Full Show PT 1: Thursday, February 26 [Vault]

Summary

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The Bert Show – Full Show PT 1: Thursday, February 26 [Vault]

Date: February 26, 2026
Main Cast: Bert (Host), Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy, Jane (Caller), Kelly (Caller), Ne-Yo (Musician Guest)
Episode Focus:
A classic Bert Show mix of real-life listener drama, relationships, and celebrity insight. The episode splits between a listener’s request for closure on a ghosting ex-boyfriend and an entertaining, revealing interview with music star Ne-Yo about life, trust, and his new album.

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Episode Overview

The Bert Show opens with a heartfelt and confounding call from Jane, seeking closure after a long-term boyfriend disappeared from her life without a trace. The team and listeners probe Jane’s experience, highlighting both the emotional and social complexity of modern relationships—especially the shock and pain of being “ghosted.” Later in the episode, R&B superstar Ne-Yo joins for a candid conversation about fame, relationships, success, and the evolution of his music.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Jane’s Bizarre Relationship Disappearance (01:30–13:31)

• Background: Jane dated a man for two years in a casual, on-off manner—adjusting her own needs to match his aversion to commitment. Suddenly, after he asks about exclusivity and she finally reciprocates her feelings, he vanishes completely.

• Jane’s Story Highlights:

  • “I just really want closure.” (Caller Jane, 01:55)
  • “We never discussed our relationship… if he didn’t call me for a week or two, I didn’t say anything.” (Jane, 02:25)
  • After years of nonchalance, he disappears when she expresses love and desire for commitment (03:14–03:52).
  • Jane's exhaustive attempts to reconnect—calls, visits, messages, and inquiries through mutual friends—all fail.

• Hosts’ Reaction and Analysis:

  • Bert: “You just don’t fall off the face of the earth… There’s a piece of this puzzle missing that we're not hearing because we're not hearing his side…” (Host, 13:31)
  • The team questions whether Jane is telling the full story or if something else occurred to trigger the disappearance (07:30, 13:42).
  • Co-host: “If it's a friend, or somebody at work… if they disappear, we don’t stop until we have an answer…” (Co-host, 09:44)

• Listener Support and Parallels:

  • Kelly calls in (11:30) sharing a similar experience with a commitment-phobic neighbor who also vanished with no explanation, reinforcing the idea of cowardly partner behavior.

Memorable Moment:

• Jane admits: “I might beat him up… No, I won’t beat him up. I just have to know.” (Jane, 13:14–13:23)

Resolution:

• The Bert Show promises to try and contact Jane's ex for answers—provided Jane agrees not to lash out in exchange for the closure she seeks.

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2. Ne-Yo Joins the Show: Life, Fame & New Music (15:15–30:44)

a) Life in Atlanta & Home Details (17:15–19:15)

• Ne-Yo chats about his new penthouse in Buckhead and his mom’s fondness for his previous house:
  • “My mom came down and started visiting and she loved the spot so much… she started… leaving stuff there so she'd have any chance to come back.” (Ne-Yo, 17:27)
• Bedroom Description:
  • “Large white leather bed… a lot of pillows… candle holders everywhere… a mirror on my ceiling… the whole left hand wall is windows, you can see all of Atlanta and the view is crazy at night.” (Ne-Yo, 19:20–20:18)

b) Relationships, Trust Issues, and Authenticity (20:42–22:44)

• Fame’s effects: Ne-Yo confesses to trust issues with dating as a celebrity.
  • “Finding girls is easy… But that one girl is the one that's difficult to find right now.” (Ne-Yo, 21:14)
• Support system: Relies on friends and his mother for sussing out authenticity.
  • “They don’t just get to meet my mom… mom has yet to be wrong.” (Ne-Yo, 22:10)

c) Creative Collaborations and Artistic Growth (23:04–25:31)

• Working with New Kids on the Block:
  • “I was a little skeptical … but I actually got a chance to talk to Donnie… they’re not even looking at it like we got to get back out there… they’re looking at it like, we’re brand new artists and we got to get out here and prove ourselves.” (Ne-Yo, 23:15)
• Open to diverse partnerships:
  • Marilyn Manson’s team and Michael Bolton reached out; Ne-Yo values being recognized for versatility (“not an R and B songwriter, not a pop songwriter, but just a songwriter, period.”) (Ne-Yo, 25:20)

d) The R. Kelly Tour Dispute (25:31–27:52)

