What is Ne-Yo's Net Worth?
Ne-Yo is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor who has a net worth of $9 million. He initially gained a foothold in the music industry thanks to his songwriting skills. Ne-Yo then went on to build an impressive career for himself as a solo artist. Outside of his music career, Ne-Yo has branched out into acting and reality television.
Early Life
Ne-Yo's real name is Shaffer Chimere Smith, and he was born on October 18th, 1979. Raised in Camden by two parents who were involved in the music industry, Smith quickly gravitated towards music. After his father left the family, Smith was raised by his mother for most of his childhood. At a young age, he relocated to Las Vegas, where his mother pursued better work opportunities.
Early Career
When Smith enrolled in the Las Vegas Academy for the Arts, he adopted the stage name GoGo. This was a high school that focused on the arts, and Smith had to go through an audition process to be accepted. During his time at this high school, he joined an R&B group called Envy. The group was quite successful and appeared on TV several times. After one particularly notable appearance on MTV, the Envy broke up in the year 2000.
Upon graduating, Smith focused on songwriting. He soon became well-known in the music industry for his songwriting skills, and he earned the name "Ne-Yo" because he "sees songwriting like Neo sees the matrix."
Songwriting Phase
Columbia initially signed Ne-Yo but soon dropped him. By 2003, Ne-Yo already had all the songs he needed for his debut album recorded and ready to go. His big break came when singer Marques Houston heard the lead single "That Girl" and helped Ne-Yo re-record the track. "That Girl" was then featured on Houston's debut album, MH. After people learned that Ne-Yo wrote the song, he was recognized as one of the industry's best songwriters.
Suddenly, a wide range of musicians wanted to work with Ne-Yo. During the next couple of years, Ne-Yo worked with prominent artists such as Teedra Moses, Christina Milan, Youngstown, B2K, Faith Evans, and many others. Ne-Yo's most important songwriting gig came in 2004 when he wrote "Let Me Love You" for Mario. The song became a number-one hit, cementing Ne-Yo as one of the most sought-after songwriters in the industry. The success of the song prompted Jay-Z to sign Ne-Yo to a new deal after watching him perform.
Solo Career
In 2006, Ne-Yo released his debut album, In My Own Words. Released through Def Jam Records, the album featured hits like "So Sick" and "When You're Mad." The album was later certified platinum. He capitalized on this early success with a second album a year later. Because of You performed even better, reaching the number one spot on the Billboard Top 200. Its lead single, "Because of You," did particularly well – although the rest of the tracks were not hits. Despite this, the album later went on to achieve platinum status.
In 2008, Ne-Yo released his third album, Year of the Gentleman. This album received positive reviews and went platinum once again thanks to hits like "Closer" and "Miss Independent." After establishing himself as a successful solo artist, Ne-Yo released a greatest hits album in 2009. He spent the next few years touring and collaborating with artists such as Mariah Carey. In 2010, he released his next album, Libra Scale. Although the album received rave reviews, it failed to perform commercially.
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He spent 2011 touring the UK before booking a major role in 2011's Battle: Los Angeles and another role in a George Lucas film called Red Tails in 2012. During this time, Ne-Yo continued to write songs for major artists such as Jennifer Hudson and Alexis Jordan. He also collaborated with artists such as Lil Wayne and Pitbull before moving from Def Jam to Motown.
His first album with Motown was R.E.D. The album was once again well-received by critics, and it performed fairly well commercially. From 2013 onwards, Ne-Yo collaborated with the likes of David Guetta and Akon. Juicy J helped Ne-Yo with the single "She Knows," which later appeared on his 2015 album, Non-Fiction. The album proved to be popular and peaked at number five on the Billboard Top 200. In 2017, Ne-Yo announced the upcoming release of his seventh album and later debuted another single, "Another Love Song." In 2017, he also appeared in the movie Girls Trip with a brief cameo.
Further Ventures
In addition to the film appearances already mentioned, Ne-Yo has appeared in a range of television shows. One of his most notable roles was as a hitman in CSI: NY. He has also acted as a judge for the reality TV show World of Dance. In 2011, Ne-Yo helped develop a new animated series called I Heart Tuesday for the cartoon network.
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Personal Life
In 2005, Ne-Yo's girlfriend, Jessica White, gave birth to a boy, although it was later proved that the baby was fathered by another man. In 2010, he and his girlfriend, Monyetta Shaw, had their first child together. He had another child with Shaw before he started dating Crystal Renay Williams. The couple was married in 2016, and they had two children together before announcing their separation in 2020. In 2017, Ne-Yo began pursuing a vegan diet, and he later admitted it helped him lose significant amounts of weight and reverse his tendinitis.
Legal Issues
Ne-Yo has been involved with a number of legal issues over the years. In 2008, he was arrested for reckless driving and driving without a license. In 2011, Lindsay Lohan sued Pitbull and Ne-Yo for using her name in one of their songs. However, the judge ruled that Ne-Yo was within his right to mention her name under the First Amendment.
