Calling from a noisy parking lot outside of a New York airport, R&B singer Ne-Yo says he needs just a couple more days in the studio to put the finishing touches on his new album, due out before the summer's end. But finding that time won't be easy. Ne-Yo has just flown in from Los Angeles, where he filmed a new video. Before that, he was in Miami, rehearsing for the current tour with Alicia Keys. And before that, he was performing in Japan and Korea.

"Crazy is not a proper assessment of what my life's been like," he says when asked about the whirlwind of publicity and touring that has taken place since the release of his last album, Because of You, which came out one year ago. "There's got to be a word bigger than crazy. I tell people the first album took me all around the world. The second album took me around the world twice. It's been larger than life."

While Ne-Yo's 2006 debut, In My Own Words, established him as a major player in the R&B world, Because of You is a big step forward. Its eclectic approach, which undoubtedly has broadened Ne-Yo's appeal outside of the genre, legitimizes all those comparisons to Prince, which were only latent on his debut.

"Oh man, that's the biggest compliment you could pay me," Ne-Yo says in response to being compared to Prince. "He's a musical god. In the beginning, you have to put yourself in the box. You have to have a label on it. But I've tried to go from being an R&B guy to being a guy who makes good music. You can't put a label on it now. It crosses all of those lines: R&B and pop and rock."

The shift is most apparent in "Sex with My Ex," a track that features industrial- strength beats and over-sexualized yelps. It's even got a Purple Rain vibe to it. Ne-Yo says it was because he didn't want to be pigeonholed that he branched out on Because of You.

"Luckily for me, I have the kinds of fans who understand I'm also an artist," he says. "I have to grow and evolve. I can't do the same thing over and over. I now have a sound and expectation. People like [earlier hits] "Sexy Love' and "So Sick' and want more of that. This is the stuff they're accustomed to and stuff I try out on them because it's me growing. Doing something new is either accepted or it's not. I have to give my fans credit."

Ne-Yo's fans aren't the only ones who've accepted his evolution. The singer has developed a rep as a quality songwriter, and Rihanna, Celine Dion, Whitney Huston and Jennifer Hudson all have enlisted him to pen tunes.

"Me being a melody guy, that's the most important part of songwriting," he explains. "If it's strong enough and catchy enough, it doesn't matter what you're saying. I just try to have a strong melody and lyrics with depth and meaning. What I've learned is that short and simple does win the race. I hear a million different harmonies in my head every second. You can't pile them onto one track. It goes over people's heads. I just leave it at one melody so it's easy to grasp."

He might even be writing some material for the new Michael Jackson album.

"I'm submitting songs," he says. "He's taking his time and being very selective. As he should. It's an important album for that dude."

And like Jackson, Ne-Yo has had his own run-ins with the press. He's been rumored to be gay and romantically linked with a number of people he says he's had nothing to do with.

"I mean, it does take some getting used to," he says of life in the spotlight. "It's part of this job. In the beginning, my focus was just the music. I thought if I did quality music, I wouldn't fall victim to all that stuff. But people told me to gear up for rumors and that haters exist. I thought, "Why would anyone want to hate on me?' But they don't need a reason. Initially, I got mad at some stuff. I've learned people will talk regardless."

Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, Jordin Sparks: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 24, Wolstein Center, 2000 Prospect Ave., 216.241.5555. Tickets: $37.50-$98.