His mum is his hero and his manager his rock, but fittingly it's a tale about a cup of coffee which keeps superstar Ne-Yo grounded.
"Whenever I feel things are getting away from me," he said in almost a whisper, "Beyonce is my saviour."
Given she's one of the world's most influential female artists I was left a little disappointed by the revelation I'd waited patiently for.
"No, no," said an intuitive Ne-Yo. "I've got more," offered the 31 year old, the showman starting to shine.
"See, when I met Beyonce for the first time I was humbled. She is such an incredible woman and a giant international superstar, yet you wouldn't know it. She is the sweetest person. So kind. But the best thing about her is she's the kind of person who would ask you how you take your coffee and then go get it for you," proudly rolling out the punch line. "She wouldn't send someone else, and that stays with me."
For a man who's penned songs for everyone from Rihanna and Britney Spears to Celine Dion and Whitney Houston, it doesn't come as a bolt from the blue that Ne-Yo would be conscious of losing his way.
The singer-song writer broke into the recording industry after writing Let Me Love You for singer Mario, which eventually led to an informal meeting with Def Jam, a Universal Music Group label, and a subsequent recording contract.
His 2006 debut album, In My Own Words, which boasted the US No 1 hit So Sick, showed what the boy could do, closely followed by the albums Because Of You and Year Of The Gentleman. His fourth studio album, Libra Scale, was released just last year and the singer is now back in the studio working on number five.
"It's coming on quite nicely, if I do say so myself," he said over the phone from Los Angeles.
Regional issues
Success seems to follow this African-American-Asian (his father is African-American and his mother is Chinese-American) from Camden in Arkansas wherever he goes. And while he may credit Beyonce for keeping his feet on the ground, it doesn't take a genius to work out — even if he'd never admit himself — he's actually just a really nice guy.
No second guessing and no ambiguity, a chat with Ne-Yo is frank, honest and comes from the heart, no matter how ugly the subject. Ahead of his debut Dubai show on Sunday, Ne-Yo admits he was unsure about the Middle East.
"I did my first show in Kuwait this year and it was a lotta fun," he said, sounding surprised. "All we hear of the Middle East is war, so I had no idea what to expect. But obviously it was ridiculously peaceful and the food was good," he said before reiterating his concern over menu options. "I was worried about the food. I shouldn't have been."
Dubai-based King Entertainment has been trying to secure the Miss Independent singer for more than two months — Ne-Yo's name has been dragged through the UAE rumour mill more than any other artist in the last 12 months — and finally struck gold just last week.
"I would have come sooner," he said, shocked he was in such demand. "I didn't even know I had a fan base, to be honest. As soon as my manager and I found out people want to see my face, I booked the flights. ‘We gotta go,' I told him."
For many, song-writing is a fast-track, one-way ticket to stardom in their own right: Write some great songs for big names, meet the right people, suggest "how about I sing this one?" and eventually stop writing for others.
Not so for Ne-Yo. "When music is in your veins there's no controlling it," he said.
This time two years ago he was locked in regular conversation with none other than Michael Jackson, working tirelessly on the King of Pop's comeback album.
‘One of the greatest'
"Michael Jackson didn't teach me that much, but what he did do was confirm I wasn't crazy," he said. "He was a sweet man with a strong head. In almost every telephone conversation we had, he would almost be guaranteed to say ‘less is more', ‘simplicity wins the race' or ‘melodic and meaningful'. They were things I already knew, but it was wonderful to have them confirmed by someone so special."
The late Jackson eventually selected 10 songs written by Ne-Yo for the album he planned to record after his planned series of London O2 concerts. "To have my work critiqued my MJ is a blessing."
But once again, ever the professional, Ne-Yo shows restraint. Where some may have been tempted to "suggest" a collaboration, for Ne-Yo the boundaries were set. "He's one of the greatest performers of all time," he said. "I wouldn't have dared assume he would ever want to. I wouldn't have had the audacity."
For Ne-Yo, the best he could have hoped for was for MJ to take his songs and make them his own. "I don't have a lack of respect for artists who don't write their own songs.
"I do respect ones who take my song and sing it exactly how I wrote it. I want people to take them and make them their own. When we were younger, we thought the person singing the song was the person who wrote it. As you grew up and realised it's not the case, it doesn't change how great the song was. Some of MJ's best songs weren't written by him. It doesn't matter."
Song-writing for Ne-Yo has undergone a huge change following the birth of his daughter, Madilyn Grace Smith, in November last year. Announcing the birth, Ne-Yo famously said: "I've been in love before, but this feels like nothing I've ever felt... Like I'm in love for the first time."
His promotion to daddy has also altered his writing. "She's just starting to get a real personality," he said, the joy audible even over the phone.
‘Extra pressure'
"It was a little scary at first. In my head, I'm about 12 so to be responsible for someone else was mind-blowing.
"My inspiration for song-writing hasn't changed, but the job element has. Now when I write it's 50 per cent from the soul and 50 per cent to feed my family. Not that I've ever slacked, but it does put that bit of extra pressure on the success of an album. In a good way," he said before correcting himself. "A great way. I can imagine that this is going to make for some pretty kick-a** song lyrics."
Born Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr in 1979, Ne-Yo was a nickname he picked up in the US after The Matrix's Neo.
"It started as a joke. A producer friend of mine said, ‘You're the Neo of the music industry' and he meant I could do things with music other people couldn't do, like Neo could do in the movie. I didn't really like it, but it kind of just stuck with me. I can't slow down bullets, but maybe I could sing a song and convince the guy not to shoot in the first place."
He's kind, considerate, socially conscious and extremely polite, but probably the best thing about Ne-Yo is his honesty. Given and received.
"I hate ‘yes men'," he said, pausing. "I hate tomatoes too, but I hate people who just agree with everything more. I tell my staff, ‘If you say you always love my songs I'll probably fire you.' I want honesty and integrity and people who will challenge me. My manager, Tango, is ‘all killer, no filler'. He doesn't spare my feelings. The truth is often ugly."
The moral of this tale is perhaps not to judge a book by its cover, just as he doesn't. Ne-Yo may have fame and fortune, but he fights for a better cause.
"I can't remember a time when Glee Club was cool," he said changing the subject altogether, leaving me a little stunned. "I went to school at a performing arts high school — a bit like in Fame — where being in the choir was a good thing. Regular high schools aren't like that. Glee is about individuality. It's about the underdog. Ridicule and criticism. Be strong enough to be who you are."
The mini speech left me feeling bold. Brave. Ironically, Ne-Yo fell back into a whisper.
"Do me a favour," he said. "Try and make me sound clever."
Ne-Yo has written songs for artists like Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Britney Spears and Rihanna.
Don't miss it
Ne-Yo, brought by King Entertainment, performs at Chi, The Lodge, on Sunday. Tickets, priced Dh250 (inclusive of one drink) and Dh350 VIP, are available at platinumlist.ae and from Chi.
