Courtesy of NPR
Watch the Latin American Music Awards
Ne-Yo is one of the genre-defining R&B singers of the 2000s, and his invitation to the NPR show Small desk a series of concerts was long overdue.
The longtime bad boy R&B singer made his Small desk debut on Friday (April 26), which saw him run through a medley of soulful hits from his catalog, in addition to bops he’s written for Mario, Rihanna and Beyoncé.
Draped in a bedazzled all-white outfit and his signature fedora hat, Ne-Yo aptly kicked off his set with his anthem “Because of You” before moving on to his introduction to the world with “So Sick” and the volcanic “Sexy Love.” »
“I’ve written a few songs since I’ve been doing this thing, you might know some of them,” Ne-Yo said before moving on to a few covers. “Actually, I’m going to move on to some of the ones I’ve written, which you may or may not be familiar with.”
He then delivered melodious covers in homage to his deadly pen with Rihanna’s “Take a Bow,” Bey’s “Irreplaceable” and Mario’s “Let Me Love You.”
Ne-Yo also debuted a redemptive new track called “Two Million Secrets,” which he described as more of a confessional. “This song took a bit of growing up, even to write it, and even more to sing it. This song is basically about owning your shit… Nobody’s above mistakes, nobody’s above redemption. You do better and you keep pushing,” he said. “This song is not a song, this song is a confession.”
The three-time Grammy winner elevated the room with her classic anthem “Miss Independent,” which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2008. “A dedication to my favorite kind of woman, the independent woman,” he testified.
Look at Ne-Yo Small desk concert below.
