Ne-Yo Kicks Off Mcdonald's Live Series

By: Janine Coveney

Singer and songwriter Ne-Yo helped McDonald's launch its free concert series yesterday with a performance at in the parking lot at the franchise location in Venice Beach, California. McDonald's Live will present nine more free concerts by up and coming artists at restaurants across the country.

"It wasn't that long ago that I was a new artist myself, trying to get that big break," said Ne-Yo. "McDonald's is giving the artists on the McDonald's Live tour the opportunity to really stand out, build a stronger fan base and most importantly, gain more exposure for their music."

Newcomer Kenna also helped kick off the series with a July 26th show in New York City. Other artists slated for upcoming shows include bilingual songstress Kat DeLuna, alternative rock band Single File, and R&B artist Kevin Michael. For a full list of artists, visit the tour website at mcdlive.com.

Ne-Yo is currently on the urban chart at Number One with Fabolous on "Make Me Better," while "Do You" is climbing at Number 11. Meanwhile, urban AC stations are playing the singles "Do You" and "Leaving Tonight" featuring Jennifer Hudson.

Ne-Yo says he's really happy that fans have embraced the material on his sophomore set Because Of You despite his efforts to branch out: "I definitely kept in mind that I do have a sound now, so I did songs within the realm of that sound. And the rest of the album is where I decided to do a little experimentation. And in experimenting, it's either gonna go really good or really bad. There's normally no middle ground. And by the grace of God, it went really good, you know, people are really accepting it."