• Details on the fallout: Won a $700,000 settlement after being abruptly dropped from R. Kelly’s tour; never actually spoke to R. Kelly directly.
  • “I tried to reach out to R. Kelly… his security people shooed me away like I was, you know, some annoying little fan.” (Ne-Yo, 27:08)

e) The Music & Meaning (28:19–30:44)

• Personal pride: Ne-Yo is genuinely a fan of his own music and feels his latest album demonstrates new creative risks.
  • “I gotta be a fan of me first before anybody else can… I honestly think that this album is some of my best work.” (Ne-Yo, 28:24–28:30)
  • “I was really proud of the fact that I was allowed to step out of my comfort zone and try some new things… I was proud of my fans for riding with me on that.” (Ne-Yo, 28:42)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jane’s Mystery:

  • “I just really want closure.” — Jane (01:55)
  • “He vanished… And, I mean, then I had heard, like, through friends, that he was in a committed relationship.” — Jane (04:42)
  • “You don’t just go to her house for a week and then I’m done with it. You know what I mean? I track down her mom, I call her friends that I know. I do whatever.” — Co-host (09:44)

• Ne-Yo’s Philosophy:

  • “Finding girls is easy…but that particular one girl is the one that’s difficult to find right now.” — Ne-Yo (21:14)
  • “Mom has yet to be wrong… even if I didn’t see it right then.” — Ne-Yo (22:10)
  • “At the end of the day I want people to be able to say that Ne-Yo was a great songwriter, not an R and B songwriter, not a pop songwriter, but just a songwriter, period.” — Ne-Yo (25:20)
  • “I gotta be a fan of me first before anybody else can.” — Ne-Yo (28:24)
  • “I was just bored with [R&B]… everybody was kind of doing the same thing, sounding the same. So I needed to step out of it and just find some other inspiration.” — Ne-Yo (29:20)

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Important Timestamps

• Jane’s Story Begins: 01:30
• Jane Details Relationship & Disappearance: 02:17–04:52
• Host & Co-host Discussion (Missing Puzzle Pieces): 07:20, 13:31
• Listener Kelly’s Parallel Story: 11:30
• Ne-Yo Interview Starts: 15:15
• Ne-Yo on His Home: 17:15–19:15
• Relationship and Trust in the Spotlight: 20:42–22:44
• Collaborations and Musical Style: 23:04–25:31
• R. Kelly Legal Dispute: 25:31–27:52
• Personal Artistic Growth: 28:19–30:44

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Tone & Style

The Bert Show maintains its characteristic conversational, funny, and candid tone, mixing empathy and tough love in the listener call segment, and turning playful and upbeat during the Ne-Yo interview. The cast doesn’t shy away from poking fun at each other and their guests, but always keeps things authentic and relatable.

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Summary Takeaways

• For Listeners Seeking Closure: Jane’s experience illustrates the complexities and pain of ambiguous relationship endings, and the emotional need for closure—even years later.
• Celebrity Insights: Ne-Yo offers a genuine look at life in the public eye, why authenticity matters, and how artistic evolution comes from confronting boredom and taking risks.
• Realness & Relatability: From everyday heartbreak to stardom-level trust issues, The Bert Show continues to resonate by keeping it real, supportive, and fun.

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Transcript

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[Host (The Birch Show)]

The Birch Show One thing that Jane doesn't have closure on is what happened in her relationship. And she wants us to try to help her get some of that. Hey Jane, Good Morning. You're on Q100.

[Caller (Jane)]

Hi.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Oh, how frustrating, though, to have a relationship end and not know why.

[Caller (Jane)]

Exactly. It's just hard to move on.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

How long were you going out with this guy?

[Caller (Jane)]

About two years.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Two years?

[Co-host/Commentator]

Seriously?

[Caller (Jane)]

I know it was a long time and I just really want closure.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

I mean, in two years. I mean, this is more than just I may see him Friday night. Or this is like, I've got a toothbrush over at his place. I've got a drawer over at his place. We love each other. You're starting to think about future and stuff in two years.

[Caller (Jane)]

I mean, I did. It was a bizarre relationship for sure.

