NEYO

RnB star Neyo releases his fourth studio album, Libra Scale, today. His latest musical offering is a concept album telling the story of three dustbin men whoes lives are transformed. We Q&A the star on the new album, horroscopes and his dream collaborators.

Your birthday is October 18th, making you a Libra, and your new album is called Libra Scale - are you into star signs?
It’s difficult to find two people that will tell me the same thing about a Libra. Seems like the sign that’s based more on opinion than fact. So nah, not too much.

Do you read horoscopes?
I read horoscopes, but for entertainment only. Probably shouldn’t live your life by the words of somebody being paid minimum wage to write it in a mag!

Would you allow ‘the stars’ to influence your life?
I choose to let experience and art influence my life. Stars are gas. Gas can’t influence life!!

You’re of Chinese descent, correct? Do you follow the Chinese zodiac as well?
The Chinese - if there’s any - is on my dad’s side. It’s always something debated on in my family tho. One side says yes it’s in there, one side says no. Whatever. I got these nice tight eyes from somewhere damnit!! And I think in the chinese zodiac I’m a sheep. Again, not very accurate.

What were the inspirations behind the music of new album?
Musically, I wanted the new album to be the soundtrack to the story the album tells. I wanted every song to sound like the background music for a specific scene in a movie. I think I succeeded in this. If you envision the story line as you listen to the songs, it literally makes for a better listening experience.

What is the story you are trying to tell?
The story of Libra Scale is really a morality question regarding what’s important in life, or at least what should be in my opinion. It’s Love versus Money, Power and Fame. Three regular guys get the chance to experience the pros and cons of both through a chain of events that takes them from common garbage men to super human super stars, and are ultimately forced to make a choice.

Some people have interpreted the lead single from the album, Beautiful Monster, as a tribute to Lady GaGa - are you a fan and would you want to collaborate with her?
I’d LOVE to work with Gaga. I’ve admired her artistry since before she became the biggest thing in pop music today, and I still do. The song however, as Gaga inspired as it may appear, has nothing to do with her.

Which other musicians would you like to collaborate with?
I have a list a mile long of potential colaborations. Some names you know, some you may not, in that the “popular” artist doesn’t always make for the best colab art wise. Huge fan of Diana Birch for example. Not very mainstream, but her voice is incredible to me. Kings of Leon is another band I’d love to colaborate with. Then of course there are the Kanye’s, Jay’s, Beyonce’s, Gaga’s, and Stevie Wonder’s of the world, just to name a small few. People that do music you feel, that’s the only prerequisite to getting on my colaboration list.

Will you be taking the new album on tour?
I’m currently trying to find a way to take the depth and emotion of a theatre play and bring it to the scale of an arena concert. That is what I’d ultimately like this tour to be. Still figuring it out, but it’s gonna be incredible when we do. That I promise.

Where is your favourite place to perform?
I love performing where what I’m doing is properly appreciated, period. That can be any venue in any city across the globe. I make it my business to push myself to the brink of exhaustion to give the people that would pay hard earned money to come see me, a show worth spending that hard earned money on. It’s only fair. However there are those that feel they’re “too cool” to applaud or cheer or wave their hands if asked to do so. Those are the people that should stay home. My show is about love and appreciation of music. If you’re gonna sit there like a lump, don’t pay money to do it. Your couch at home is free!


[Originally published on wonderlandmagazine.com/blog, Ocotber 2010.]