Ne-Yo

Born Shaffer Chimere Smith Jr. on October 18, 1982 in a remote location in Camden, Arkansas, Ne-Yo is a renowned recording artist and songwriter. He discovered his lyrical talent at the age of 5, thanks to nurturing by his mother in Las Vegas after she was separated from her husband. Smith honed his songwriting skills with a local R&B group known as Envy before moving to Los Angeles.

Initially, Ne-Yo was signed to Columbia Records. His first studio album, Shaffer was never put out, which propelled him to focus more on writing songs than singing. His producer, Deon Evans, holds credit for naming him, after sharing insights that likened his musical personality to Neo (The One), the major character of The Matrix. With the new name, his career took off on the heels of hits such as Marques Houston's That Girl and Mario's Let Me Love You.

Despite success behind the scenes, he resumed performing after he was able to make a good impression on executives from record label Def Jam. He finally released a debut album, In My Own Words, in 2006, which topped the charts. His following body of work, Because of You (2007) won a Grammy award. His subsequent albums, Year of the Gentleman (2008) and Libra Scale (2010) continued the streak.

Rising to fame and giving back to humankind

While maintaining his dual role, Ne-Yo wrote record-breaking songs for Beyoncé (Irreplaceable) and Rihanna (Take a Bow), cementing his reputation as a hitmaker. He went on to found Compound Entertainment to nurture emerging talent and launched Carrington House recording studio in 2007 for similar purposes. In 2012, he became the senior vice president of Motown Records.

Besides music, the Arkansas native has made substantial strides in acting, having starred in movies such as Stomp the Yard from 2007 and Red Tails from 2012. He also had TV roles in CSI and The Mindy Project. In 2017, Ne-Yo joined NBC’s World of Dance as a judge. His multi-pronged career showcases his enduring influence in music and entertainment, giving him a place as a versatile artist.

In 2018, Ne-Yo put some money into the Holberton School’s $2.3 million fundraising efforts as a way of showing his support for underrepresented groups in technology education. Holberton’s unique model allows students to pay 17% of their salary for three years after graduation to get work opportunities with collar firms like NASA and Apple. In 2021, he expanded his portfolio with a Stage11 partnership  to foster interactive performances.

Though he does not have his own philanthropic organization, he actively supports Little Kids Rock, a platform that empowers disadvantaged youths with the arts. This reflects his commitment to giving back to the community, which formed part of the basis for his success.

Getting cheap tickets to Ne-Yo’s upcoming shows

Though he is not a conventional performing artist, Ne-Yo is always busy on stage. If you want to see him live and witness what makes him unique first-hand, there are more than enough chances to, and you can do it economically with TicketX.

On May 2nd, he will be at Yaamava' Theater in Highland, CA. This will be followed by an outdoor performance at Lovers & Friends Festival in Las Vegas, NV, US, on May 4th. After that, he will be going overseas to make appearances at Live at the Marquee in Cork, Ireland, on June 12th, and Rock in Rio Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal, on June 15th.

Continuing his tour, Ne-Yo will be at The Hall in Dubendorf, Switzerland, on June 20th, and Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, UK, on June 22nd. He will also perform at Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark, on June 27th, and Hovet in Stockholm, Sweden, on June 29th.

Then, he will head to North America for shows at Harris Park in London, ON, Canada, on July 12th and the Cincinnati Music Festival Presented by P&G in Cincinnati, OH, US, on July 26th.

On TicketX, you can get some of the most affordable Ne-Yo tickets at the lowest commission rates, with the friendliest user interfaces and most interactive booking features, such as live seat viewing, event tracking, and couponing.