R+B star NE-YO finds it tricky looking for love - because girls are more interested in his fame than his personality.

The So Sick hitmaker - real name Shaffer Smith - is constantly approached by starry-eyed women looking for a date - but he has to work out what their true motives are before he agrees to take them out.

He admits many people sell themselves short when looking for a partner - insisting people should set higher standards.

Ne-Yo tells USA Today newspaper, "One of the uncool things about this business is that with every woman I meet, I have to ask myself, is she into me - that is, Shaffer - or is she into Ne-Yo?

"Luckily, I've become a pretty good judge of character. (I want a woman) who can love a man, but doesn't need him."

And he adds that the purpose of his upcoming album, Year of the Gentleman, is "to get men and women to go, 'I can do better than that'.

"A woman can do better than waiting on a man to buy her a drink. A man can do better than putting on a pair of jeans that's seven sizes too big. I'm not saying this album's going to change the world, but it will definitely give you something to think about."