“This album is the rebirth of storytelling. I want people to listen to these stories and be entertained, inspired, turned on, saddened, overjoyed and all that lies in between… Because that's what a good story and a good storyteller is supposed to do.” NE-YO
Grammy-Award Winning Superstar Ne-yo is set to return with his first album in two years, Non Fiction.
The album finds Ne-Yo collaborating with some of the most talented names in music today. Juicy J is featured on the track ‘She Knows’, which was produced by powerhouse pop guru Dr. Luke (Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus). Billboard hailed the track as “spare and hard-hitting” while Complex praised its “traditional R&B style.”
Other featured artists include Candice, David Guetta, Jeezy, Charisse Mills, Schoolboy Q and T.I. ‘Time of Our Lives’, NE-YO’s new collaboration with Pitbull, appears on both Non-Fiction and Pitbull’s new album.
Ne-Yo was joined in the studio by production mainstays from throughout his career such as Shae Taylor and Stargate plus new associates Key Wayne and Glass John and members of his own Compound Music production team, including Corporal. DJ Camper (JAY Z, Kanye West, John Legend) also worked on many tracks.
The new songs are the kind of ultra-relevant narratives blended with powerful hooks that Ne-Yo became renowned for – both on his own hits like ‘So Sick’, ‘Closer’ and ‘Miss Independent’ and tracks he’s helped craft for Rihanna, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Whitney Houston, Pitbull, Ciara and many others. Non-Fiction follows his late 2012 release, R.E.D. (Realizing Every Dream), which received stellar reviews. USA Today noted, “There isn't a more natural singer/songwriter in contemporary R&B than NE-YO” and The Washington Post hailed him as an “extremely gifted and versatile songwriter." NE-YO's first three studio albums debuted at No. 1 on the SoundScan chart and were all certified RIAA Platinum. He is a three-time GRAMMY® winner and a two-time winner at the BET, MOBO and Soul Train Music awards.
The album contains some of Ne-yo’s most creative and accessible music to date. “Every song is derived from a true story,” Ne-yo explains. “One thing that sets me apart as a songwriter is I’m a storyteller: with this album, I wanted to put a magnifying glass on that. I wanted Non Fiction to feel cinematic: each track gives listeners something entertaining, yet if they take their time with it, they’ll discover different dimensions and subplots.”
Ne-yo added another twist to the creative process behind Non Fiction: he reached out to his fans via social-media platforms like Twitter and Instagram requesting to hear tales from their lives – many of which made it onto the album. “I didn’t just want to tell my story,” NE-YO says. “Some songs come from the fans, some are directly from my personal experiences. I like letting people try to guess which is which!”