Ne-Yo on 20 Years of “So Sick”, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Michael Jackson, and New Album ‘Highway 79’

Twenty years after releasing his classic debut album 'In My Own Words,' Ne-Yo joins us to reflect on that record and the songs that changed his life while introducing his new album country-R&B album, 'Highway 79.' He looks back on his legendary collaborations with Swedish songwriting duo Stargate, the creation of “So Sick,” and the stories behind songs like “Closer” and “Miss Independent,” and all the hits he wrote for others like Rihanna’s “Take a Bow” (she was just a teen when they first met), and Beyoncé's “Irreplaceable” — a song he originally wrote for himself.Ne-Yo also opens up about why country music inspired his latest project, the changing definition of pop, and why he feels vulnerability has disappeared from modern R&B. Along the way, he shares memories of writing for Rihanna and Michael Jackson, explains why the singer always matters as much as the song itself, writing in Nashville, being a dad to seven kids, playing the Grand Ole Opry and so much more. What’s the inspo behind newie ‘Ms. Tundra’? Will we ever get a new Rihanna LP? Will the songs he wrote for MJ ever see the light of day? Maybe Ne-Yo has the answers… Stream "Highway 79" ►►https://neyo.lnk.to/Highway79This episode is sponsored by AlexaPlus. Learn more at amazon.com/newalexaSUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uFollow The Zach Sang Show:https://tiktok.com/@zachsangshowhttps://www.instagram.com/zachsangshow/https://twitter.com/zachsangshowhttps://www.facebook.com/ZachSangShow/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.