A few months ago, the legendary Ne-Yo celebrated the 15-year anniversary of his debut album In My Own Word s by releasing a deluxe version of the body of work. Today (Sept. 24), the R&B staple returns with his latest single “What If” and it arrives with an accompanying music video. On the song, Ne-Yo begins his reflective verse as the black and white visuals begin to play:
Last night your name came up in conversation, they were telling me you’d found love in a new location/ And I swear my mind went through the time when you and I got faded, and I promised you we’d make it/ Fast forward two years and we were over
Uber-ed to the airport when I know I should’ve drove you/ Later on I’d tell myself that breaking up was worth it, but deep down I’m still uncertain/ What if, if we never let it go? What if, we were way too young to know, what it was?/ Us just chilling like before, tell me, wasn’t that enough?
The R&B legend also gave a brief explanation about what the song means to him and the message he wanted to send. “A song about choices. Right and wrong are relative. Live YOUR life…with no regrets,” he types.
Back in March, Ne-Yo released In My Own Words (Deluxe), which boasted several additional bonus tracks, including previously retail exclusive track “Girlfriend,” “Stay (Remix)” featuring Rick Ross (which was released on the Japanese version of In My Own Words), two live acoustic performances of the hit singles “So Sick” and “Sexy Love,” and two instrumentals (“So Sick” and “When You’re Mad”).
Within the last few months, Ne-Yo shared his “U 2 Luv” single and then circled back to drop its remix with Lil Durk and Queen Naija shortly after. He released his last new body of work back in 2019 when he spread some early holiday cheer with his Another Kind of Christmas album. Prior to that was Good Man in 2018, featuring the singles “Good Man” and “Push Back.” Last year, he also released the charity single “Over Again” with Jamaican dancehall artist Charly Black.
Be sure to press play on Ne-Yo’s brand new “What If” music video down below.