NE-YO SINGS LOVE THEME FROM "PRINCESS AND THE FROG"

CEBU, Philippines - Three-time Grammy Award-winning Def Jam recording artist Ne-Yo extends his songwriting skills to include the movies, as he sings “Never Knew I Needed,” in the soundtrack of Walt Disney Animation Studio’s return to the hand drawn, ‘Princess’ movie, “The Princess and the Frog.”

 From the creators of “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” comes “The Princess and the Frog” — a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana, a frog prince called Naveen who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana. Ne-Yo’s “Never Knew I Needed” is a song that captures the journey of both Tiana and Prince Naveen.

In joining project and performer, Disney again demonstrates its commitment to carry on the tradition of the finest in animation by utilizing the best of today’s talented artists.

Ne-Yo discusses his involvement with the animated film in the following interview:

Q: What attracted you to “The Princess and the Frog”?

Ne-Yo: What drew me into this project, for starters, was the opportunity to be a part of something I grew up with—Disney. I grew up watching all of the Disney films. Let’s just say that Disney and I have known each other for a very, very, very long time. Also, it was the opportunity to be a part of something as classic as a Disney film. This is a brand new Princess for Disney—the first African-American Princess. So, it just made perfect sense for me to dive in. I was presented with the opportunity, and I jumped at it. And, I think that it’s going be a very nice marriage.

Q: What did you think of the film when you first heard about it?

Ne-Yo: When I heard that Disney was going to create their first African-American Princess film, I wasn’t worried. You know, there’s an air of quality that goes with the Disney brand. So I knew that it was going be done with class. I knew that it was going to be done the best that it could possibly be done. I knew that going into the project, and I just wanted to make sure that my contribution was going to be up to par with what Disney was putting together.

Q: What was your inspiration for the song, “Never Knew I Needed”? How did it come about?

Ne-Yo: In putting this song together, I saw bits and pieces of the movie, to get a better grasp of who the characters were—what their story was, and what their motivations were for their actions. And from there, they really didn’t give me much more direction than that, other than that it needs to be something that sums up what you feel the essence of this film is—two people, two different walks of life, two different, set paths. They know exactly what it is they want and they’re going after it. And while they’re doing that, they find each other and realize that, within each other, they found something that they didn’t even realize they needed—that they didn’t even realize was there. And it just so happens to be more important than what they were going for in the first place. 

Putting the song together was a little different than my normal writing process, because it needed to be very specific. It needed to be Disney, but at the same time, it needed to be contemporary enough for regular, everyday radio. So, I had to make sure that the melodies were sweet, sweet like classic Disney, but at the same time, that the actual drum patterns and lyrical content were, dare I say, ‘edgy’ enough to grasp the attention of someone who may not be that big a Disney fan—maybe someone who is new to what Disney is. You know, it’s taking the classic Disney fan, and the new Disney fan, and trying to bring them together through this one, very well written, very finely produced song.

Q: How does it feel to be involved with something that has the potential to become an animated classic?

Ne-Yo: It is, honestly, an honor beyond words, just to be a part of anything Disney. Like I said, I grew up with Disney, you know, so I can’t even find the words for that. And for me, personally, this may not mean anything to anybody else, but for me to have my name in the credits next to Randy Newman’s name, that’s big for me. That’s something for me to smile about in the privacy of my own home. Randy Newman, I’m a huge fan of what he does. The man is a master songwriter. It’s just an absolute honor. Actually, I’m beyond honored to be a part of this project.

(Opening soon across the Philippines, “The Princess and the Frog” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International.)