Ne-Yo has every reason to be shook-his TRL debut is less than a few hours away and his name is tacked below Jay-Z's on the greenroom door. However, the 23-year-old R&B singer (né Shaffer C. Smith) isn't shaking in his shoes. Well, he is, but not like that. He's pop-locking and joking around in MTV's Times Square studio. As the co-writer of Mario's monster single, "Let Me Love You," Ne-Yo has the air of an industry veteran. "Mr. Mario made it possible for a very good Christmas and a very good birthday and a very good life," he says, chuckling. But songwriters don't get invited to TRL, entertainers do. So today, the focus is on Ne-Yo, the artist, even if that isn't his focus. "I define myself as a writer who can sing," he says.

Ne-Yo's started writing and singing in Las Vegas, where he studied art at a Fame-like high school alongside dancers and other singers. "Seventy percent of the male population was homosexual," he says, "so me and the other 20 straight dudes were having a ball because there wasn't a lot of competition." By 11th grade, the self-described "weird dude that could draw" turned his focus to music. "I know that girls really dig it when you can sing, so I joined a group," says Ne-Yo. After moving to L.A., he tried his luck as part of a four-man group, and then later as a solo artist with Columbia; both projects failed. Disillusioned by the industry, Ne-Yo stepped back and wrote songs for Mary J. Blige, B2K, and, of course, Mario. Eventually, his writing made enough noise to draw the attention of Def Jam, which signed Ne-Yo the singer.

Ne-Yo is set to complete the transition with his debut, In My Own Words, which he promises will rekindle a classic R&B feel. "I don't have any disrespect for anyone that is doing hip-hop/R&B, but that's another genre, its not the way R&B used to be," he says. Moments away from meeting the MTV teenyboppers, Ne-Yo reflects on his evolution. "I am learning to love being an artist," he says. "I love the response that I get from people when they watch me perform."Ne-Yo will step further into the spotlight later this year with his acting debut as a club owner in the sequel to Save the Last Dance.

Sounds like a man getting comfortable with the exposure, further evidenced by his future plans. "I want to visit a nudist colony," he says. "I have never been to one, but I dig people that are that free with their bodies to where clothes don't matter." Um, maybe a little too comfortable.