New York, NY (Top40 Charts) NE-YO released his new single, "
Pinky Ring" featuring multi-Platinum rapper O.T. Genasis. The song is an honest reaction to the painful decision reached by the GRAMMY-winning singer and his wife to end their marriage - and NE-YO's conscious decision to approach divorce from an uplifting rather than a broken perspective. While he admits to venting a bit in the song, there is also a startling poignancy as "
Pinky Ring" plays out, with the instrumentation evoking the sound of a music box.
"When life gives you lemons, you make great-sounding lemonade " says NE-YO.
Anticipation for "
Pinky Ring" has been growing since last week, when NE-YO posted a short video clip with a snippet from the song. As Wikipedia notes, pinky rings have been popular throughout history, worn by a myriad of people for a variety of reasons - including ancient Egyptians, 20th century mobsters, engineering school grads, grifters, the British royal family and President
Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the Victorian era, men with wedding rings often wore them on the left pinky finger - but single men and women might also wear a band on the same finger to indicate a disinterest in marriage.
NE-YO will return as a judge for the fourth season of NBC's "World of Dance," which returns in May. In his career to date, NE-YO has sold a cumulative 20+ million adjusted albums worldwide. The Motown Records/Compound Entertainment recording artist has won three GRAMMY® awards and been honored with a total of 14 nominations. His first single, 2005's "So Sick," hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified quadruple Platinum. Since then, he has racked up a collection of hit singles - including "Sexy Love," "Closer," "Because of You," "
Miss Independent" and "
Push Back" featuring
Bebe Rexha and Stefflon Don. Three of his albums have entered SoundScan's Top Current Albums chart at No. 1.
He has proven to be as powerful with his pen as he is in the recording studio and on stage. The Las
Vegas native quickly became known as a go-to hitmaker, penning bangers like Rihanna's "Unfaithful," "Russian Roulette," and "Take a Bow," along with Beyoncé's 2006 breakup anthem "
Irreplaceable" and songs for such artists as Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Carrie Underwood,
Celine Dion, among others. In addition to "World of Dance," NE-YO's film and television credits include "Save the Last Dance," "Battle: Los Angeles," "Stomp the Yard,"
George Lucas' "Red Tails," "Empire," "The Wiz Live!" and "Step Up: High Water."
