Ne-Yo is channeling his longtime love for Garth Brooks and other country legends in his newly released single “Simple Things,” produced by Dave Cohen and Young Lan.
The country-inspired track drops at a fitting moment in the three-time Grammy winner’s life, as he recently made his Grand Ole Opry debut in Nashville and appeared at the 2025 CMA Awards.
Speaking on the red carpet during the CMA festivities, Ne-Yo linked his deep appreciation for country music to his broader catalog, explaining that he’s always tried to “incorporate” bits of the genre into his work. He also praised his mother for exposing him to country and a wide range of music growing up.
“This is a fun fact, and not very many people know — I’ve been a country music fan forever. Yes, yes,” he said earlier this week, as seen below. “It started with Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire. My mom, every night she’d come home from work and bring a new genre of music for us to listen to, and it started there. I’ve been a fan ever since, to the point where I was taking elements of country music trying to incorporate it into the music I was doing. So yeah, I’ve been a fan for a long time.”
Back in September, Ne-Yo revealed that he has even more coming in this direction — including a full country-inspired album. During an appearance on the Joe and Jada podcast, he teased that the project is “coming soon,” though he hasn’t shared a title yet.
“It’s like everything that I love about country music, mixed with what it is that I normally do,” he said at the time.
