Hello Ne-Yo. You have a very distinctive way of writing songs that get under the skin without relying on big, catchy choruses. What's the secret?
The way that I write, I always pay the most attention to the melody and the lyric. The catchy melody - that's kind of the easy way out, it's just extra, extra repetitive. If you say anything over and over again, you're naturally going to remember it. But if you find that lyric that's gonna touch a person's heart, that's gonna remind them of an old girlfriend or boyfriend; if you find that melody and that lyric that's gonna evoke some emotion in that person then that's also a way to grab 'em. And that's what I try to do.
I come from an older school of writing, back when music actually made you feel something as opposed to, "Oh, it's got a nice beat and I can dance to it". There's more to it than that, that's where I come from.
When you started out as a songwriter, who were you trying to emulate?
I've always been a huge fan of Stevie Wonder. He's one of those writers who definitely can control you emotionally and mentally through music. If he wants you to be sad, he's gonna sing a song that makes you sad. If he wants you to be happy, he can sing a song that makes you happy. Smokey Robinson is another one, Quincy Jones, Lionel Ritchie...
I couldn't say how much they've influenced me though. Depending on the feel of the song, sometimes it's 90% Smokey, 10% Stevie. Sometimes it's 50% Stevie, 50% Lionel Ritchie!
When other people sing your songs, do you ever hear them and think: "You're singing that line wrong"?
No, to be honest with you. The way that I write, say if I wrote a song for you, I would demo the song but keep it simple because what I ultimately want you to do is take the song and make it yours - meaning an adlib or flip the melody just slightly, to make it more comfortable for you. So you really can't sing it wrong if I wrote it for you.
We interviewed Rihanna when she first came to the UK and, to be honest, were less than impressed. Did it take your songs to turn her into a superstar?
A song can't make you a superstar, that's not how that works. Especially nowadays like, if you have the hot song for the summer and you don't have that star quality then all you've got is a hot song for that summer. I don't wanna name any names but I'm sure you could think of some songs that were huge and where is that person now? That's because that person was not a star.
Rihanna embodies the qualities of a star; that it-factor that you can't put your finger on. There's something in her that you don't see in another singer. And I think it was just a matter of her growing into it and coming into her own. She's definitely grown into that superstar element now.
You're currently writing songs for Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, does that change how you write - knowing how much is at stake for those performers?
Not really. If you sit down and think about it too much you're gonna write some crap. If you think, "Oh my god, this has got to be the song that brings Michael Jackson back!" and you put too much pressure on yourself then everything you write sucks. What I do, when I'm trying to write for them is not even think about the fact I'm writing for Michael Jackson or Whitney - just write a song! That's the way all the other hits came, I just wrote a song.
Do you feel honoured to be asked to be involved in the Michael Jackson album or do you think they've basically phoned every hit song writer in the country!?
Maybe it's a little bit of both! Either way I'm absolutely honoured. Michael Jackson is part of the reason that I even do this so to be considered to write a song for this man is an absolute honour and pleasure.
Watch this space for part two where Ne-Yo explains why Jay-Z and Kanye are his ideal men, and how he came to be arrested for reckless driving!
