# Ne-Yo Takes a Country Road With ‘Highway 79’: ‘We Wanted to Make Music People Related To’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/ne-yo-takes-a-country-road-with-highway-79-we-wanted-to-make-music-people-related-to/
- Published: 2026-07-16T20:57:22+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-25T06:14:03+00:00
- Original publisher: Billboard
- Original article: https://www.billboard.com/music/country/ne-yo-highway-79-album-interview-1236296024/
- Topics: Americas, Entertainment, Music, World

## Key points

- Ne-Yo blends country with his R&B and soul sound.
- Highway 79 was shaped by four months in Nashville.
- The title honours Ne-Yo’s Arkansas family roots.

## Summary

Ne-Yo has released Highway 79, his first fully country-inspired album, after drawing on an earlier positive recording experience in Nashville with Tim McGraw. The project blends his established R&B and soul influences with country songwriting, and reflects his wish to make accessible music that listeners can relate to rather than deliberately pursuing hit singles.

Released on 10 July through HSG Ventures/10K Projects, the album was written during four months in Nashville with collaborators including Luke Laird, Breland, Charles Kelley and Claude Kelly. Its songs range from the reflective “Simple Things” and “If I Roped the Moon” to the more energetic “Dance Right Now”, while the title refers to Highway 79, the Arkansas road linking Ne-Yo’s hometown of Camden with Bearden, where his extended family lived.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.