Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Ne-yo has to travel with his blanket and fedora
Travelling is essential in the singer’s life and he does it in style
“Your real boss is the one who walks around under your hat. – Napoleon Hill
NE-YO, the Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, songwriter and dancer, released his seventh album, Good Man, in June. In addition to making music, he is also a judge, with Jennifer Lopez and Derek Hough, on the reality competition TV show, World of Dance.
Ne-Yo divides his time between Los Angeles and Atlanta, where his two oldest children live. He is often spotted walking through airports with his signature fedoras in a hat box (“I tend to fly commercial because I don’t see the point of wasting that money on a private jet”), and he uses flights to catch up on sleep. “I’m asleep pretty much the whole flight.”
When he manages to take a holiday – “I owe my wife one” – he heads somewhere hot. “I am the epitome of tropical: I don’t like the AC to be too high. So it’s got to be somewhere with a nice beach, clear water, possibly a drink with some rum in it; yeah, that’s my vacation.”
PLANE BLANKET
“It’s just bigger and warmer than the little cheap, cheesy blanket that they give you on the plane. That blanket is such a tease; it doesn’t even cover your entire body.
People are probably weirded out by the way that I look on the plane, but I need a blanket that’s going to cover my entire body and the ones they give you on the airplane just normally don’t. Like, your feet are out or your head is out, and you’re wrestling with the blanket the whole flight; it’s just annoying.”
DANCING SHOES
“In regards to performance, it’s really just about the shoes; it has to be a shoe with a nice sole. To be honest with you, the best performance shoes come from Zara.
“The soles on the bottom of them just allow me to slide and glide the way that I like to onstage. They don’t cost a lot, which is also a good thing.”
FEDORAS
“My hats are kind of like my children, so I treat them very, very nice. Anybody who has seen me walking through the airport, you’ve seen me with my hat box. It’s the ideal way to travel with hats: that way the brims don’t get folded up weird and the shape of the hat stays.
“Sometimes I sit the hat box on my lap.”
PLAYSTATION
“I don’t do much of anything else in regard to relaxation other than my video games. That’s my escape from the world.
“So my PlayStation is an absolute must; it comes with me everywhere I go and that’s the thing that keeps me sane on the road. I’m a huge fighting game fan. I love Street Fighter.”
EXTRA SOCKS AND UNDERWEAR
“I never wear the same pair of underwear or socks twice on tour. I wear them, and I will leave them in the hotel room. So there’s, like, bags and bags of underwear and socks left in hotel rooms over the years. It’s one wear and get them out of there. I pack one large suitcase for just underwear and socks.”