NE-YO PROTÉGÉ CONOR MAYNARD WANTS YOU TO "TURN AROUND"

British pop sensation Conor Maynard returned to the U.S. yesterday to make his American television debut on The Today Show, then traveled directly from Rockefeller Center with a gaggle of devoted "Mayniacs" to the Empire State Building. Conor posed for press shots at the top of the historic building on the 86th Floor Observatory before taking the time to answer some questions for PUMP. Read our exclusive interview below...

If you are a fan of Ne-Yo's "So Sick," Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable," Rhianna's "Hate That I Love You" and "Unfaithful," then you will definitely like Conor Maynard's new single "Turn Around." The song was written and produced by the invincible trio that is Stargate (Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Hermansen) and Shaffer Smith (aka Ne-Yo). The fact that the track features the lovely smooth-as-butter vocals of Ne-Yo is the cherry on top!

"It was one of the last songs that actually got onto the album," says Maynard. The British singer's debut album Contrast drops early next year and even if you haven't heard of the 19-year-old, the world's top hitmakers have. "Stargate had shown their interest as things started to take off," explains Maynard. "Ne-Yo had been trying to sign me from the very beginning and was a big fan from the very beginning. I'd always kept close contact wtih him."

As the saying goes, it's all about who you know. "There was going to be a session with Ne-Yo in New York at first and we didn't know which producers to go in with," explains Maynard before adding, "Everyone knows about the success of Ne-Yo and Stargate." Ahem, please see the first sentence of this story. The scheduling gods clearly favorted this up-and-coming R&B/pop star becuase lo and behold, Stargate was available and a viable option for Maynard and mentor Ne-Yo.

"Stargate sent over some tracks to take to the session and then Ne-Yo was going to write," says Maynard. "I got there and explained to Ne-Yo what I wanted, played him some tracks from the album so he could hear where the album was going."

 The UK's newest musical export told the songsmith to do what he needed to do to make an incredible song: "I have massive faith in you." One has only to look up the name Shaffer Smith on ASCAP's repertory search page to see that the man has a solid, proven track record for composing a great song.

You can purchase Conor Maynard's new single "Turn Around" (feat. Ne-Yo) on iTunes now. 

Conor Maynard

86th Floor Observatory
Empire State Building
New York, NY