[Co-host/Commentator]

But define bizarre.

[Caller (Jane)]

Well, we were friends first and we dated for two years, but I constantly tried to keep it casual because I knew that that's what he wanted, you know, I just knew that he was afraid of commitment. So I promised myself that I would totally play it cool. And, you know, we never discussed our relationship. And, you know, if he didn't call me for a week or two, I didn't say anything. And then we would just reconnect. And this went on for a couple years.

[Co-host/Commentator]

And now you're confused on why he disappeared. Well, because if you. If you didn't have to. Well, I'm. I'm. The reason I'm saying that is because if you didn't really have to check in with each other on what you did on a daily basis, or if you didn't call or whatever, then, you know.

[Caller (Jane)]

Well, this went on for a couple years that I just didn't pressure him. And finally he said, look, why are we not exclusive? This is crazy. And then I finally confessed to him, and I said, look, I said, I'm in love with you. I care about you. I have wanted this, but I didn't say anything to you because I didn't want to scare you away. And he said, that's ridiculous. And he just. I mean, he's the one who brought it up. Why are we not exclusive? That was the last time I ever heard from him.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

So here you have a guy that wants to be exclusive. You give him that exclusivity by saying, I just didn't want to pressure you. And that's the very last time.

[Caller (Jane)]

The very last time I heard from him.

[Co-host/Commentator]

So he really is freaked out by commitment.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

But he was the one asking for it.

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[Co-host/Commentator]

Was he testing you or something?

[Caller (Jane)]

I don't know. I mean, that's weird, because then when I didn't hear from him that last time, I thought, okay, well, I'll hear from. I mean, it was just a day, two days, three days. I still thought I would hear from him because that's just what happened with us. And I never heard from him. And that was two years ago.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

So when you obviously called him to go, hey, what's up? Never returns a call, never email, text, nothing. He is like he's fallen off the

[Caller (Jane)]

face of the earth, like he vanished. And, I mean, then I had heard, like, through friends, that he was in a committed relationship.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Maybe he's on that island where the plane crashed and there's the hatch and all that stuff. He's trying to think polar bears and whatnot.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

You obviously went over to his house because you just don't fall off the face of the earth. So when you show up to his house, what happens?

[Caller (Jane)]

He wasn't There.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

So every time he went there, there was.

[Co-host/Commentator]

He's never there, or he was there and he wasn't answering the door when he looked outside and saw whose car.

[Caller (Jane)]

Maybe. I just. To be honest, I have no idea. After he confessed to me that he wanted to be exclusive, I really thought that this was it. I thought, wow, finally. You know, I thought that I had been stupid all this time and. And, you know, trying to play it cool and never discussing the relationship.

[Co-host/Commentator]

I just. Because I'm trying to imagine being in. Yeah. Being in a relationship for two years and somebody falling off the face of the earth, like you said. And not. And like you said, you heard through friends. Well, I mean, if you're in a relationship for two years, you have this kind of community of friends. And I just can't imagine not being able to track down somebody just to find out what happened like. Like where he works.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Are you gonna show him up at work or anything?

[Caller (Jane)]

Yeah, I tried calling him, I tried emailing him, I tried texting him. I went over to his place, and then it got to the point where I was just like, wow. Like, at first you think, oh, my God, did something happen to him? And then you start to think, no, he just really doesn't want to see me anymore.

[Co-host/Commentator]

How much time was there passing in the. From the last time the communication was until you gave up. Till you had that realization, that, wow. Realization. How much.

[Caller (Jane)]

How many days gave up? Gosh. Well, I waited after, you know, after he said, why are we not. You know, why aren't we exclusive? Then he didn't call the next day. So, you know, I think I waited a few days because that was just what. The way we were. So that lasted a few weeks that I tried to. Not every day, but a period of time. You know, I would call him one day, maybe wait a couple days, text him.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

I just never heard of something's been. Complete and utter disappearance. Yeah, a disappearance. I mean, but, you know, the guy is still alive, obviously, because you have common friends. But I mean, this is.

[Caller (Jane)]

And when I asked his friends two years ago, they didn't have any information.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

This was two years ago.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Yeah, they didn't have any. Something.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Something's wrong covering for him because I don't know.

