean? Like when you get that much success in that short amount of time, it can definitely change who you are.

It can change around just the whole way that you look at everything. And there's been these little rumors and accusations about her being a diva. She must have acquired all that after me, because I didn't catch none of that when we was in the studio. She was polite, she had her family there. It wasn't even a work session. Like, we was hanging out, you know what I mean?

It was cool; she was willing to try new things. Like, that's another thing that a lot of artists don't know how to do. If you sing something and I go "Mm, I think you can get that a little better," and you go "I've been in the business for this long, how you gonna tell me - " Like, she didn't give me that, (laughter) you know what I mean? It's artists to this day that's been in the business for years that don't know how to take "I think you can get that a little better," you know what I mean? She was one of those artists. "Oh, okay, well, let me do it again," plain and simple.

Tavis: How do you decide what to keep for yourself (laughter) and, like, what to give to other people? It's, like, I would, like, hate myself if I, like, wrote, like, a major hit and gave it to somebody else. Like, "I should have kept that for my record." So your record comes out and sells 10 copies -

Ne-Yo: And then that one comes out -

Tavis: Yeah. You still getting paid, but still, it could have been on your record.

Ne-Yo: Well, true. I always look at it like okay, going to the studio for me is not work. Like, I do it in my free time just because I enjoy the art of making music. It's like a little kid playing video games. Like, you don't have to tell a kid to play video games. So if I go to the studio of my own free will just to make music and I come up with something spectacular, of course I'm going to keep that for me.

Now, if I go in the studio with the mindset to write a song for Usher, whoever, then I go in there and I write a song and it turns out to be a hit, no matter how much I wanna go "Nobody saw me do that," (laughter) that song goes to Usher. It was written with Usher in mind, it's for Usher, that song goes to Usher.

Tavis: All right. So, you can write me something, maybe.

Ne-Yo: Yeah, I could.

Tavis: One day. Okay.

Ne-Yo: Absolutely.

Tavis: I like that. "I could." (Laughter) I didn't hear "I would," but I heard "I could."

Ne-Yo: Well, we'll talk. You're a busy man.

Tavis: Oh, please, I'm just teasing. Whatever good stuff you have, you deserve, and you keep it all for yourself.

Ne-Yo: Thank you, sir.

Tavis: His new CD is called "Because of You," and I am delighted that up next we will be blessed by a special performance from Ne-Yo, and you don't want to miss this. I think the track he's going to do is called "Do You."

Ne-Yo: Yes.

Tavis: And I love this, 'cause it's just Ne-Yo and a pianist. So stick around for that in a moment.