Nearly two decades after writing music with Michael Jackson, Ne-Yo says a handful of those songs still exist - unheard, unreleased, and sitting untouched in his personal archive.
Speaking on The Zach Sang Show, the R&B singer confirmed he still holds six to eight tracks he co-wrote with Jackson in 2008, developed for what was meant to be Jackson's comeback album following the This Is It concert run. "They are sitting in my archive, waiting for me to figure out what the hell I'm gonna do with them," Ne-Yo said.
According to Ne-Yo, the songwriting process was deeply collaborative - Jackson was involved in shaping every draft, offering feedback call after call as the two worked toward a project that never came to be following Jackson's death in 2009.
The complication, Ne-Yo explained, is that the existing demos only feature his own vocals, which makes releasing them under his own name feel wrong. "It doesn't feel right for me to put them out as mine, because I wrote them for him," he said. "Doesn't necessarily feel right for me to give them to anybody else, because I wrote them for him. So that's where the dilemma sits."
Still, Ne-Yo says he's weighing his options - and one name keeps coming up: Jaafar Jackson, who currently plays his uncle in the record-breaking biopic "Michael" and has spent the past year immersed in Michael's voice, movement, and artistry for the role. Janet Jackson has also been floated as someone who could bring the songs to life.
For now, the music remains locked away - a quiet reminder that even after a career spanning six decades of chart history, pieces of Michael Jackson's artistry are still waiting to be heard.
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