[Caller (Jane)]

I mean, you would really. It really hurt.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

There's usually one, like, you know, when you're trying to keep up, like, if your friends are trying to protect you, there's usually one person in the group that has the guilty conscience that will say, okay, I know we're. I know what we're supposed to be doing here as a group. But I got to tell you what really happened. He's been. He's married and you didn't know it or something like that.

[Co-host/Commentator]

You know, just to end it.

Well, I'm curious. I'm curious what happened.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

I've never heard of an ending like this before.

[Caller (Jane)]

Yeah, I would just like to move on, you know, and have some closure.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Jay, you're on Q100. Hi.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Hey, what's up, guys?

[Host (The Birch Show)]

You tell us what's up.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Was he drinking? Were y' all drinking when he said that last thing? Oh, because if he was drinking, then

[Caller (Jane)]

yeah, but we were together for two years. It wasn't like a one night thing where.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Yeah, but it was.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

It was. It was an on and off thing. So, I mean, basically you got. You guys were just shack partners for

[Host (The Birch Show)]

two years, like two weeks.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

I mean, if. If she allowed him to not talk to him for weeks at a time. Of course. Of course he was seeing other people.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

But don't you think that even. Even if the stakes weren't high for him and he's drinking. Right.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Sure.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Especially because they're not high for him. He just digs her because of the booty. Then why not call her back and just go, you know what? This is not for me. I got to be honest with you. It was just sexual the last two

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

years because he had never went to that point in two years. So he finally went through it when he was drunk. He had that. Or he was drinking, so he had that courage. And then he did it when he was drinking. So the next day he's like, oh, I'm an idiot. I've just ruined this.

[Co-host/Commentator]

It's still weird that he just disappeared and then she can't find him at home or at work or his friends, like, at home. Like, don't you see his car in the driveway? Or is there anything in the house? Do you ever peek through the windows? There's. I think that's weird. You can't find him out.

There's some reason that you backed. Like, I don't feel like we're getting the entire story from you because there's some reason something happened that you.

[Caller (Jane)]

Oh, it didn't.

[Co-host/Commentator]

It did. Because if you're like, everybody's saying, oh, the two years or whatever. The reality is, I don't care if I'm dating him or not dating him. If it's a friend, if it's somebody I know, if it's somebody at work. If Wendy all of a sudden disappears and I'VE seen her every single day for the past year and all of a sudden she disappears. I don't just go to her house for a week and then I'm done with it. You know what I mean? I track down her mom, I call her friends that I know. I do whatever. We all do. We did all of that and they

all said that they don't know.

[Caller (Jane)]

It was just like, we don't know. We don't know what I said. Can you please send him a message to at least call to at least let me know he's okay?

[Co-host/Commentator]

Maybe you don't know what you did, but you did something that was so terrible.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Well, that's why we're gonna place the call.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Right?

[Caller (Jane)]

You did, so that's crazy. I didn't do anything.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Well, here's. Here will be the rules. If we can get this guy on tomorrow, is that when he gives you. Because you're really just looking for closure at this point, you don't even. You don't want to resurrect the relationship, right? You just want to. You got. You need answers.

[Caller (Jane)]

I need answers for us to get him on tomorrow.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

My bet is, is that we're going to have to say she's not going to come down on you. This is not a beat up, whatever his name is that will assign him tomorrow. We're not gonna beat you up. Just state your case and let her move on. Can you live with those rules?

[Caller (Jane)]

Totally.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Okay.

[Caller (Jane)]

I'm just, you know, it's just. I mean, I admit it was a bizarre relationship and probably because of my doing and, you know, I just knew he was. He didn't want to be in a committed relationship. At least that's what I thought. And I let it happen. But it doesn't make sense.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

No. Hey, Kelly. Good morning. You're on Q100.

[Caller (Kelly)]

Good morning. I just wanted to say I went through something similar. This is years ago. I bought a house, ended up dating the divorced man who lived next door. I was divorced with kids. And he just made it perfectly clear he didn't want a relationship. He didn't want a commitment. So I did the same thing. Played it really cool, you know, I traveled for work. So I was. I was gone for weeks at a time. And I had gone out of town for about a week or so, came back and he just stopped talking to me. He was right next door. And then I confronted him and he's like, well, you know, I started seeing somebody else this and that. Then he came back over, started trying to talk to me.

