Watch: Ne-Yo Drops By Jimmy Kimmel

‘Stay With Me’ singer Ne-Yo has certainly stayed low-key as of late months after swapping mixtape plans with the preparation of a full LP.  Despite generating moderate buzz for his Trey Songz-assisted single ‘The Way You Move’, the R&B crooner has remained fairly mute on the musical tip since the under-performance of 2010’s ‘Libra Scale’.

Albeit reportedly readying his return to radio later this year, Ne-Yo starts off his 2012 with his cinematic debut in the George Lucas-directed ‘Red Tails’.  The semi-biographical film, boasting an all-star cast featuring Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding, Jr., sees the crooner take flight in new ways as the group have joined to depict the famous story of the Tuskeegee Airmen.

Already jetting up the promotional trail for ‘Tails’, last night saw the singer drop by Jimmy Kimmel Live to give fans a few sneak peeks of the film.  Also, chatting it up with BET, watch this clip and find out what Ne-Yo had to say about divas Beyonce, Celine Dion, and Mary J. Blige after the jump:

Speaking with BET in promotion of the film:

You have worked with everyone including Whitney, Mariah, Celine Dion and Beyoncé.  Out of everyone you’ve worked with, who had the strongest effect on you musically?

“Man, that’s a difficult question! I try to learn something in everything I do, especially musically. Celine Dion has an effortlessness in her voice. While listening to her, most people probably picture her straining to hit the notes. In actuality, she is looking at her phone and just belting! That showed me that your voice is a muscle, the more you train the muscle the easier it is to use it. Beyoncé has an effortless talent. It is not going to take her long to do the song. I gave her the song and said, “I’m going to go get a drink of water.” I came back and the song was done! I was like “Okay, I’m going to take off then. Nice to meet you, bye!” [Laughs] It was that easy!
No disrespect to anyone that I’ve worked with, but I have to say Mary J. Blige above all. Every musical session has always turned into a therapy session. We sit and talk about life, family, the black, white and gray of what it means to be in this music business and how it can affect your life negatively and positively. She is like everyone’s favorite “Auntie.” You go to her and she always has the best advice, she knows exactly what to say and she tells you what you need to hear when you need to hear it. I love that about her, on top of the fact that she is ridiculously talented!”

(source)