The 'Miss Independent' singer says, 'I gotta say, beyond anything else, I was just flattered that they thought me worthy of such a responsibility.'
- January 26, 2012
AceShowbiz -
Shortly after officially being announced as the new senior vice president and A&R of Motown, Ne-Yo revealed what he and the board members are planning for the label. "They sat me down and talked to me about the whole revitalization of Motown, bringing Motown back to its original glory," he dished on to MTV News.
"I gotta say, beyond anything else, I was just flattered that they thought me worthy of such a responsibility," the R&B singer gushed further about his position on the record company, which once helped launch Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye's careers. "It's great big shoes to fill. I was told at one point the title that I now hold is the title that Smokey Robinson held when he was there."
Island Def Jam Motown chairman Barry Weiss, and Motown senior vice president Ethiopia Habtemariam played important roles in bringing Ne-Yo from Def Jam to Motown. Though moving, he will still have close tie to his former label since it, like Motown, is under the umbrella of Universal.
"His track record of success at Def Jam will always be a benchmark," said Weiss in a statement. "But this move to Motown will provide new and inspiring challenges for Ne-Yo as both an artist and a key member of the new senior management team that is taking form at the label in 2012."
Habetemariam chimed in, "We are committed to discovering, developing and nurturing R&B/soul superstars here at Motown. In Ne-Yo we have both a global superstar and arguably one of the best songwriters in music. His presence on the executive team only strengthens our commitment to be the very best in R&B."
In his new role as the new VP, Ne-Yo will now serve as a producer and mentor for Motown's artists, in addition to discovering and signing new talents. He has been confirmed to be one of the guest mentors on the upcoming season of "The Voice" to help Cee-Lo Green give tips to his team. He's also expected to release his new studio album later this year.
"As I'm writing and recording records, the project would take on a whole new personality within itself. That's just the creative process," he said. "So as of right now, there is no title for the album. I'm still working on that ... the running title was 'The Cracks in Mr. Perfect', but I'm in a whole 'nother head space now."