[Caller (Jane)]

Again.

[Caller (Kelly)]

And, you know, I wasn't going to date him again. Two months later, he moved out. He got married and moved out. Never. Never told me he was moving. Never told me he was getting married. Never saw him again.

[Caller (Jane)]

And it just.

[Caller (Kelly)]

He didn't want a relationship and it just wasn't with me. And that's what I think was going on with her. You know, he want. That guy wanted a committed relationship. It just wasn't going to be with her. And he found somebody.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

But I mean, just. I mean, to be so cowardly about it and not even a voicemail, not even a text. I never want to see you again. Nothing.

[Co-host/Commentator]

I just think it's weird that. Yeah. Like Wendy was saying, the family, the friends, the weird. Yeah. Something's. Middle of the night.

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[Co-host/Commentator]

He's got to be home sleeping.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Well, let's see if we can get. This was two years ago, you said. Yes, two years ago. So we'll see if the guy has any kind of guilty conscience about the way he ended the entire thing, and we'll see if we can sort of strong arm them to come on with us and at least you might be able to get the closure that you want. But again, the only way we're gonna be able to get this dude on is if you promise that you're not gonna beat him up, you're not gonna yell at him. You just. You need to know what happened so you can move on.

[Caller (Jane)]

I mean, I might beat him up.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Well, you can make the agreement, though.

You can't.

[Caller (Jane)]

No, I won't beat him up.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

You just gotta know.

[Caller (Jane)]

I just. I just have to know. Yeah.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Okay.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Okay. Bizarre. All right, let me put you on hold. We'll get some more info from you and we'll see if we can get the guy on.

[Caller (Jane)]

Thank you.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Okay. Hold on. Weird, huh? Something, right? There is. There's a piece of this puzzle missing that we're not hearing because we're not hearing his side of the whole thing.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Right.

I. There's. Yeah, she's definitely. I think she's definitely shady. And I think she's knows what she did. And I. I think she either knows what she did or she. There's some other reason she wants to connect with him.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

If she knows what she did, though, and it's so bad, then why would she open up the door for this guy to come on publicly and just hammer away at her and make her look strange?

[Co-host/Commentator]

Or she knows what he did. Something happened. She knew something significant happened at the end because, you know, like I said, if one of us went missing, you know what I mean? Like, just dropped it. Like, let's say we're not co workers and, you know, yeah, except for me, apparently. But if one of us just disappears, right? And, and we're not co workers or friends and we're all hanging out and all of a sudden Wendy's not around anymore and we start to track her down, we don't stop until we have an answer of somebody saying, yeah, she's just over you guys. She doesn't want to be friends.

And every single person in Wendy's life says, right, I don't think she looked for him.

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[Neo (Musician Guest)]

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[Host (The Birch Show)]

Neo hangs out with the Burcher. What's going on, dude?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

I'm good, man. What's going on with you?

[Co-host/Commentator]

Welcome back.

[Caller (Jane)]

Thank you.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Happy to be back, man.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

It's good to have you back on. It really is. When's the next time you're coming to Atlanta?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Well, you know, I live in Atlanta.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

I know.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Yeah. I don't know when I'm gonna be home. The album just came out today, so, you know, the next few months are about to be very, very crazy for me, so I'm not sure.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Did you just buy a new penthouse here? Cause somebody called earlier this morning asking you that wanted us to ask you how the new penthouse is. I didn't know if that meant here or LA or New York.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

No, no, no, it's definitely there. I originally, when I first moved to Atlanta, I moved to Mableton and I had a spot out there. You know, my mom came down and started visiting and she loved the spot so much that she started. It's actually funny, she started doing stuff like leaving stuff there so she'd have any chance to come back. Hey, I left my glasses case at your house. I'm gonna come down for about a week. Give my glasses case a week for your glasses case. Okay, Ma, you can just come back. You don't have to, you know. So I actually gave that to her and went and got myself something. I'm in the city now. I'm in Buckhead.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Nice.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Oh, yeah. Shout out to the people over at Huff, by the way. They did the interior decorating for me. You know, put it together real nice for me.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Is that the shiny out, like, reflective outside with the.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Oh, what'd you say?

