Because of You, formerly named Know Me, is the Grammy Award winning second album from Def Jam recording artist Ne-Yo, the album was released on May 1, 2007. The lead single is "Because of You". The song leaked into the Internet February 3, 2007, and a remix featuring Joe Budden has been leaked into the Internet as well. A second song, "Crazy" featuring Jay-Z, was leaked on March 19, 2007, but this was only a shorter version of the full song. It was rumored that the album would include guest appearances from Trinity Stone, Busta Rhymes, Beyoncé, and Fabolous, but they were proven to be false. The album features a duet song with Jennifer Hudson "Leaving Tonight". A third song, "Make It Work" was leaked on April 7, 2007. The title for this album was originally Outta This World before being changed to Because of You. Ne-Yo then changed it to Know Me, before reverting to Because of You. The full album leaked onto the internet on April 7, 2007, three weeks before the album's official release date in the USA.
According to Nielsen SoundScan, Because of You debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (issue date May 19), selling 251,000 copies on its first week of release. Because of You is Ne-Yo's second number-one album. The album has shipped 1 million units in the US and is still in the Billboard 200. Worldwide it has sold over 2,500,000. The album has also drawn mainly positive reviews, with "Entertainment Weekly" magazine noting, "Indeed, the album is an unmistakable attempt to channel[Michael Jackson's early work such as "Off the Wall"]...and the effort often pays off beautifully...Ne-Yo's lithe falsetto puts the many others who've been labeled Jackson-esque to shame." PopMatters.com called the album "a masterpiece of a record" and praised the title track's blend of "upbeat modern-day funk tempo, beautifully melodic backdrop and love-sick (in a good way) vocals...[it's] the perfect lead single off an album that is filled with number-one hits."
So far it has donned four singles, two of which seemingly failed to chart and one that failed to make top 20 impact "Because of You", "Do You" and "Can We Chill" and "Go On Girl". The album won Best Contemperary R&B Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards.