R&B singer Ne-Yo released his sixth album, Non-Fiction, last week. The singer decided to use a different approach in regards to writing songs for his new project. Ne-Yo used a system called crowdsourcing in order to get inspiration from his fans. Crowdsourcing is a process used to obtain ideas or services from a large group of people. Ne-Yo utilized love stories from social media in order to write Non-Fiction. The singer told Billboard magazine he wanted to create a story his fans could really identify with. “The one element of good storytelling is being able to take your listener on a ride,” he told Billboard magazine.
Ne-Yo said he used very common stories that guys go through in their everyday lives, and he wrote about real life events women have experienced at some point in their lives as well. “I want people to listen to these stories and find themselves within them. The hardest thing about putting this together was looking at yourself in the mirror and picking yourself apart,” Ne-Yo explained to Billboard magazine. The singer mentioned that his Non-Fiction was drawn from fifty percent of his personal experiences, and fifty percent of his fans’ experiences. “I knew I wanted to tell my story, but I wanted this to be a little more special. This is me and my fans’ first collaborative effort, and definitely not the last,” the singer explained to Billboard magazine.
Ne-Yo also discussed the current state of R&B with the music publication. The singer said there will always be a trend that fans will gravitate to, and they will love that trend until something new comes along. “The core of R&B doesn’t die, and that’s what I’m paying attention to the most,” he told Billboard. He added, “All genres of music have to evolve, grow and expand in order to maintain.” Ne-Yo concluded, “I don’t think there is anything wrong with the growth of R&B. I welcome it.” Ne-Yo’s Non-Fiction is expected to debut in the top ten on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The official chart will be released today.
Update: Ne-Yo’s Non-Fiction debuted at Number 5 on the Billboard 200 Album charts with 59,000 units sold. This marks his sixth consecutive top ten debut.