[Co-host/Commentator]

So that's the store that has the reflective exterior?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Yeah, they got a lot of, like, really eclectic furniture in there.

[Co-host/Commentator]

So now when you. When you do something like that and you've got a new place, do you go into the store and tell them stuff that you like or do you just call them up? And then when you finally get home, will you be totally surprised at how they've done it all up for you?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Well, they definitely, you know, they were sending me pictures back and forth. Cause I was on the road the whole time they were renovating. You know, I picked the paint and I picked out, you know, certain pieces of furniture. And, you know, but I trust the guy that put it together. You know, I trusted him to let him just go ahead and get creative with his as well. So some of the stuff when I got there, I didn't know that they were going to put up, but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it. And then other stuff, you know, we collaborated on.

[Co-host/Commentator]

All right, so, Neo, for all the ladies listening, you have to slowly describe what your bedroom looks like.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Slowly describe what my bedroom looks like. My bedroom is easily the biggest room in the whole place. It's a very, very large bed. It's a large white leather bed. Let me see. I have a lot of pillows. I have a lot of candle holders set up everywhere. You know, just in case I meet somebody that that's worthy enough for me to set the mood like that for.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Is it a waterbed with convenient storage underneath?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

It is not a waterbed because a waterbed messes with. With my motion. I like motion going on to be the motion that I'm producing. I do have a mirror on my ceiling because I like to watch. Let me see, let me see. That's pretty much it. Very low lit. There's not a whole lot of light going on in there. You can see all of Atlanta from the windows that are pretty much. The whole left hand wall is our windows, you know, so you can see all of Atlanta and the view is crazy at night.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

If me and my wife could just borrow that apartment for the weekend, I'd really appreciate that. Do you really, really hook me up in all honesty?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Well, I'm saying, you know, be nice to me. We'll see what happens. We can work something out.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Do you really want to see something or something? Do you really want to see yourself doing that?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Not so much.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

I'd be under the covers,

[Co-host/Commentator]

Like, hey, blow out those candles.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

It's not dark enough in here. I read this morning that you're having some problems with women right now. Is this true that, like, you're having some trust issues? You don't know which ones are digging you because you're Neo or which ones are digging you because you're the dude with a whole bunch of. With a new penthouse and money.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

And, I mean, I think that's something that a lot of that, you know, a lot of people in this business go through. You know, once you get to a certain level, as far as fame and money is concerned, it gets really hard to tell who's digging you for you and who's digging you for, you know, for the whole Neo factor, the money and the fame and, you know, all of that. So I honestly look at it like this. I'm not focusing on trying to find that girl. Finding girls is easy. You know, girls are all over the place. But that particular one girl is the one that's difficult to find right now. So I'm not even gonna focus on it. I'm gonna just basically be focused on this album that's out today and promoting it the right way and, you know, getting out there and doing shows. And I honestly feel that when it's supposed to happen, when she's supposed to, you know, magically fall into my lap, she'll do just that.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Do you have one person in your life that you sort of use as your buffer to tell if this girl is authentic or not?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

The people that I work with are my closest friends. You know, that's one of the cool things about working with people that you can consider friend. You know, they're very, very verbal about, you know, who they see me with. You know, so I'll be with somebody and they'll, you know, you know, politely behind her back, be like, no, not that one. I've gotten that a couple times. Or, you know, I've gotten a thumbs up before. You know, if it's somebody that I feel is special. Like, nobody. Like, they don't. They don't just get to meet my mom just on a whim. Like, that's not gonna happen. You know, you gotta. You gotta prove yourself a little bit before you get the final test, which is Mom's. And mom is. She has yet to be wrong. You know, any girl that she's ever gave me a positive or negative response to, it's always been accurate. You know, even if I didn't see it right then, like, my moms would be like, I just don't think it hurt. And I was like, mom, you don't understand.

[Co-host/Commentator]

I love her.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

And then, you know, a week later, we'd be broke up. Mom was right.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Neo joining The Birch Show. Q100.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Now, Neo, you said you're gonna be all over the place because the new album coming out, but are you coming back to Atlanta for the BET Hip Hop Awards?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

I do believe so. I think I got a couple nominations. I think I have.

