R+B singer Ne-Yo has a back-up plan in case his music career stalls - he is a talented illustrator.

The 28-year-old Closer hitmaker confesses that he was a keen drawer when he was at school - and would probably have pursued it as a profession if he wasn't a musician.

He says, "If the music thing hadn't worked out, illustrating is probably what I'd be doing. When I was a kid, I was always writing or painting."

"I tried playing football once but I got hit real hard and I left the field never to return. I tried out for basketball, too, but I was never good enough."

And although the star forged a successful music career, he always has his skills as an illustrator to fall back on to make money.

He adds, "I used to draw portraits and caricatures of people and get 10 or 20 dollars a time. It was handy because, that way, I never needed to ask my mom for money."