Ne-Yo to Release ‘Beautiful Monster’ in June

Ne-Yo's fourth studio album -- which is currently untitled -- is reportedly slated for a September release, but it was recently announced that the singer-songwriter will release the album's first official single 'Beautiful Monster' via iTunes on June 1.

The cover art for 'Beautiful Monster' was released on Friday (May 21), but its' dark undertones may surprise fans a bit. In a recent interview with the UK's Daily Star, Ne-Yo explained that he was working on his own film script, which has inspired some of the songs on his upcoming album.

"I developed a script and I'm in the process of getting a Hollywood studio to turn it into a movie," he said. "My new album is a series of songs inspired by the script that I wrote, but it's not a musical." Ne-Yo also explained that he had a back-up plan in case his script didn't get scooped by up a Hollywood studio. "I've got a few friends in the graphic novel business, so we will storyboard it but release it as a book first," he said.

While he preps his upcoming album and film script, the Los Angeles-based artist has also been dabbling in the Hollywood movie scene. He recently landed roles in two upcoming films, George Lucas' 'Red Tails' and the sci-fi thriller 'Battle: Los Angeles.'

Ne-Yo's last album was 2008's 'Year Of The Gentleman,' which spawned several hit singles, including 'Closer' and 'Miss Independent.'