[Co-host/Commentator]

I was gonna say, yeah, you're featured on.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

In case I win. Gotta get out there.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Yeah, yeah, you're featured on a couple songs, so congratulations.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Thank you very much.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Talking about the new album this morning, which drops today. Here's just a sample of it.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

It's a single new day.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

This is actually the New Kids on the Block.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Shout out to the new kids. Them is my people now, you know.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Did you have fun working with those guys?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

I was a little skeptical about working with them in the very beginning, I'm gonna be honest. You know, Jimmy Iovine from Interscope Records, he hit me about working with them. And, you know, it's been, what, 15, 20 years, something like that. So I was like, okay, these guys are, you know, doing the midlife crisis thing and they're trying to make me a part of it. I don't know if I want to do that. But I actually got a chance to talk to Donnie. He got a chance to talk to guys, like, really sit, chill with the guys and just see how serious they are about this. Like, it's not. They don't. They're not even looking at it. Like, we got to get back out there. We're on the comeback trail. They're looking at it like, you know, we're brand new artists and we got to get out here and prove ourselves. So, like, that's what attracted me to the whole thing. Like, just seeing how serious and how dedicated they were to doing this real, you know. So we did a record shot the video in my hometown, went out and shot it in Vegas. And yeah, man, it came together real nice.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Is that pretty standard for you? Like, when an artist approaches you to work with them, does there have to be that sit down meeting where you look in their eyes? Or can a name alone make you say, yes, I'll work with you?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Well, the name alone can make me consider it, you know, I mean, I've been lucky enough to not. Not have worked with anybody yet that I actually got to meet them. And they try not to be a jerk. You know, I haven't. I haven't done that yet. Yeah, normally, I mean, you don't always get to do the initial sit down because, you know, their schedules won't permit or my schedule won't permit, you know, so. But when I do get to do it, it normally makes for a better. Just a better song, a better, you know, better session. All the way around. All the way around.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

You know, what artists have pitched you recently that you're still considering that you haven't decided. Yay.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Yet on? There's nobody that I haven't decided yet on the people I'm about to work with. I mean, there's not a whole lot of people I'm about to work with just because, you know, the album is out. So I got to move around. But Marilyn Manson's people reached out.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Really?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Yeah. So we're putting. We're trying to put that together right now. I just recently did a session with Michael Bolton, which was really, really cool.

[Co-host/Commentator]

That is awesome.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

I mean, you really like to stretch yourself there, don't you? I mean, you don't want to be pigeonholed.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Oh, yeah, yeah. It's diversity. Diversity is the name of the game. At the end of the day, I want people be able to say that Neo was a great songwriter. Not an R and B songwriter, not a pop songwriter, but just a songwriter, period.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

That's awesome. It's Neo joining Burchell on Q100. We're gonna talk more about. You're the gentleman here in just a second. So a couple of weeks ago, I gotta ask you about this. You win a boatload of money from R. Kelly? It's like $700,000 or something.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Roughly.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Yeah, roughly 700 grands, actually. Oh, yeah, A little more than that.

[Co-host/Commentator]

So you've gotta pay for that furniture somehow.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Right now. I think the assumption at first was that you sort of felt like they booted you off the tour because you were kicking ass. And the R. Kelly people might have been getting a little bit jealous of that whole situation, so they let you go. Did anybody in his camp ever say that to you? Or was that just sort of a feeling you got?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

No, nobody said that to me. Of course they're not gonna say, you're doing better than R. Kelly, so you gotta go. No, that's not. They'd never admit that that's what I felt was wrong because I couldn't find any other reason for them to kick

[Caller (Jane)]

me off the tour.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Like, we were. Like, we were going above and beyond, you know, just to make sure that everybody was comfortable with us. Like, we. We were doing things that were just out of the Ordinary, you know, putting up with stuff that. That nobody should have to put up with, you know? And then for them. For him to kick me off the tour for what? Like, I couldn't find any other reason why he would have kicked me off.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Did they give you an official reason?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

They said something about some contracts or something, which was a complete bull, because my manager, Tango, does not. He's. He's the businessman. There is no contract that's ever gonna come my way where all the T's aren't gonna be crossed in the I's, dotted and it laminated and put in a pretty package. Like, he's gonna make sure that everything is taken care of the way it's supposed to be, you know, so that. That could have been. That was absolute crap.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

After you heard that you weren't gonna be on the tour anymore, did you personally, like, reach out to R. Kelly and go, dude, let's just do this one on one, man to man, here?

