Ne-Yo, Sean Kingston, 50 Cent in Seoul

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia

Staff Reporter

Grammy-award winning R&B star Ne-Yo, best known for the hit song ``So Sick" will give Seoul a taste of his brand of music in April. Ne-yo will team up with up-and-coming Jamaican reggae singer Sean Kingston for the Groove 2008 concert on April 6 at the Olympic Hall, Olympic Park, southern Seoul.

Ne-Yo, whose real name is Shaffer Chimere Smith, started in the music industry as a songwriter in 1999, writing songs for Youngstown, Christina Milian and Mario, whose single ``Let Me Love You'' became a hit in 2004.

In 2006, Ne-Yo released his debut album ``In My Own Words,'' which sold 301,000 copies in the first week alone. The single ``So Sick'' was a big hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The album eventually sold over four million copies around the world.

As his career as a solo artist skyrocketed, Ne-Yo's reputation as a hit songwriter also grew. Among the hit songs that he wrote include, Rihanna's ``Unfaithful,'' Mario Vasquez's ``Gallery'' and Paula Deana's ``Walk Away.'' But his biggest hit was R&B superstar Beyonce's ``Irreplaceable,'' which stayed on the number one spot on Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks.

Ne-Yo's success continued with his second album ``Because of You'' last year. He released singles ``Because of You,'' ``Do You'' and ``Can We Chill.'' In Japan, he released a version of ``Do You'' with Japanese pop star Utada Hikaru.

He also collaborated with other artists, such as Fabolous on ``Make Me Better'' and Rihanna with ``Hate That I Love You.''

At the 2008 Grammys Awards, Ne-Yo was nominated for five awards, including Record of the Year for ``Irreplaceable.'' He won a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B album for ``Because of You.''

Ne-Yo has also written songs for Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias, Usher, Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Hudson.

On the other hand, Sean Kingston is a rising reggae singer from Kingston, Jamaica, known for the hit ``Beautiful Girls.'' Only 18 years old, Kingston is gaining fans for his unique reggae, pop and hip-hop sound.

His song ``Beautiful Girls'' topped the U.S. and U.K. singles charts last year. It uses a sample riff from Ben E. King's classic ``Stand By Me.''

Kingston was also featured on Fergie's ``Big Girls Don't Cry,'' Natasha Bedingfield's ``Love Like This'' and Baby Bash's ``What is it.'' His latest singles are ``I'm Eighteen'' and ``There's Nothin' (remix)'' featuring Elan of The D.E.Y. and Juelz Santana.

Tickets for the concert are 88,000 won and 77,000 won. Visit ticket.interpark.com (Korean only).