Ne-Yo & Akon in Hartford

Ne-Yo is an American R&B and pop singer-songwriter, born in 1979 in Camden, Arkansas, and raised in Las Vegas. Before releasing his debut album, In My Own Words, he wrote Mario’s “Let Me Love You.” The album produced “So Sick,” while his later hits include “Because of You,” “Closer” and “Miss Independent.” In 2008, Ne-Yo joined Alicia Keys’ As I Am Tour in North America, and the following year he led the Year of the Gentleman Tour. He returned to headline touring with the Non-Fiction Tour in 2015. The Champagne and Roses Tour launched in 2023 with Mario and Pleasure P; on a later UK arena leg, Ne-Yo performed at The O2 in London and AO Arena in Manchester.

Akon is a Senegalese-American R&B and hip-hop singer, rapper, songwriter and producer, born in St. Louis in 1973 and raised partly in Senegal. His 2004 debut album, Trouble, produced “Locked Up” and “Lonely”; Konvicted followed with “Smack That,” “I Wanna Love You” and “Don’t Matter.” In 2007, Akon supported Gwen Stefani on The Sweet Escape Tour and mounted his own Konvicted Tour. He returned to North American venues as a headliner in 2023 on The Superfan Tour.