[Caller (Jane)]

I try.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

You know what? I tried to reach out to R. Kelly one time, and this was before any talks of me being off the tour was even considered. This is when I first got on the tour. I to him and thank him for actually putting me on the tour. And his security people shooed me away like I was, you know, some annoying little fan, like, get out of here.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

No kidding.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Really?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Yeah. I've never seen R. Kelly's face.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Come on. Really?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

I've never spoken two words to this man. Never.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Do you think if you guys were face to face that it would be awkward or weird or.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

I mean, it wouldn't be weird for me because I don't hold grudges. I don't hold any. I don't have any grudge against R. Kelly. I think he felt what he felt when he felt it and did what he had to do, you know, unfortunately, it cost him $700,000, but it is what it is.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

That'll wipe out a grudge pretty quickly. You give me $700,000, I'm feeling pretty good about things. Here's more from the album. You're the gentleman available. I was on YouTube and there's a video of you kind of giving MTV viewers a sneak peek in the studio of what's on the album. And I'm not saying this in a bad way. While you were listening to your own music in the studio, it made me realize that you really like your own music.

[Co-host/Commentator]

I love what you do.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

You really do. And I'm not saying that in a bad way. Like, you were really jamming out to your own tunes.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Absolutely. I mean, I gotta be a fan of me first before anybody else can.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

You're proud of this album?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

I'm very, very proud of this album. I honestly think that this album is some of my best work.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

In what way? What makes this any different or better? Better than the rest of the Neo?

[Co-host/Commentator]

He wrote it and he sings it.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

That's true about all three albums, but this one, from a. From a standpoint of diversity, you know, I was really proud of the fact that I was allowed to step out of my comfort zone and try some new things. You know, just with songs like Closer. And there's a song on the album called Part of the List that's very much, you know, almost alternative rocky sounds, you know, it's just. Just allowing me to do that, you know, I was proud of my fans for riding with me on that and proud of myself for even, you know, even being brave enough to take the chance.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

I read yesterday, I don't know if this is true because you never know what is true or not on the Internet, that you just weren't real happy with the whole RB world. And you're like, I gotta step up and do something.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Pretty much. That's pretty much what it was. I was. I was just kind of bored with it, you know what I mean? Like, everybody was kind of doing the same thing, sounding the same. So I needed to. I needed to step out of it and just find some other inspiration. So that's what I did.

[Co-host/Commentator]

And are you headed out on tour anytime soon? When can your fans come see you?

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

We're putting together the promo tour right now. I don't know exactly when we're moving out, just because we gotta figure out who we're gonna go with.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Okay.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

You know, I don't wanna go out just, you know, by myself. Not saying that I couldn't, but I just think it would make more sense. Like, I was trying to put something together with Robin Thicke. Me and John Legend were talking about doing something, so we're just trying to find what's gonna make the most sense.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Boy, there'd be a lot of baby making in this city after the show. Man, I would get some just for getting the tickets.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Yeah, you would.

You should give away those ceiling mirrors at the concert.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

There he is. Good luck with the new album.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Thank you, sir.

[Co-host/Commentator]

And thank you for writing the. The song about want an independent woman. I think those lyrics are really powerful and.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Absolutely, absolutely. I wrote it about you.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Oh, thank you.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

He knew, you know, that's where you're at in your life right now.

[Co-host/Commentator]

I'm serious about that. A male artist writing about independent women and those lyrics being really impactful coming from. From a guy is really cool.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Oh, yeah.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Hey, next time you're back in Atlanta, we'd love to have you back in the studio, man. We love having you.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

Definitely. Definitely.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

All right, good luck.

[Neo (Musician Guest)]

All right, man. Take care.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Thanks, Neil.

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[Host (The Birch Show)]

Bye, guys. Still so grounded.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Yeah.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

Grounded. Yeah. There's a lot of love there, right?

[Co-host/Commentator]

Yeah. And he has a mirror above his bed.

[Host (The Birch Show)]

And there's another reason.

[Co-host/Commentator]

You like that, huh? The Birch show.

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[Caller (Jane)]

7.