Ne-Yo is one of the genre-defining R&B singers of the 2000s, and his invite to NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series was long overdue.
The long-time bad-boy R&B singer made his Tiny 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 penned for the likes of Mario, Rihanna and Beyoncé.
Draped in a bedazzled all-white getup and his signature fedora hat, Ne-Yo fittingly kicked off his set with his “Because of You” anthem before moving into his introduction to the world with “So Sick” and the volcanic “Sexy Love.”
“I’ve written a couple songs since I’ve been doing this thing, some of them you may know,” Ne-Yo said before switching gears to a few covers. “Matter of fact, I’m gonna jump into some of the ones that I’ve written, that you may or may not know.”
He proceeded to deliver tuneful covers in an homage to his lethal pen with Rihanna’s “Take a Bow,” Bey’s “Irreplaceable” and Mario’s “Let Me Love You.”
Ne-Yo also debuted a new redemptive track titled “Two Million Secrets,” which he described as more of a confessional. “This song took a little bit of growth on my part to even write, and even more to sing. This song is basically about owning your s–t … Nobody is above mistakes, nobody is 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 uplifted the room by signing off with his 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.
Watch Ne-Yo’s Tiny Desk concert performance below.
