Ne-Yo was a beautiful song writer before he became a recording artist. He has written songs for a number of artists, including Mary J. Blige, Ruben Studdard, Marques Houston, Faith Evans, Christina Milian, B2K, Nivea, Tyrese, Jamie Foxx , Heather Headley,and Mario . After coming off a bad deal with Columbia Records, Ne-Yo originally decided to remain as a songwriter until a close friend introduced him to L.A. Reid who signed him to Def Jam Records on the spot.
The origin of the name Ne-Yo was given by a mutual friend in 1999 who called him Neo because he could 'see' music akin to the character Neo from The Matrix trilogy. He altered the '-yo' part as an homage to his hip hop roots.
Ne-Yo's debut album, In My Own Words, was released in early 2006, through Def Jam Recordings, and debuted at number one on Billboard 200, selling over 301,000 copies in the first week and certified platinum. During the same week, Ne-Yo's second single "So Sick" (produced by Stargate) reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Ne-Yo is as famous for his songwriting as for his singing, writing such songs as Rihanna's top ten hit "Unfaithful", Mario's "Let Me Love You", Mario Vazquez's "Gallery", Paula DeAnda's "Walk Away (Remember Me)", and Beyoncé's Billboard Hot 100 ten-week number-one hit "Irreplaceable".
His second album, Because of You, was released May 1, 2007. The first single from the platinum-selling album was "Because of You". He has also said that he has written songs for Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Corbin Bleu, and Enrique Iglesias for their upcoming albums. Smith also has stated that he will write songs for Craig David, Usher, Chris Brown, Jennifer Hudson, Leona Lewis, and he recently confirmed that he has been contacted by producer will.i.am to work on Michael Jackson's upcoming album.
Ne-Yo opened a recording studio called Carrington House and started his own label, Compound Entertainment, in 2007; Paula Campbell, Sixx John, and Shanell are now associated with Compound.
In December 2007, Ne-Yo and the Goo Goo Dolls performed at a fundraising concert for presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.
He appeared in the song "Deewangi Deewangi" in the Hindi movie Om Shanti Om.
In February 2008 at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, Ne-Yo won Best Contemporary R&B Album for Because Of You.
The Lazy Love Songfacts reports that Ne-Yo's fifth studio album was originally titled 'The Cracks in Mr. Perfect' before Ne-Yo changed it to R.E.D, which stands for "Realising Every Dream".
What You Do
Ne-Yo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Saying those words to me
Doesn't mean a thing to me
I don't wanna hear them
Baby you can keep those three
You might as well not even speak
Many different times before
Then you'd say it
And I'd forget everything
Well I'm sorry to report
That's not working anymore
Now I need to see if that's really what you mean
No more "I'm sorry"
"I love you"
I need proof
Baby boy it's all in what you do
(no more)I love you
If it's true baby boy
It's all in what you do
Say it with your actions
Say it in the way you touch
And the things that you do for us
I don't wanna be mean
But when it comes to this love
Saying it ain't enough
Many different times before
You were almost out the door
Then you'd say it
And I'd forget everything
Well I'm sorry to report
That's not working anymore
Now I need to see if that's really what you mean
No more "I'm sorry"
"I love you"
I need proof
Baby boy it's all in what you do
(no more)I love you
If it's true baby boy
It's all in what you do
It's in what you
It's it's in what you do
It's in what you
It's all in what you do
No more "I'm sorry"
"I love you"
I need proof
Baby boy it's all in what you do
(no more)I love you
(baby) If it's true baby boy
It's all in what you do
It's in what you
It's it's in what you do
It's in what you
It's all in what you do
In Ne-Yo's song "Do What You Do", the singer is tired of empty words from their partner. The singer wants their partner to prove their love through their actions, saying that just uttering the words "I'm sorry" and "I love you" is not enough. The singer has heard these words before and their partner has almost walked out of the door before, but now the singer needs to see proof that their partner's love is genuine.
The singer wants their partner to show their love through the way they touch and through the actions they perform for the relationship. Simply saying that they love the singer is not enough for the singer to believe it anymore. The singer is not trying to be mean, but they need to see that their partner's love is real and not just words.
Line by Line Meaning
Say it with your actions
Instead of just saying loving things, show it through your actions
Saying those words to me
Just saying 'I love you' isn't enough
Doesn't mean a thing to me
It doesn't hold any weight unless it's backed up with actions
I don't wanna hear them
Words without actions are meaningless
Baby you can keep those three
Just saying 'I love you' isn't valuable to me anymore
You might as well not even speak
If you're not going to show it through your actions, don't even bother speaking
Many different times before
This has happened before, numerous times
You were almost out the door
You were close to leaving
Then you'd say it
But then you would say 'I love you'
And I'd forget everything
And I would forget all of the past issues
Well I'm sorry to report
But I have to let you know
That's not working anymore
That tactic of making up through words isn't effective anymore
Now I need to see if that's really what you mean
I need to see if you truly mean what you say through your actions
No more 'I'm sorry'
Just saying sorry without making an effort to change won't work anymore
'I love you'
Just saying 'I love you' without showing it through actions is not enough
I need proof
I need to see tangible evidence of your love
Baby boy it's all in what you do
My love for you is dependent on your actions
(no more)'I love you'
Simply saying 'I love you' is not sufficient
If it's true baby boy
If your love is true
It's all in what you do
Then prove it through your actions
Say it in the way you touch
Show your love through physical affection
And the things that you do for us
Demonstrate your love through actions that benefit both of us
I don't wanna be mean
I don't want to come across as harsh
But when it comes to this love
But when it comes to our relationship
Saying it ain't enough
Talking about our love is not enough
It's in what you
It's dependent on you
It's it's in what you do
It's all based on your actions
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CHARLES HARMON, SHAFFER SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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