IN MY OWN WORDS, NE-YO’s DEBUT ALBUM ON DEF
JAM, ALREADY AT 700,000 UNITS SHIPPED, AS FEB. 28th IN-STORE DATE
NEARS
“SO SICK” SINGLE EXPLODES HITTING # 1
ON THE BILLBOARD RHYTHMIC CHART
TV appearance on CBS’s “The Late Late
Show” last week is followed up with “CD ” (Feb.
18th) and Regis & Kelly (March 7th)
“It’s
extremely rare to find someone so young, that is the embodiment of the
definition of the word ‘artist.’ Ne-Yo is an entertainer, singer and a
TRUE songwriter.” President and C.E.O. of Def Jam Recordings,
Shawn “Jay Z” Carter
(Feb.
14, 2006 – New York, NY ) Unprecedented in
today’s marketplace, shipping orders of IN MY OWN WORDS,
the debut album by Def Jam recording artist Ne-Yo, set to arrive in
stores February 28th, will top the 700,000 unit mark.
IN MY OWN WORDS is propelled
by Ne-Yo’s explosive top 5 single “So Sick,” which
jumps to #3 in its 14th week on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop
chart, and #3 in its 11th week on the Hot 100 Airplay chart (with 145
million total audience). The track continues at #1 on AOL’s Top
40 Songs list, with close to 200,000 plays; and #1 on AOL’s Top
40 Radio with over 1 million total plays – and more than 126,000
just last week. At Yahoo! Radio, “So Sick,” rises to
#2-bullet with 315,000 streams (up from 67,000 last week) and #8 Most
Downloaded Ringtones.
Across-the-board, “So
Sick,” is a unanimous top 5 raver on every major list: Rhythmic
T40 Monitor (#1-bullet), Mainstream T40 Monitor (#2-bullet),
R&R/Rhythmic (#3-bullet), R&R/Urban (#5- bullet), R&R/Pop
(#4-bullet), and Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Monitor (#4-
bullet). The video for “So Sick,” directed by Hype
Williams, is currently #2 on BET, and top 5 most requested on
“106 & Park.” The clip also moved to “BIG
10” rotation on MTV last week. In other tube action, Ne-Yo
performed “So Sick” on CBS’s “The Late Late
Show” with Craig Ferguson last week, and will follow-up with
appearances on “CD USA” (Saturday, Feb. 18th) and Regis
& Kelly (Tuesday, March 7th).
In Los Angeles , on
February 23rd, Nokia will host an exclusive VIP gala celebrating the
release of Ne-Yo’s stellar debut release, IN MY OWN WORDS. The
party will be topped by an exclusive extended performance from Ne-Yo.
“So Sick,” penned by Ne-Yo (aka Shaffer C.
Smith), the astoundingly talented young 23-year old lyricist, wrote
every track on IN MY OWN WORDS. The single was produced by Stargate,
who also produced “Sexy Love,” “Let Go,” and
“Time” for the album. Other producers enlisted for the
project included: Ron ‘Neff-U’ Feemstar for Drama Family
Entertainment (“Stay” featuring Peedi Peedi, and
“Sign Me Up”); Brian ‘B-Nasty’ Reid for Drama
Family Entertainment (“Let Me Get This Right”);
Curtis “Sauce” Wilson for Compound Entertainment
(“When You’re Mad,” “It Just Ain’t
Right,” and “Mirror”); Boola for CPR Unit (“I
Ain’t Gotta Tell You”); and Ervin ‘EP’ Pope
for Compound Entertainment (“Get Down Like That” and the
hidden track “Get Down Like That Remix” featuring
Ghostface Killah).
“… his attention to detail
is key… But it’s Ne-Yo’s natural ability to bring
together the key ingredients that proves he’s a musician wise
beyond his 23 years.”
–VIBE
Ne-Yo’s
songwriting chops came to Def Jam’s attention after he penned
tunes for a string of multi-platinum artists including Mary J. Blige,
B2K, Faith Evans, Musiq, and especially Mario – whose “Let
Me Love You” (which Ne-Yo co-wrote with Scott Storch) finished
out 2004 as the #1 most-played song of the year at radio. Born in
Arkansas and raised in Las Vegas , Ne-Yo is a natural story-teller who
cites Prince, Marvin Gaye, the Rat Pack, and Stevie Wonder in his list
of favorite entertainers. With the release of IN MY OWN WORDS, Ne-Yo
lives up to the acclaim he has already received. “I feel there
is always room for good music,” he says. “I want to reach
people’s soul with my lyrics thru whatever vessel God
chooses.”
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