NE-YO is to become a father for the first time.

NE-YO is to become a father for the first time.

The So Sick singer - whose real name is Shaffer Chimere Smith - has confirmed that girlfriend Monyetta Shaw is due to give birth in January.

He told Ebony magazine: "I am 30 years old and I do have my first child on the way, and I'm very, very, very excited about that. It's a New Year's baby."

The singer also joked about the baby's "stubborn" streak after they were unable to find out its gender because it curled up during an ultrasound scan, making it difficult to get a clear picture.

In 2005 Ne-Yo was named as the father of then-girlfriend Jessica White's son, whom she named Chimere after the star.

But it emerged that the boy wasn't his and the singer is still involved in a lawsuit with White.

On learning the truth, he said: "He's known no other father but me since the day he was born, and though I did not make him, I am his father and he is my son." - Bang