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Ne-Yo has his fans to thank for the content on his sixth studio album, Non-Fiction, which uses fan’s stories as the basis for its songs.
In an interview with Billboard, the singer explains what inspired him to crowd-source love stories via social media, which he in turn recorded for his newest effort.
“They have very common stories — it’s something us guys go through on a regular basis, and it’s definitely something that women have been a part of as well at some point in their lives,” he says.
He adds that he chose stories that people would “find themselves within them.” “The hardest thing about putting this together was looking at yourself in the mirror and picking yourself apart: not being afraid or ashamed to admit when you’ve done something wrong,” Ne-Yo says. “That’s something guys have an issue with a lot of the time. But I’ve kind of accepted that my role in R&B is to say things for guys they either don’t want to say or can’t say.”
So how much of the album is based on his real life experiences? “About half and half. I knew I wanted to tell my story, but I wanted this to be a little more special than just me putting out another album,” he says. “This is me and my fans’ first collaborative effort, and definitely not the last.”
Non-Fiction is available now.
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